The "famousness" is rarely given to debut books, not because of the author's preference as a media player, but because of a strange voice. A way to express life and feelings through the experience of a journalist.
"The dew area, deep tunnel and island" of Ho Tan Vu (working in Tuoi Tre newspaper) opened a concentrated literary space, obsessed right from the first pages of Part I - "The wind through the village". The work did not choose to lead gently but immediately threw readers into a naked and harsh reality of Ha village - a poor countryside in Quang Nam, where the death of alcohol became a permanent obsession, where the people struggled to make a living under the shadow of the Misty Mount and on the arid bell field.
The center of the story is Tan, a 12-year-old boy with a sensitive soul, growing up amid the tragedy and deprivation of the countryside. Tan's childhood was not his days of playing with luxury but was affected by the continuous witness to tragic deaths caused by alcohol.
The death of the character Mr. Lien became a lasting concern for Tan. Just because he was in a miserable moment with a newly purchased rubber carrying motorbike, the boy was afraid that his rock had accidentally hit Mr. Lien, causing a cruel death. Fear, regret and guilt weigh on the soul.
Through the lens of Tan and the stories that were told, the picture of Ha village appeared full of bright dark patches. It was a village struggling with the hunger "throat" in the beginning of the renovation period, where people had to hoe land to rent and carry water to live through the day. They can quarrel with each other because of things that are not, they can see the rain asserted and then ignore right and wrong, but deep in them is still a village affection, a sharing in difficulties, a respect for the deceased.
The character of Mr. Lien appears mysteriously. A person who is heavily addicted to alcohol, carries a life of renting water, spits firewood, and is in debt, but is rumored to be a person with many words, many languages, and even translates German philosophy. The contrast between a disguised appearance and hidden intelligence creates a strange attraction, making readers constantly curious about the past and the underlying cause that led him to the path of tea.
The fateful meeting between him and Mrs. Lien in Chang cave, his mysterious appearance in Ha village after liberation, enhances the mystery of this character. He was like a strange wind blowing through the village, leaving behind immense questions and sadness.
The image of the mountain of Chua and the bell field is not only a context but also becomes a symbol full of heavy. Mount Chua is both a spiritual support, where people send their faith, the shelter of the soul of the deceased, and the origin of life and the harshness, drought, and wind of Laos. The bell field is a place to witness so many life, so many deaths, sadness and joy, a working space and also a place to nourish the soul.
Author Ho Tan Vu has been very successful in building an artistic space imbued with the breath of life, both realistic and intense, and somewhat exaggerated and illusionary like the "fsud zone" in the name of the work.
Vu, a graduate of the University of Economics, "scooped" the market. At first, he dreamed of making money in the Central Highlands, then spent some years traveling to Vientiane, Laos... Suddenly one day he suddenly turned to being a journalist. The pen has the advantage of being proficient in writing. Vu's life-breathing reports soon turned him into a sharp pen for Tuoi Tre Newspaper in the Central region.
Vu: When the peach trees are golden, they go down to the deep tunnel, almost tasteing death after several mountain caves. Writing a report about ginseng, you have to wade to the top of Ngoc Linh; writing about fishermen, they follow ships drifting for months at sea.
Vu: When learning the instrument, I practiced until I was old, composed a song that touched the COVID-19 epidemic season to satisfy me. Vu had many short stories published in Tuoi Tre Cuoi Son, Tien Phong, Lao Dong Newspapers... and then he suddenly published a novel.
Readers will certainly be interested in "The misty region, deep tunnel and deserted island" with a strong realistic feel, somewhat thorny and direct when depicting, but intertwined with delicate lyrical passages when depicting nature and the character - of Vu.
