Paradise of the Blind

Paradise of the Blind (Những thiên đường mù) is a novel by writer Dương Thu Hương, published in 1988. It was the first Vietnamese novel published in English in the United States.[1] It is now banned in Vietnam because of the political views it expounds.

Paradise of the Blind
AuthorDuong Thu Huong
Original titleNhững thiên đường mù
CountryVietnam
Publication date
1988
Published in English
1993

Plot[2]

Paradise of the Blind follows a non-linear, vertical plot depicting the development of Hang, the narrator, through several life-changing events. An adult Hang in the 1980's receives a telegram stating that her uncle, Chinh, is ill and that she must visit him in Moscow. Throughout her journey to Moscow she recounts significant events in her childhood.

As she looks back on the past, she realizes it is the steadfast resolve toward familial duty that has made her family so miserable. She realizes this does not have to be her fate. While she is waiting to leave Russia for Vietnam, she sees a group of young Japanese students who are happy and laughing and free. She longs to be Japanese, of a race that does not carry the same burdens as her people. She resolves to do what it is that makes her happy—because her duty to her mother, who would sacrifice her own daughter to help her corrupt brother—is not happiness.[3]

Characters[4]

Main Characters
  • Hang
  • Que
  • Aunt Tam
  • Uncle Chinh

Supporting Characters
  • Ton
  • Aunt Chinh
  • Man on the Train
  • The Bohemian

Symbolism
  • Que's Roof
  • Hang's Earrings
  • Cripple's Song
  • Duckweed Flowers
  • The Fog
  • Aunt Tam's House
  • Que's Accident

Themes
  • Beauty and cruelty of Vietnamese culture
  • Strength/suffering of women under Confucian ideologies
  • Duplicity of self sacrifice vs. paranoia
  • Food as a symbol of human expression
  • Lack of individuality
  • Generational differences
  • Traditional vs. modern family values

References
  1. Archived January 13, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Paradise of the Blind. HarperCollins. 1988.
  3. Bookrags Staff. "Paradise of the Blind Characters". BookRags. BookRags, Inc. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  4. "Paradise of the Blind". Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia. Retrieved 24 October 2019.

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