No Man's Land

by Dương Thu Hương

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205	7	140,433	(4.05)	1
"Central Vietnam. 1975. A young peasant woman, happily married to a successful farmer, returns to her house in the countryside to find a thong of villagers assembled around her gate. She learns that her first husband - who reportedly died as a martyr and war hero many years earlier - is in fact alive and has returned to claim her. Faced with immense pressure from the community and the Party authorities, she agrees to leave her second husband and their son to live in a squalid shack with the veteran." "This tragic twist of fate sets the stage for Duong Thu Huong's tale of three individuals whose destinies are inextricably linked and irrevocably altered by the absurdity of war. As the riveting story unfolds, each of the parties in this fateful love triangle struggles to reconcile personal happiness with traditional values of duty and selflessness. Together, these characters offer a devastating portrait of a people sacrificed on the altar of war and to a cult of heroism."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)

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French (3) English (3) Dutch (1) All languages (7)

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Notwithstanding that this book takes place in Vietnam, a place I have never been and know little about, this brilliant author swept me up in the story, characters, and setting. It's been awhile since I finished the book but I remember it as being a moving and sensual love story, as well as a meditation on war. (

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jdukuray | Dec 31, 2014 |

A haunted look at a happily married Vietnamese woman whose first husband, declared dead years ago, returns from the war -- the pressure she feels from the ghosts of her ancestors and the living villagers, the agonies of the returned soldier, from the war and the absence of the love he had dreamed of, and the dream-boat conduct of the second husband. Powerful images, very fine translation, much to ponder, but doesn't reach the heights of two other of her books, Paradise of the Blind, and Novel Without A Name. Editing and compression would have helped, conversation between the characters pushing and pulling on their desires and fears would have deepened a sense of each.

If you are going to Vietnam, or have a warm interest in the country, don't miss it but expect some slack in the telling...

For full review see http://www.allinoneboat.org/2013/04/11/no-mans-land-a-novel-from-vietnam-by-duon... (

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William.Kirkland | Apr 12, 2013 |

A powerful novel from vietnam, a young woman marries the man goes to war and is thought to have been killed. The woman re marries and both her and the new husband find happiness. The first husband returns, the woman because of the social pressure remains to him. The dead man walking the first husband suffers PTSD. The woman no longer loves him. Lots of suffering in this novel lots of seeing what village life is like in Vietnam. An excellent novel (

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michaelbartley | May 25, 2009 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Dương Thu Hương	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
McPherson, Nina	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Phan Huy Duong	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Awards

Grand prix des lectrices de Elle (Roman – 2007)

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Canonical title

No Man's Land

Original title

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2005 (Engels)

2007 (Nederlands, vertaling)

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Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Het was op een dag in juni dat er ineens een vreemde, hevige storm opstak.

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"Central Vietnam. 1975. A young peasant woman, happily married to a successful farmer, returns to her house in the countryside to find a thong of villagers assembled around her gate. She learns that her first husband - who reportedly died as a martyr and war hero many years earlier - is in fact alive and has returned to claim her. Faced with immense pressure from the community and the Party authorities, she agrees to leave her second husband and their son to live in a squalid shack with the veteran." "This tragic twist of fate sets the stage for Duong Thu Huong's tale of three individuals whose destinies are inextricably linked and irrevocably altered by the absurdity of war. As the riveting story unfolds, each of the parties in this fateful love triangle struggles to reconcile personal happiness with traditional values of duty and selflessness. Together, these characters offer a devastating portrait of a people sacrificed on the altar of war and to a cult of heroism."--BOOK JACKET.

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