We’ve had Arctic temps here this past week. It’s been about -10F or -23C outside. Ouch! Luckily I’ve worn my trusty big gloves and snow boots, which have worked well on my early morning dog walks. Yes, my dog still wants to go out and chase her ball. Yikes, she’s pretty oblivious to the cold and to me trudging through it after her. Next week, the cold snap should break and it’s supposed to hit 15F, which should feel easy peasy by then. But it’s still a good thing I’ll be in California over Christmas week. I’m looking forward to de-thawing then and visiting with family.
Meanwhile this past week I finished Camilla Gibb’s 2010 novel “The Beauty of Humanity Movement,” which was a read for my book club. It’s my second novel about Vietnam this year, but it’s a bit different than the other one I read — Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel “The Sympathizer.”
The title of Gibb’s book “The Beauty of Humanity Movement” is a bit of a mouthful, but it refers in the novel to a group of Vietnamese dissident artists who meet during the war at Hung’s cafe in Hanoi and put out a few underground publications before the cafe is shutdown by the Communists and the artists are hauled away to re-education camps.
Now decades later Old Man Hung is a soup vendor, peddling his popular and delicious “pho” on the streets and living by a dirty pond in shantytown. His most faithful pho customer is Tu, who is the grandson of one of the artists, and a tour guide in the city. One day Old Man Hung is visited by a Vietnamese-American woman (Maggie) who is working in Hanoi to catalogue an art collection for the Hotel Metropole. She is searching for clues to her father, a dissident artist who disappeared during the war after she and her mother fled to the U.S. But offhand Hung can’t seem to remember her father, or what happened to him.
The story follows these three intersecting characters as they dig into the past to try to find out more. Tu develops a crush on Maggie and wants to help her, as does Hung who treasured the dissidents and is haunted by what happened to them and his family during the war. He begins to reflect back to those days, and it’s Hung’s life story that makes the novel so compelling. He gives a glimpse into the violent Communist crackdowns, the U.S. bombing raids, and the sheer poverty of the war years, surviving on trees and what little else he could find by the pond. It’s the making of “pho” for his small community that propels him to live — as well as the dissidents’ publications and his love for a girl named Lan. You’ll want to read on to find out what happens.
It’s quite a bittersweet tale, about lost love and changing times, which by the end might make you hungry for a Vietnamese bowl of pho — Old Man Hung’s specialty. I have not eaten pho in a long while, but in honor of the story I’d like to. What I also liked about the novel was how it brought Hanoi’s past and present together. You really get a glimpse of what it’s like there today and what the people in the North went through many decades ago. I think this is the first novel I’ve read set in Hanoi, as opposed to Saigon, so it was new and interesting to me. The city is still a bit of a mystery to many Westerners. I didn’t find the novel a fast read, but I didn’t mind slowly meandering over its pages. The ending seemed a bit too tidily rendered for the main and secondary characters. Still I thought it was definitely a worthy read, which touched on a number of themes, such as the redemptive powers of community, art, and love.
I wondered a bit how the author wrote about Vietnam so well being from Britain and Canada. I hadn’t heard of her before this book, which a member of my book group picked to discuss. But apparently Camilla Gibb has a PhD in social anthropology from Oxford and seems well adept at traveling the world and writing about other cultures. This is her third novel. Her prior one “Sweetness in the Belly” is about a Muslim girl in Ethiopia. I hope to read that one sometime next year.
As for movies this week, I didn’t make it out to the theater, but we did rent the 2013 TV movie “Burton and Taylor,” about the last work collaboration between the two legendary actors and former married couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. In 1983, they starred in the Noel Coward play, “Private Lives,” together, which is what this movie is about. While making the production, Liz, played by Helena Bonham Carter, comes across as a bratty diva squandering her talents, while Burton, played by Dominic West, seems resigned and conflicted by her. Neither are in good health, or easy much to like. And their relationship is a bit all over the place — with their intense bond and history together eventually pulling them apart. It’s a bit sad really, but an interesting look into their lives. Who knew Burton would die the following year. Till then, apparently he and Liz spoke every few days although they were no longer together. What they shared was quite a connection.
Seeing “Burton and Taylor” made me a bit wistful for their happier “Cleopatra” days.
What about you — have you read Camilla Gibb’s books — or seen this movie? And if so, what did you think?
And to think I’ve been complaining because it was in the 30s here today. The Beauty of Humanity Movement sounds wonderful.
Ha Kathy, Aren’t you in South Carolina? 30s there sounds pretty cold. I’ve been really dressing for the extreme temps, so it’s working so far. Also staying indoors is a good option. 🙂
Funny – I just picked up a copy of this book at the thrift store yesterday! I read Sweetness in the Belly and really liked it. Nice to hear this one’s good, too!
I read another book about Vietnam a couple of weeks ago – set in 1908, which is a time in Vietnam I had never read about before. Mysterious Fragrance of the Yellow Mountains by Yasuko Thanh. It won the Writers Trust Prize this year.
Oh great Naomi. Thx for the other Vietnam book title. I will make a note of it. I do have a copy of Sweetness in the Belly which I plan to read in 2017. I hope you like The Beauty of Humanity Movement. I’m sure it’s a bit different than her other book.
The Beauty of Humanity Movement sounds very good. The characters and situations seem well crafted. It seems like if one writes about the times and places that this novel covers that it would at the very least, be bittersweet.
Yes you’re right Brian. A lot of loss and a lot of oppression in the novel set in Hanoi. & yet the characters & place seem to rebound, decades later. Thank goodness.
The book sounds really tempting, and I haven’t read anything that centered around Hanoi, either.
I have seen a few movies about Liz and Burton, but not this one. I think I’ll look it up.
Enjoy your week, and thanks for visiting my blog(s).
Hi Laurel, yeah you might like the Liz and Burton movie. I was surprised to see it on Apple TV’s new offerings. Hmm. But I’d never even heard of it before. I think it’s a BBC / UK production, if that helps. Thanks for visiting.
It’s a good thing that you are going to spend Christmas in California. This Thursday here it’s supposed to be 15 F during the day, and about 5 F at night; I just hope there’s no wind to complicate things further. (!)
I like the plot of The Beauty of Humanity Movement. Dissidents typically offer the alternative version of a regime, and the Communists were brutal towards them; thus, with that topic in mind, that is probably a novel I would like to read.
The Burton and Taylor movie sounds good too. I’ll have to look it up.
Hi Carmen, Sounds cold there too. Yikes. Stay by the fire place or heater! I have a trusty floor heater here that helps me survive the winter. You’re right about the Communist regime; this novel goes into some scary stuff about what happened to dissidents and farmers in the countryside. Horrific! I think I found The Burton & Taylor movie on Apple TV ; it’s a BBC / UK production. You might like it.
Your description of The Beauty of Humanity Movement sounds wonderful. I’m very interested in this one now. Thanks for review on this one – I will keep my eyes peeled for it.
Thanks Rebecca for stopping by. It was quite an interesting & different read for me. Culturally enticing.
That is just too cold! Last night I finished The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett. The main character lives in LA but spends much of the book in Nebraska in the winter. Cold, cold, snow, wind, cold. Here it has been balmy in the mid 60s! I liked the Patchett novel, but then I always like her novels, and it was a quick read. I am a reading machine lately for some reason but have not seen a movie I liked since Loving.
Guilty confession: I did not even know Hanoi was in what was called North Vietnam during the war. I never read the news in those days and you know what? I am about to adopt that news avoidance again! But I will try the novel you read.
Ha. Judy — California has spoiled you from your Michigan & Jersey winter days. I don’t blame you. My parents there think it’s cold anywhere near the 60s. You are a reading machine, which is good for us :-). I have not read that Patchett novel. I have read 3 of hers but not Bel Canto which I really need (want) to get to. Ha ha, it’s okay if you go on a News hiatus. This incoming administration is already making my blood boil. I have a complete block on cable news. I only can browse NPR, NYT, and the Post. Enjoy your week.
Ouch! It is way TOO early for temperatures like that. I’m glad to hear that they won’t last and that you are getting away from it all for the holidays. Enjoy!
Thanks Michelle. Yes I will be flying out of here for better temps. I hope you don’t get our weather there. Ugh.
I hadn’t heard about The Beauty of Humanity Movement, but it sounds like a wonderful book. Will keep an eye out for it in 2017. That Arctic blast is headed our way soon… Brrrr!
Hi JoAnn, yeah it’s not a fast read, but it’s a good one. Sorry about the Arctic blast. It’s dreadful. Aren’t you headed for Florida about now? I’ll stop by your site to hear the latest.
Yikes on the cold. It’s supposed to get cold here tomorrow (northern Pennsylvania), but 15 degrees above zero Fahrenheit for the high and low in the negatives somewhere. I have not seen the movie or read the books. However, I did enjoy Burton and Taylor in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? And I have read Virginia Woolf, with To The Lighthouse being one of my favorite classics.
Yeah Bryan : it’s seems the cold has hit a lot of places right now, argh! I think we’re going to try to rent Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf as I don’t remember it clearly. I heard it’s great. Thx for stopping by.
I loved your winter story, I imagine your Labrador playing with her ball… she is too cute, and full of life.
Yes, Susan I saw this film on television (it’s been a few months already) and I loved it, although I found it sad. This legendary couple has marked me by their acting performance in “Who is afraid of Virginia Woolf” a masterpiece. If you have not seen it, I advise you. Happy Holidays and See you soon Susan. 😉
Thanks RT, Happy Holidays to you as well. Glad you saw the Burton & Taylor movie. Yeah I thought it was sad too. I think I will try to rent Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf this week — as I don’t recall it well and I’ve heard it’s great. Thanks for the tip on that! I will let you know if I see it.
I really don’t think I could survive in cold like that. If it hits 30 here in the morning I am literally incapacitated and cannot get out of the car. It hasn’t hit that yet. The lowest so far was 35. We are supposed to get a lot of rain today. We’ll see if it actually happens.
That would be good if you get rain in Calif. I will cross my fingers. 35 degrees is pretty darn cold for there. I’m so excited to be flying to the OC next week! Merry Christmas.
This book sounds fascinating! I’ve read a number of Vietnam books and enjoyed them (including The Sympathizer), but as you mentioned they were all set in Saigon. Adding this one to my list!
Bonham Cater looks gorgeous on that cover, but think I will take a pass on this movie and hold onto the Burton/Taylor of Cleopatra and even Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Hi Catherine, Yes we just rented Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf which I had never seen. It’s quite a tour de force! Next up, Cleopatra.
Yeah the Beauty of Humanity opened up the world of Hanoi to me. I will read this author again. Enjoy your Christmas.