Paradise of the Blind #1 ~ Preview of Doung Thu Huong's Novel

    "An intriguing and exquisite cover. Oh, and its light, the shape is comfortable, and the texture of the pages are soothing" were truly my initial thoughts about Doung's work. These positive commentaries hooked me to the book as I was getting prepared to read the story at the patio of my house, sipping my coffee with a cold breeze brushing my face. But of course, after I read the back page and the translator's introduction, I was really dragged into the story itself.
   As a person who enjoys different cultures, I was really glad to see that now, for the first time, I'd thoroughly read about Vietnamese traditions, emotions, and hard times. When I learned that the story took place during the war, I was even more interested in the story since I love post war affects on different societies because I believe that these hard times are what really builds the character of the society and defines the country. After the short introduction, I honestly read about ten to fifteen pages from the actual story before writing a 'preview' for the book.

   When Hann's flashback took her to when her mother told Hann the story of her father, it made me think about knowing my identity, or moreover, re-knowing my identity. Since the mother was at the house of her own ancestors in the story the setting seemed perfect. This also emphasised the importance of family in the Vietnamese culture. The selfless mother always abides by the rules, which are two other characteristics that lets me see more about this culture. Little hints like these made me more interested about the culture and I found myself reading in between lines and making marks in the book to make sure that I can get the full feel of the people.
   Huong's literary language also is intriguing. Sentences like "Life was all around her, but it was a life that belonged to others." previewed the society at that time, which made me more excited because like I said, any post-war society characteristics are astonishing for me. Another preview was that the book would hold love as a trending theme; "I saw passion in her gaze: the last, fiery glow of a love that was infinite, irretrievable, the kind that you live only once..."
  All in all, as you might tell, I am surely excited to read more about the story of Hann's family and the Vietnamese society. I believe that the character I chose will also be a well fit to identify the fighters and strong women of post-war conditions in strict societies. 

Said's Dreams

   Dreams are comprised of many details but there are six main points to them; delusions, reality, emotions, aspirations, manifestoes, and of course, a setting.  Even though our mind is virtually playing a game with us by manipulating our thoughts within a dream, the conflict in the story reflects our true self.

   Said's dream begin as he is whipped in a jail. He might be in jail once again because of recidivism, which shows how inspire he occasionally says that he will change, the truth is that he will not. The feeling of pain conveys how Said's choices brought him misery and pain. He believes that this should not be happening, inspite of his "good conduct". The strong commitment he has in his beliefs, that are non tangent with most of the rest of the people in this society, are portayed as he shamelessly screams. The milk that he drinks has a religious value because in Islam, milk is seen as a purifier. He believes that since he is whipped and is drinking milk, he is paying for his mistakes and is being cleansed out of his past misconduct.
   Sana, his daughter, whips Rauf. This action portrays how badly Said wants to have his daughter to be on his side and have justice in his name. When Said gets involved in a car chase, with a slow and broken engine, Said is actually describing his life route. He tries to go against the rules without the correct resources and 'broken' moral standards. His obligation to shoot everywhere conveys his incapability of controlling his actions, and this is understandable since he isn't on a right route. As Rauf tries to kill Said, he is not afraid of death. Meanwhile, he tries to blame Nabawiyya for the whipping that Sana conducts for two reasons: to protect and bond with Sana and to blemish Nabawiyya's and henceforth Ilish Sidra's identities. But through this corse of action, the dream takes a turn and Said finds that his own identity is investigated. 

   Even though in the Sufi Islam traditions, nor an identity card or your past actions are required for you to be accepted within the society. But in the dream, Said's soul searching leads him in this religious seek for true personality.  He identifies himself as a sinner and proclaims that all of the missing bullets represent a murder; although he has not killed anyone except a mistakenly murdered man, his aspirations to kill Nabawiyya, Rauf and Ilish are represented in the empty slots of the revolver.
   The "new exegesis of the Holy Koran", which benefits the purchasing power of men is a reference to Egypt's government in the 1950's. The whole book actually foreshadows the Egyptian revolution of 1952. "Egypt has passed through a critical period in her recent history characterized by bribery, mischief, and the absence of governmental stability." These are Anwar Sadat's words as the new government is declared. How Rauf merged religion, money and government in Said's dream actually portrays the corrupt Egyptian government before the revolution. Said is ready to be the treasurer because in his eyes, money is the only power. Later he is woken up at the moment when he thinks he gains all power. 

From Now On

After a long term of perseverance to use Tumblr, I have given up on it. Although I will still post my personal thoughts and sporadic poetry, my 'assignments' will be shared via this blog. Enjoy...

My other blog is: thought-library.tumblr.com