Books and Movies and a big "Oops"

Over my 2 month break, I found the time to indulge in some literature and film. Unfortunately not a whole lot of either, but enough to satiate me for the time being.


A billion years ago, back in Hanoi, I discovered a fantastic English-language bookshop called Bookworm. Offering new and used books, guidebooks, history and culture books, and even some movies, all under the ownership of a friendly young Vietnamese man, the shop is truly a gem. I spent hours there, despite the relatively small size of the shop. I quickly skipped over the western fictions, John Grisham and the like, and eventually settled into a corner of the store that housed books about Vietnam and novels by contemporary Vietnamese authors. It was such a jackpot, as I had already finished a couple of the books I brought with me. Finally I settled on a stack of books that included THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE, THE SORROW OF WAR, DUMB LUCK (a novel), and BEYOND ILLUSIONS, another novel. All of the books were photocopied, but the pricetag on each explained the breakdown of the cost and how much of the profit would go directly to the author or the cost of photocopying. As legit as it could be for not being legit at all. Having read THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE, which was enlightening to say the least, and DUMB LUCK, and fabulous and hilarious novel about 1950s Vietnam, I recently picked up BEYOND ILLUSIONS. I was drawn to this book because of its female author and the fact that, on the back cover, it explained how the book was banned in Vietnam. And there I was, buying it in Hanoi.

A book about corruption, expectations, love, lust, morals and independence, BEYOND ILLUSIONS quickly revealed not only why it is banned in Vietnam, but also the courageousness of its author, Duong Thu Huong. The female protagonist in the story, Linh, faces losing everything or, in her opinion, standing for nothing. Her nuanced character, human and flawed, leads a page-turning story with an ultimately unsuspected but satisfying ending. A remarkably written novel with an excellent translation to boot. And now my copy has Cambodia sand in its seams, which I just love.



I must thank Samuel for his unintended donation of two copies of LIFE OF PI to my library. Realizing at LAX airport that he left his copy in Nashville, he picked up another to read on the plane and while traveling here in Vietnam and Cambodia. Then, in Cambodia, he realized he left his new copy in Vietnam, and thus purchased a bootleg copy from a street vendor. Finally, meaning to leave one copy with me when he went back to America, he accidentally left both copies. At least I have one to trade at a book exchange now.

I've been hearing about this book for years and I was anxious to know what all the buzz was about. Sam seemed to have some trouble getting into it, and Katherine said the same was true for her when she tried to read the book. Not so for me. I picked it up one night before bed and read over half the book in that first sitting. I finished it the next night. In a literally fantastic tale, spirituality and survival become intertwined in a most bizarre of circumstances, hinted at by the image on the cover. I'm not a religious person, and the story didn't make me believe in God (as the tagline suggests), but the protagonist's earnest endeavor "just to love God", in all of "his" (urgh--there's one reason I'm not religious!) manifestations reminds us that maybe all this religious conflict in the world isn't inevitable. I can see this one becoming a modern and enduring classic.


One of my favorite movies in years, I've already watched my bootleg copy of VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA twice. I was predisposed to love it: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Barcelona, and Woody Allen (although I'm a little disgusted at him, having recently learned about his affair with and later marriage to his more-or-less adopted step-daughter of Mia Farrow, who he was involved with when the affair begain). Missing this movie was one thing I was super bummed about when I left the States for Vietnam. I was so looking forward to seeing and thought I'd have to wait until next summer. Not true, thanks to Vietnam's blatant lack of copyrights and intellectual property rights! For 12,000 dong, or 70 cents, a properly functioning copy of Allen's new flick was happily spinning around in my computer for my viewing pleasure. I mean, do I want my money going to his semi-incestuous ass? (In a day or two I'll be more capable of separating the man from his art. Just give me time.)

Title characters Vicky and Cristina are best friends who find themselves in Barcelona for the summer. The former is practical and rooted and engaged to be married, the latter is free-spirited and passionate and sexually explorative. The summer presents unexpected romantic situations for both women, who ultimately must (attempt to) decide what they're really looking for in life and in love. Coming from the brain of Woody Allen, the movie is of course quirky and subtly funny, but I nevertheless found much to identify with in both of the characters, especially Cristina, and the events of their summer. You know, minus the threesome with a Spanish painter and his homicidal/suicidal ex-wife.


At a coffee shop in Saigon, I was fortunate enough to see Sean Penn play Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. Much more "out" than the controversial but sexually repressed BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, MILK is probably avoided by those with homophobic inclinations. This, in my opinon, is a great tragedy, as this movie is, at its heart, about a fight for equality and civil rights. Cheers to Gus Van Sant for illuminating the story, continuing Harvey Milk's fight and making one of my favorite movies of the year.

I also caught, either in Saigon or on dvd, CHE, DOUBT, W, and DAN IN REAL LIFE. CHE--I only got to see the first half, unfortunately--blew my mind and increased my lust for Benicio del Toro. DOUBT was really good, W was disappointing (though not as mucha s the man himself), and DAN IN REAL LIFE was a light, refreshing romantic comedy. All worth seeing, but some more than others.

Also on the subject of film, next week is the first of what I hope will be many movie nights for students, starting with the third year English majors. I'm glad to have this project off the ground.

In totally unrelated news, I made a serious fuck up today. My class for this afternoon was moved to the morning, which I was told in passing on Monday morning while I was in the middle of chaotic meeting of which I unexpectedly found myself in charge. I jotted down the change in a notebook without thinking about it, and the news just went in one ear and out the other. I was all ready to go to class this afternoon until my co-teacher called and asked if I'd forgotten about class today. "No," I told her. "I'm still coming this afternoon." Even when she explained that she'd told me on Monday about the rescheduling, I still didn't remember. I was so busy when she told me on Monday that it didn't even register. The worst of it was that I was responsible for bringing the pre-test for the students. I'm mortified by my irresponsiblity and lack of professionalism, even though the teacher was perfectly friendly about it and even apologized for not reminding me. This is my most serious infraction since I've been working here, and although there will be no formal reprecussion, I feel terrible. It's absolutely unacceptable. Yikes. I'm definitely more motivated to be especially on-the-ball after this mess up.