Original title: Búp Sen Xanh by Sơn Tùng

“Onward the citadel, oh fellow countrymen! Better to die under bullets than live the lives of animals! Onward oh fellow countrymen!”

It is April 1908 in Huế, Vietnam. Moments earlier, groups of unarmed, tattered civilians approached the French superior residence. They have been shouting, “Stop forced labor, reduce taxes, eliminate corveé!” But to their horror, the soldiers surrounding the residence have opened fire on them, brutally crushing the protest and spurning the petition of an oppressed people. What no one knows then is that amidst it all is a young man who will eventually change the fate of his country: Nguyễn Tất Thành, or later known as Hồ Chí Minh.

Book Review #10: The Green Lotus Bud by Sơn Tùng

A Synopsis:

This historical novel primarily follows the first twenty years of Nguyễn Tất Thành’s life, from his childhood in northern central Vietnam to his adolescence at the National College in Huế, and finally to his departure for the West on the Amiral Latouche-Tréville on June 5, 1911, at the age  twenty-one. But this story is also a paean to the Vietnamese people more broadly, as well as the country’s changing culture and society under the rule of France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Personal opinion:

First off, I have to admit I went in with rather low expectations that it would be overly moralistic, for it is a children’s book after all. Well… in some sense, it is, but every other aspect is on the positive side, ultimately making it a worthwhile read.

I have to start by mentioning the very subject of the book itself. Thành is a paragon of virtue, growing with the advice and help from others and returning the favor by assisting those in need. His aspiration for national salvation and liberation from the French rose above any personal gains, culminating in his departure for the West in quest of the knowledge and experience needed for this task. Reading about him is similar to reading about Alexander Hamilton. These supremely intelligent and patriotic people always make me wonder (uncomfortably, itchily, fidgetily, yet no less hopefully) what I have done, and can do, for my country.  

The thing I truly adore though is the culture and history of late 19th, early 20th centuries Vietnam perfectly captured by the book. Even as a Vietnamese, I learnt an abundance of new things about old rituals, Royal Court rites, folklores, and beliefs common among contemporaries. There are also literature references to works in the canon of Vietnamese literature, such as the epic poems The Tale of Kieu and Luc Van Tien, as well as Confucian moral aphorisms, to name but a few.

As the story unfolds, readers also get a glimpse into the history of Vietnam under the dominance of France. From kings exiled, to patriots crushed, to mandarins colluding with the French authorities, the book sheds light on the sufferings, the deadlock, but also the perseverance of Vietnamese people during one of the nation’s darkest periods.

Humane, cultural, and historical elements all converged in a bittersweet but elevating ending of the patriotic departure that truly makes this book a worthwhile read. For anyone interested in Hồ Chí Minh or Vietnamese culture, it would be a surprise if this book hasn’t been in your TBR already 🙂