Writer Di Li: A strange flower in the garden of Vietnamese literature

Some of her works have haunted me for many years, and 14 years later I had to reread them to immerse myself in the creepy, enchanting atmosphere that Di Li created, especially the short story The Painting and the Ancient House. It is a fact that beautiful women are often haughty, and beautiful and talented women are even more haughty. Di Li is an intelligent, talented, individualistic and of course beautiful woman. So, applying the above reality, perhaps Di Li is very haughty and cold. At that time, looking at her from afar, I had that thought.

Later, I met Di Li at some events, but I still only saw her from afar, not taking the initiative to get to know her. A few years ago, I opened a bookstore, when selling her books, I contacted Di Li to ask for the female writer's autograph for readers. From then on, we had more opportunities to talk. Meeting Di Li on an autumn afternoon, listening to her stories, I realized that life is sometimes not what it seems. In a crowd, if it wasn't for work, Di Li would be silent, so she was often considered by relatives, colleagues, and people she met for the first time to be "silent", cold, and "snobbish"... However, she explained that since she was a child, she was an introvert, when she went to work, she had to teach, translate, do PR, MC... and hundreds of other things to talk about, so sometimes she was afraid to talk, wanted to rest. Resting was just stopping to talk, but in her head, ideas were always like electric currents running back and forth. Different from her haughty, taciturn, and cold appearance in crowds, facing me is a beautiful, sincere, approachable, enthusiastic, innocent, and sublime woman. She is always full of positive energy, love of life, affection, and a desire to communicate with life.

Writer Di Li.

With two bachelor's degrees in English and German, and being dynamic and resourceful, Di Li has done jobs that can earn a lot of money, a lot of money, but she is still deeply attached to literature like a devout believer. Di Li's literary talent and charm were probably inherited from her multi-talented father, Mr. Nguyen Duy Ngoc (author of the novel Train Whistle in the Night - 2020), who works in many fields of art - literature, from music, photography, journalism to literature. And then, that artistic gene was passed on by Di Li to her daughter An Khanh. Recently, her second-year daughter at the Diplomatic Academy surprised readers when she published her translated work The Storm (a detective novel by Oystein Torsrud). Given the opportunity, many readers who love the female writer were very interested in collecting all the works of all three generations in Di Li's family.

Nearly 20 years ago, the name Di Li suddenly appeared in the literary world "like a horror" because of the detective and horror short stories published in succession on literary forums, making writers and readers curious, surprised and excited. People were curious because the name was strange and Western. According to my memory, perhaps Di Li was the first "foreign" pen name of the 7X, 8X, 9X generation of authors, and later the use of pen names with a blend of East and West flourished with the names: Ha Kin, Thuy Anna, Keng, Hamlet Truong, Iris Cao... In fact, the pen name Di Li is completely "domestic".

The thing is, when she first stepped into the literary world, the young girl from Hanoi used her birth name, Nguyen Dieu Linh, as her pen name. One day, when she came to the editorial office where poet Be Kien Quoc worked, collaborator Nguyen Dieu Linh was suggested by the poet Be to change her pen name to Di Li. At that time, Dieu Linh honestly did not like the new pen name because the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of Di Li expressed instability, but out of respect for the poet, she kept her pen name like that. Then the more she wrote, the more unique and sublime she became, reaping many successes with her new pen name. Later, poet Be Kien Quoc passed away, Di Li believed that he always watched over and blessed her with the pen name he gave her.

Cover of the novel "Red Flower Farm".

Until now, not many people remember the young writer Nguyen Dieu Linh of the past, but only know Di Li - a female writer who possesses all the elements of a star, best-selling writer... And at that time, people were surprised and delighted by the fact that the Vietnamese detective and horror literature, which had been interrupted since the time when The Lu and Ho Dzenh put down their pens, had someone to continue the flow. After the short story award of the Army Literature Magazine 2004 - 2005, Di Li wrote as if she were possessed. There were times when her frequency of appearances in newspapers and magazines was as dense as flowers blooming in the spring. Fans of female writers counted interviews with authors, reviews of works, and news about Di Li's activities as having reached over 500 articles. The number of her books has reached 30. Every time Di Li publishes a book, it is a jubilant occasion attracting the media and readers. Di Li's most successful works to date are probably the two detective novels Red Flower Farm and Club No. 7. Both have been copyrighted to be made into films. Director Victor Vu adapted Red Flower Farm, made a TV series of the same name, a million-dollar film, once very "hot" on K+ Television and in November 2022 continued to be broadcast on Netflix in 177 countries around the world...

Di Li writes in many genres and topics and in every field she is successful and leaves her mark. The more I read Di Li, the more impressed I am by an intelligent, talented and wise writer. Di Li has truly established a special style, a unique path that many people still think only men are sensitive, strong and passionate enough to pursue. From the day Di Li with her rosy lips and blue eyes stepped lightly into the literary world until now, among female writers born after 1975, she is truly a pioneer in the detective and horror genres.

Can anyone believe that the leading female writer of detective and horror stories in Vietnam is afraid of... ghosts? Di Li has given birth to many chilling, paranormal stories, many evil, cunning, and monstrous characters, countless creepy, bewitching ghosts, and countless people have been "terrified" by reading her stories. However, Di Li shared that since she was a child, she has been very afraid of ghosts. Until now, the fear of that invisible thing still haunts her, to the point that when the movie Trai Hoa Do was released, she did not dare to watch the movie alone. Recently, Di Li sent a "heartfelt letter" via Facebook, wanting to invite 6 viewers to the movie theater at her home to watch the movie with her so she would be less afraid. The benefits of these 6 viewers are extremely attractive:

- Be served a grand Poke meal… almost like a movie, cooked by the host himself.

- Free tea service during the movie.

- Receive a signed book from the homeowner.

- Sit in a space similar to a mini theater.

- Feel free to question the author about whether this detail is true or not, why did the character die so many times (Even though it's been so long, the author hasn't read the book in 14 years so he's forgotten a lot)" (Quoted from Di Li's Facebook).

Di Li is a person with a special eye for talent, so she is very sociable in all fields, especially in the literary world. She said that her apartment is really like a club, always open to welcome kind friends that she loves. Di Li has written many literary portraits expressing her appreciation for the previous generation and contemporary writers. The articles are collected in a book called "Literary Village Stories" which brings readers many interesting things from her observation, subtle sympathy and character building talent. Being good at foreign languages, traveling and participating in many activities outside of Vietnam, Di Li has many relationships with friends around the world. Through this channel, Di Li has made great contributions to the exchange activities, promoting Vietnamese culture and literature with other countries.

There are many interesting things about the female writer Di Li, which would probably take several books to tell. But to say a short sentence about Di Li, that sentence would be: Di Li - a strange flower in the garden of Vietnamese literature.