Vietnamese-American novelist wins first prize in Belgian Literature

Nguyen Hoai Huong - a female novelist born in 1976, of French origin of Vietnamese origin, was recently honored with the First Prize in Belgian Literature in 2013 for her novel "Soft Shade".

Illustration photo (source: Vietnam+)

This is the seventh time the Belgian Literature Prize has been awarded, and this year a young female writer of Vietnamese origin was honored.

The novel “Gentle Shade” was published by Viviane Hamy (France) on January 17, 2013.

With a sincere, poetic and humble writing style, “The Gentle Shade” depicts a period in Vietnam’s history, about the love of a young Annamese girl for a French soldier during the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954.

The work has truly captivated readers with the romantic yet tragic love story between Mai and Yann, as well as the truthful depiction of the indomitable will of the Vietnamese people in the resistance war against French colonialism for independence and freedom.

Among the 20 nominated literary works, "Soft Shade" by Nguyen Hoai Huong was highly appreciated by the Belgian Literature Award Council and won 7/11 votes of the Council.

According to Ms. Corinne Boulangier, President of the Belgian Literature Prize Jury, the novel “The Gentle Shade” is a “valuable work in both literary structure and emotion, and at the same time ‘arouses curiosity’ in readers.”

Nguyen Hoai Huong was born in 1976 in France. Her parents are both Vietnamese and came to France in the 1970s. Her mother tongue has always been close to this Vietnamese novelist.

She confided: "Since childhood, Huong has been passionate about literature and poetry. The image of Vietnam has always existed in Huong's soul. Huong chose the path of literature to realize her ambitions."

Although she has never been back to Vietnam, Hoai Huong understands the country as well as Vietnamese culture and history through her parents' stories when she was young and later through many books, newspapers and documents about Vietnam.

In a soft voice, Hoai Huong confided: "During my vacations in Brittany, France, I was amazed at the similarities between the beautiful scenery of these regions and the beautiful scenery I discovered through books and newspapers about Hanoi and the Red River in Vietnam."

In 2005, her first poetry collection "Parfums" was introduced to French readers as an important milestone that promoted Nguyen Hoai Huong's passion for literature.

In January 2009, the second collection of poems “Deserts” published by Harmattan Publishing House truly marked the talent of young doctor Nguyen Hoai Huong. At this time, she successfully defended her doctoral thesis on Modern Literature with the topic “Rain in the poetry of Paul Claude and in Chinese and Japanese poetry.”

The First Prize in Literature that Nguyen Hoai Huong received was well-deserved for the author's creative work and talent. This is also a milestone to encourage Hoai Huong in her literary career.

She shared: "For Huong, the literary award she received today is a great honor. Huong is very happy to meet readers in Brussels."

On March 8 and 9, Nguyen Hoai Huong was invited by the bookstores “La Soif de Lire” and “L'Usage du Monde” in Strasbourg province to introduce the work “Gentle Shade.”./.

According to (CPV) -LH