I moved to Vietnam in 1994 just a few months after the U.S. lifted its trade embargo, which had been in place since the end of the Vietnam War in the ‘70s. I lived in Haiphong for three years, Hanoi for a year and a half, and Thai Nguyen for five years. I left Vietnam in December 2003. Though the first couple years were challenging for a young man from the Pennsylvania countryside, I slowly fell in love with Vietnam, the people, the food, the culture, and the history.
In the story you’re about to read, I talk about the protagonist’s teacher, who was a contemporary of Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh in 1945. In the story, I called the man Mr. Khoi. The fact is, Mr. Khoi was my Vietnamese teacher in 1998 as I was learning the language and culture in my second language. His father was in fact Ho Chi Minh’s contemporary, and his father did indeed sign the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1945. In a way, learning under Thay Khoi seemed like learning American history from Thomas Jefferson’s son. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.
I learned a lot from Thay (teacher) Khoi, and I even, with his help, translated the introduction to Keith Taylor’s lauded book about the origins of Vietnam entitled The Birth of Vietnam. That article was subsequently published in the Vietnamese journal Ngay Xua shortly thereafter. I used Mr. Khoi’s name in the book as a way to honor him as a teacher and thank him for everything I learned. He’s the one who taught me about the significance of the bronze drum and the long-tailed bird and the Hung Kings and the turtle of the lake and, of course, Ba Trieu—Lady Trieu. You’ll be meeting all of these and many more in the pages that follow. Some things, however, are my own invention. The marble tablets, for instance.
This fictitious story weaves a lot of Vietnamese history and culture into the plot. It is my hope that this novel will show my admiration for these resilient people. They have lived for millenniums scratching out their desire to be free and independent from outside forces which found them too wonderful to resist.
I want to thank Thay Khoi, Co Hien, Ong Tao, my former Vietnamese students, and the people of Vietnam, who treated me, an American outsider, like one of their own.
Tôi rất nhớ các bạn! Until we meet again, may this novel show you my true feelings.
Mark