Photo: DUY KHOI
“Now my mother no longer has the strength to do anything, no longer remembers anyone. She is happy or sad on a whim. It has been a long time since I heard her scold me, but just having her loving eyes looking at me every day is already a blessing.” Those are the concluding sentences of the essay “Memory Land” and also the last line of this book. After reading, I was very moved and sympathized with Kim Thanh. I have known her for a long time, know that she is a filial daughter who wholeheartedly takes care of her mother when she is old and weak, and I believe these are her very true lines, from her love. She always says that she is very lucky to still have her mother to love.
Not only “Memory Land”, 16 short stories and essays in “Season of Long Tong Fish” are like the voice of her heart and life experience through the years. What remains in “Season of Long Tong Fish” is the season of memories. An old mother in the countryside waits for her child to come home to treat her with dried long tong fish, wrapping long tong fish cakes in rice paper dipped in soft rice. Or reading “Mother grows vegetables on Tet holiday”, why do I feel sorry for her mother like I feel for so many mothers in this world, diligent, skillfully preparing the most delicious things for her husband, children and grandchildren. The Tet meal is the accumulation of all the love of the mother all year round, from the pot of braised meat with duck eggs, the basket of newly picked vegetables to the newly ripened fruit. Then, many Tet seasons passed, and my mother no longer planted vegetables for Tet. My sister took her place and felt sad and heartbroken for natural reasons: "Tet came but my heart was sad and full of anxiety, tears mixed with the drops of water used to water the vegetables around the house. My mother has aged over the years."
Writer Le Xuan commented on this book that each short story and essay is a slice, a close-up clip of life and scenery of a land full of sunshine and wind when the tide is high and low. Indeed, readers will encounter a Mr. Muoi Seo, Ms. Ut, Mrs. Hai Quan... full of symbolic personalities, with a meticulous way of portraying characters. In the stories "Huong co mat", "La tau mat", "Luc binh troi"... author Nguyen Kim Thanh always maintains a soulful narrative voice, the way of creating knots and climaxes for the story is also very natural and attractive. In short, each short story and essay is still a message about the meaning of life. "I feel like Nguyen Kim Thanh transforms into a character, into the flow of memories with many happy and sad memories that her heart urges. The past, present and future seem to urge her to write as if to repay her debt to life", writer Le Xuan emphasized.
For readers, more than 130 pages of the book are feelings, listening to each word, to love each other more.
| Writer Nguyen Kim Thanh is currently the Permanent Vice President of the Can Tho City Writers Association. Her published works include: “A Couple of Friends” (2009), “Moon Season Songs” (2021), “The Mist and Wind of Yesterday” (2023) and “The Season of Long Tong Fish” (2025). |
DANG HUYNH
Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/nhung-noi-niem-voi-mua-ca-long-tong--a192254.html
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