Land reform in Vietnamese literature

Authors

Montira Rato

Publication Date

2004-01-01

Abstract

Even now, Vietnamese historians are reluctant to criticize the land reform campaign of the mid 1950s. However, four novels published between 1988 and 1992 seem determined to locate this traumatic event in the collective social memory. All four are partly based on personal experience, but have different perspectives. One from the viewpoint of a cadre records the damage to the social fabric but blames it on the stupidity of the peasants, and sees all those involved as pawns of history. The second, written from the viewpoint of a landlord, uses irony to examine the lack of justice and morality in the campaign, and the resulting mental effects on those involved. The third takes the viewpoint of a woman, and shows how women are always the sacrificial victims, while men are unreliable and have means of escape. The fourth is told from the viewpoint of a landless farmer. He becomes a cadre and victimizes an enemy landlord, but then later suffers retribution. This work, by a younger writer than the other three, refuses to accept the official version of the past.

DOI

10.58837/CHULA.ARV.17.1.1

First Page

1

Last Page

24

Recommended Citation

Rato, Montira (2004) "Land reform in Vietnamese literature," Asian Review: Vol. 17: No. 1, Article 2.
DOI: 10.58837/CHULA.ARV.17.1.1
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/arv/vol17/iss1/2