Paradise of the Blind Review

Using powerful imagery and an interesting way of storytelling, Paradise of the Blind describes the Vietnamese people's idealistic hope of Communism and how that hope was betrayed. The novel is well-written in many ways, simultaneously questioning the faults of life in modern-day Vietnam in a stubborn manner and telling a tragic tale of family conflict. The descriptions of everyday life are plentiful and illustrative in ways that help move the story along. Author Duong Thu Huong has framed the story well by presenting much of it as flashbacks within flashbacks, enabling her to movingly expose the intricate weaving of events entwined with Vietnam's troubled history as all of this affects the present. While the book discusses the political aspects of Vietnamese life, it is not merely composed of observations on communism; Huong comments much more on family loyalty and the collision between traditional customs and the fast-evolving modern world.
Much of Huong's novel could be placed in any other setting and still be able to present the same message. While the book gives insight into Vietnamese culture, the style of the book, and the portrayal of the narrator's mother and sister are all identifiable with basic human nature. The damage brought about by the land reform, which results in the death of Hang's father Ton, is that Hang grows up with deep feelings of solitude, and two families are permanently divided. Hang looks back on her childhood, having been made fun of by her neighbors for being the fatherless child, and feels humiliation and injustice. Growing up without a proper family, she lacks a sense of self-worth, comparing herself to "an anonymous weed [that] grows between the cracks of a wall." She feels constantly oppressed without reason, a sentiment that stays with her as she matures. Referring to her "dark circles of misery" under her eyes when she looks in the mirror, Hang makes the connection between her own experiences growing up and the same feelings in