The Kim Van Kieu of Nguyen Du (1765-1820).
Canberra. Pandanus Books. 2004. Stock ID #78801 "Nguyen Du was a Vietnamese official displaced in a dynastic shift and sent into provincial exile in the service of his new overlord. The epic poem, Kim Vân Kieu, was his most notable work during this period. This saga of a rich, sophisticated and multifaceted culture - derivative in its special way from the classical traditions of China - launches a romantic girl of good family, Kieu, into an epic of dissolution, intrigues and refined cruelty. When referring to this item please quote stockid 78801.
Translated by Vladislav Zhukov. xii + 168pp, paperback.
As one picaresque episode follows another, it becomes clear that the saga of Kieu's wanderings and travails is also Nguyen Du's lament of the overthrow of the ruling house of his youth and the loss of his former state. While dedicated to its portrayal of bygone Sino-Vietnamese times, the incisive intellectual, moral and social commentary of the Kim Van Kieu still speaks to the reader across these cultural and historical distances." Publisher's description.
Price: $19.95 AU