Lời Cuối của Cha

Her father has Alzheimer’s: though increasingly forgetful of what’s happening in the present, he remains able to remember the distant past with precision. He lives in Da Nang, the country’s fourth largest city and host to the US Army’s most important navy base during the Vietnam War. In reunified Vietnam the economic reforms of 1986 have seen the city transformed into a major trade and industrial centre. On the banks of the Han River communist veterans reminisce about times past and deceased friends: the period of socialist construction and the collapse of the Soviet Union are of greater relevance to them than developments in modern Vietnam, the latter something they are unable to understand. Discussions between Doan Hong and his friends create a calm, remarkably touching portrait of an individual who, despite the long years of war and transition, has remained true to his communist ideals. WMH