So many times I have read scholars repeating what I now realize mostly came from Huỳnh Sanh Thông. Though his interpretation is sound and needn't be discounted, now I see there is a wider scope of readings possible. Though I will discuss this in the review of Aimee Phan's novel, Truyền Kiều is incontrovertibly a source text of Vietnamese diasporic writers from Le Ly Hayslip to Linh Dinh. I am working through Lan Duong's alternative interpretations and also looking forward to watching Trinh T Minh Ha's film inspired by the poem. Basically, Lan Duong argues that this poem doesn't only say that women must save the nation by bearing all of its pain and making all of the sacrifices. It is important that her family is happy for her to have a sexual relationship with her original fiancee despite her many lovers. This is tolerated because she went down that road to help her family. Also, she was guilty of loving too much but not lusting too much. The main reading of her request to maintain a platonic marriage with her fiancee is that it shows her virtue and further willingness to sacrifice. I could be wrong but I read her request to become chaste as a way of finding a kind of power in self reliance. What saves her throughout the story is her willingness to devote herself to a spiritual existence in order to escape intolerable situations. I think she clings to this in the end. After being used sexually by so many men, it is lovely that "of two lovers marriage made two friends" (line 3226).

The penultimate lines are also worth quoting: "Inside ourselves there lies the root of good: the heart outweighs all talents on this earth" (lines 3251-3252).

This edition of the book is absolutely gorgeous. I read the Vietnamese and let the sounds flow through me after reading the English. I only understood 1 line in 100 probably though recognized phrases in most lines. I will study a few little sections and try to memorize them. The notes were very helpful. Some of the sexual references are very humorous to my ear. A metaphor for a promiscuous woman is someone who gives peaches to one in the morning and plums to another at night.

A beautifully written epic poem that leaves a lasting impression through the captivating journey of its protagonist, Kieu, whose trials and unexpected conclusion are deeply satisfying, resonating well with the overarching themes of fate.

I read this with my dad, who was a high school Vietnamese Literature teacher with the ability to explain every single word of this masterpiece. From him I learned that Truyen Kieu is even greater a piece of classic literature than it’s taught in school - hell, schools only touched its surface. Reading and dissecting Truyen Kieu gave me new perspectives on the mother tongue that I dear. Vietnamese is a beautiful language indeed, but I tend to sigh when I think of the fact that it seems like nobody possesses a Vietnamese penmanship as skillful and thorough as Nguyen Du anymore. It saddens me to see words used in the wrong context, with the wrong connotation, and sometimes with the wrong spelling too, by so many people whose first language is Vietnamese. Call me a language freak alright, but I’d rather be one than letting this language be distorted to waste. Truyen Kieu really reminds me that I have to keep to my roots, no matter how far I am away from home.