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.