Vietnamese literature lovers have got close access to works by many Polish writers. Another book by writer Olga Tokarczuk has just been published in the country, adding another choice to some 110 titles by Polish authors published in Viet Nam.
Cover of the book by Olga Tokarczuk that has just been published in Vietnamese. Photo nxbphunu.com.vn |
Titled “Bieguni – nhung nguoi khong ngung chuyen dong” (Flights), the book by Nobel prize awarded author Olga Tokarczuk published by the Viet Nam Women Publishing House, is a collection of some 1,000 stories linking to one another on the same topic: travelling and moving around.
Judged as a “brightly shining book with witty and luring details”, the stories are quick notes by the author during her trips around the world by various means of transport. She mentioned in her book all details on the trips including transport, people and places.
The book is not a pure description or travel diary, crossing borders of space and time, the book reflects the immense universe.
It brings readers to a rare journey through different places in various periods of time from ancient palaces of a king in a small Muslim country, passing exhibition halls of antiques of the 17th century, to modern airports.
Behind all of these, writer Tokarczuk gazed at “things called tourism, moving and changing places”. “What do those mean? What do they bring us?”. From the moving process, Tokarczuk figured out her concept of the world and understood herself.
Addressing the book launching ceremony held on December 4 in Ha Noi, Polish ambassador Wojciech Gerwel said Olga Tokarczuk was the 5th writer from Poland receiving Nobel prize in literature.
“Though Poland is a poor country, she has a national culture as strong as any other country. Maybe that’s the reason why Poland hosts so many writers winning Nobel prizes,” he said. “Poland has diverse literature and many works worth admiring. Polish people love literature and there are many bookshops in the country. Poland has experienced a long war. That’s why Polish people including writers have always tried to find their own ways to express themselves.
According to the ambassador, around 110 works by Polish writers have been translated into Vietnamese by famed translators including Le Ba Thu, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thu, and Nguyen Chi Thuat.
“Bieguni, nhung nguoi khong ngung chuyen dong” (Flights) was translated by Nguyen Van Thai, who was awarded a prize in translation by the Viet Nam Writers Association in 2013 with the book titled “Nong dan” (The Peasants) by Wladyslaw Reymont.
Olga Tokarczuk, who was born in 1962, is a writer, a critic, a poet, a writer for theatrical and cinema scenarios and an environmental activist.
