Paradise of the Blind

Paradise of the Blind (1988) is a fictional novel written by Duong Thu Huong, a dissident Vietnamese writer and former Communist Party member who openly criticizes the disillusionment of communism through her writings. As a former Communist Youth Brigade leader, Duong was in a unique position to observe the political and social chaos of communist Vietnam. Paradise of the Blind is set against the backdrop of Land Reform, the official state-run attempt at land redistribution in Vietnam in the 1950’s. Land Reform was carried out with violence and corruption and was followed by a state-sponsored attempt to rectify the errors. Paradise of the Blind highlights the hypocrisy and corruption of these state-run movements. The novel was popular in Vietnam before it was banned, and Duong spent seven months in prison after expulsion from the Communist Party. 

Paradise of the Blind was the first Vietnamese novel published in English in the United States. This summary is based on the 2002 First Perennial edition. This edition includes a translator’s note with historical context, a note about the author, and a glossary of Vietnamese food and cultural terms for reference.

Plot Summary

Hang, a laborer from Vietnam, is working at a textile factory in Russia when her Uncle Chinh summons her to Moscow. Despite recently overcoming a series of fevers herself, Hang gives in to her feelings of family obligation and takes the long train ride to visit her uncle. She reflects on her childhood and the lives of her mother and aunt along the way, creating a narrative told in a series of flashbacks.

Long before Hang is born, her mother Que cares for her family home after the death of her parents. Que meets a handsome teacher named Ton, and they marry quickly despite traditional mourning periods for Que’s deceased parents. Que’s brother, Chinh, returns to the village shortly after Que’s marriage. While Que is proud of her brother’s rise in the Communist Party, Chinh divides the two families when he declares Ton’s family to be land-owning exploiters and enemies of the Communist Party. Ton flees the village after his family’s land is redistributed, leaving Que distraught and alone. Que eventually leaves the village, as does Chinh. Que returns years later after Land Reform has failed. The villagers are furious about Chinh’s role in enforcing Communist measures and turn their hatred towards Que in his absence. Ton’s sister, Tam, protects Que from the villagers, and Que ventures to Hanoi, where she eventually gives birth to Hang after briefly reuniting with Ton. Hang grows up in the slums of Hanoi not knowing anything about her father until she is nearly 10 years old.

Chinh finds Que in Hanoi and admonishes her for working as a street vendor before asking for money to support himself and his wife. Que and Hang travel to Que’s village to collect Chinh’s share of their mortgaged family home. Along the way, Que shares the story of Hang’s father Ton. At the village, Hang meets her Aunt Tam who holds a bitter grudge against Land Reform and Chinh. Aunt Tam appreciates that Hang looks like her side of the family, and she becomes Hang’s provider, promising her an inheritance and sending her home with jewelry. When Que and Hang arrive home in Hanoi, Chinh collects his money and disappears. Que’s business thrives. Just as Que’s confidence reaches its peak, she receives word that Chinh is ill and immediately reverts to her subservient sister role. Que and Hang find Chinh living with his wife and two sons in government housing. Que pities her two starving nephews and begins providing for them. 

Hang remembers the celebrations Aunt Tam hosted for her when she was admitted to university and the distance that grew between herself and her mother over the years. As Que devotes more attention to supporting Chinh, Hang accepts her place in her father’s side of the family with Aunt Tam. Hang cuts her university studies short when Que must have her leg amputated after a motor accident. Que begins selling goods from home. Hang goes to work in Russia to help make ends meet. It’s here in Russia that Hang encounters her Uncle Chinh again, who operates an illegal import-export business and needs Hang’s assistance with money and speaking Russia. When Hang returns from Moscow, she learns that Aunt Tam is dying, so she returns to her ancestral home in Vietnam. She prepares the funeral rites for her aunt but decides not to stay in the village, choosing instead to break the cycle of sacrifice and suffering of women in her family.