Read Your Way Through Hà NộI

Summary

Disclaimer: This sample is based on an essay published in the New York Times. Whereas the source removed diacritical marks, this sample brought them back for English and Vietnamese readers. Hà Nội has always been a city of tales and legends. Its ancient name, Thăng Long, which means “the Rising Dragon,” comes from a tale about Emperor Lý Thái Tổ witnessing a golden dragon ascending when he moved the capital here in 1010. The city is now the heartland of Vietnamese literature — home to many of our finest writers, literary festivals and book fairs. Cradled by the silky Red River, Hà Nội is also a city of loss and survival: It was destroyed time and time again during the French Indochina War, then the Việt Nam War, when thousands of tons of bombs were dropped onto the city. But once in Hà Nội, you will feel the energy of a city that constantly renews itself. What should I read before I pack my bags? Việt Nam is too often seen through the prism of war, but it is a place with more than 4,000 years of history and culture. A fun book to dive into is “The Food of Việt Nam,” by Luke Nguyễn. The chapter about Hà Nội serves you delicious introductions to the city’s most treasured dishes, such as chả cá (traditional fish cakes), bún chả (noodles with grilled meat and fried spring rolls), bánh cuốn (steamed rice crepes) and phở (Vietnamese noodle soup). Hà Nội is a city of poets, and one of my favorites is Hồ Xuân Hương, whose daring and thought-provoking poems have been translated and published in “Spring Essence: The Poetry of Hồ Xuân Hương.” For a contemporary poetry collection, check out “The Women Carry River Water,” by Nguyễn Quang Thiệu. If you prefer to get to know Hà Nội via fiction, “Dumb Luck,” by Vũ Trọng Phụng — a sarcastic novel set in Hà Nội during the colonial period — is considered a classic of Vietnamese literature. “Understanding Việt Nam,” by Neil L. Jamieson, offers a deep examination of our country through poetry and fiction. “Hà Nội: Biography of a City,” ...