Literary Possibilities of Memory: The Voices of the Vietnamese Refugees in Kim Thúy’s Ru

Abstract

The Vietnam War defined the historical and cultural sense of an era and produced a fertile literary movement that brought together true testimonies and reflections on the conflict, written by authors from various countries. The more realistic approach of the early texts has now been creatively combined with innovative literary mechanisms. An outstanding example is Kim Thúy’s Ru, a novel in which the author uses self-fiction and a hybrid narrative style that mixes prose and poetry in her exploration of the complex phenomenon of exile and uprooting. This article offers an in-depth analysis of this book, which contains valuable insights into historical, literary, social, and psychological issues.