Book Excerpt! “Out of the Laughing Woods,” by Vo Thi Hao
“Long awaited in English, these stories are beautiful, nuanced translations from the Vietnamese side of the America-Vietnam War. One of the best collections I have read from postwar Vietnam, the stories illuminate the country’s darkest period with humor, shock, and touching insights. Other Moons is a remarkable achievement. Highly recommended.”
~Andrew X. Pham, author of Catfish and Mandala.
Earlier this week Quan Manh Ha introduced us to Vo Thi Hao’s “Out of the Laughing Woods.” Today, as part of our celebration of Women in Translation Month, we are providing you with the excerpt of this story as translated in Other Moons: Vietnamese Short Stories of the American War and Its Aftermath, which is translated and edited by Quan Manh Ha and Joseph Babcock. In this anthology, Vietnamese writers describe their experience of what they call the American War and its lasting legacy through the lens of their own vital artistic visions. The twenty short stories collected in Other Moons range from the intensely personal to narratives that deal with larger questions of remembrance, trauma, and healing. “Out of the Laughing Woods” tells the story of five fictional characters and the consequences they suffer from the war.