Young debt – a special novel about Uncle Ho’s childhood

This morning (May 16) in Hanoi took place a press conference to launch the novel “Young debt” by writer, screenwriter, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen The Ky – Chairman of the Theory and Criticism Council Central Literature and Art. This is the first novel in a 3-volume art epic titled “Non Thousand Miles Country” towards the 132nd anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s birth.

This novel was also adapted into a stage script by screenwriter Nguyen The Ky and staged by People’s Artist Trieu Trung Kien into the play “Small water debt”. The play is a unique combination of the arts of Cai Luong, Vi Giam Nghe Tinh, Hue folk songs, Bai Choi and Southern folk songs.

Novel “Young debt” is 220 pages thick, including 4 chapters: Temple Village; Chua village returned, Sen village Vinh Quy; Return to the citadel; For the long trip. The entire content of these two works not only depicts socio-historical memories, but also delves into the interpretation of cultural, ideological and social factors that have forged and forged Nguyen Sinh Cung – Nguyen. Tat Thanh – Van Ba ​​let him have a historical trip of thousands of miles from his hometown of Nghe An to the capital Hue, through Binh Dinh, Phan Thiet to Saigon harbor, for a trip across the sea to save the country on June 5, 1911.

In the novel, along with the main character line, writer Nguyen The Ky also included in his work characters such as: grandmother, family member, Út Hue, Phuc, Út Tam… magistrate Phan Boi Chau , painter – teacher Le Van Mien…

Writer Nguyen The Ky confided that when he started writing the novel and theatrical screenplay “Young water debt”, he faced many challenges. First of all, there have been many works written about Uncle Ho since ancient times, and these works have remained in the memory of many generations. Therefore, it must be written how to make the work new but still strong enough to shake the reader’s heart.

In addition, in the novel about Uncle Ho’s childhood, how to clarify the role of the maternal homeland in the formation of the personality of the boy Nguyen Tat Thanh. Because before that, Uncle Ho was born and lived with his parents in Tru village (Hoang Tru) in his mother’s hometown. Only when Uncle Nguyen Sinh Sac’s father, Nguyen Sinh Sac, passed the deputy rank, did he return to Sen (Kim Lien) village, his hometown, to pay tribute to his ancestors.

“Immortal debt” is the love of writer Nguyen The Ky towards dear Uncle Ho

Writer Nguyen The Ky also explained that: “The name “Young debt” comes from the lyrics that Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan – Uncle Ho’s mother used to sing lullabies to teach her children: “My son, remember this sentence/ Taking care of books and lamps for clothes / Making people hungry clean and fragrant / Public fame is a debt of young water to pay. In the old days, the elderly only wanted their children to be “clean and hungry” and considered public affairs to be ” In this novel and play, I spend many pages writing about Uncle Ho’s grandparents – who made great contributions to raising and taking care of Uncle Ho’s family. The Nghe people have a saying “grandchildren commit foreign crimes”, which is very standard in the case of Uncle Ho’s family.

Writer Nguyen Quang Thieu – Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association said that writing novels about historical figures and a person like President Ho Chi Minh is a big challenge. It is the great love of the Vietnamese people in general and of writer Nguyen The Ky in particular for the great man Ho Chi Minh that is the most difficult challenge.

Because the writer will feel fear when touching that sacredness. Because readers will “review” the character based on a lot of evidence, many reasons and many attitudes. And since this is a novel, the writer has to create a detailed life of the character that we hardly have the necessary material to rely on. But when he finished reading the book “Young Water Debt”, he got rid of that fear.

“Young debt” is an extremely thorough study of Ho Chi Minh’s life and thought. It is a deep understanding of the geography, history and culture of the land where President Ho Chi Minh was born and raised. It is choosing the most suitable writing style for the genre of fiction about historical figures. It is an independent but dialectical view of all that concerns a historical figure.

And the most special thing, the most important foundation for writer Nguyen The Ky to create the person Ho Chi Minh is his special and sacred love for him. With such love, he confidently created details in the life, words, thoughts, and actions of President Ho Chi Minh from the time he was a boy Cung until he became a patriotic young man. Nguyen Tat Thanh that he is not afraid of “making mistakes”, writer Nguyen Quang Thieu emphasized.