Seeds of Sorrow A Novel in English by Hồng Khắc Kim Mai - 1997 Outline and Synopsis"My new house was located on Nguyễn Văn Trổi street..."
So begins the story of the heroine's trials and experiences under the changing of the guards in Communist Viet Nam in 1975, starting as she and her family moved from Cần Thơ to Saigon. The detailed description of her new house, which she chose , reveals the essential nature of the heroine as an artist and an intellectual, as well as showing the reader the economic and educational background of her family. Her relationship with her next door neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. Đổ Văn Tần, laid the groundwork for eventually witnessing their persecution and eviction from their property. Through the conduct and policies of the high rank Viet Cong officier - Nguyễn Văn An ***- who moved in later in the Tans' house (126 B Nguyễn Văn Trổi) , the heroine began to learn more about other Communist officials, discovering to her dismay that the leaders of the new regime were not as idealistic and noble as they had propangadized.
Buying the house at 126 C Nguyễn Văn Trổi was also a manner of choosing for an intellectual who was determined to remain to rebuild her war-torn country in the subdequent days of peace. Unfortunately, her growing realization about the faults and evils of the new regime through many day-to-day conflicts and repression only brought profound disillusionment and discontentment. These eventually pushed her and her family toward the road to escape from VietNam. A young woman with four small children - one, two, six and eight years of age- courageously departed to look for freedom on a tiny river boat across the ocean....
.... and found it on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, in America. Life in the U.S. brought freedom, but also many struggles for an immigrant who had to learn to survive and climb up from the bottom rungs of society. The obstacles of a new culture, in addition to material deprivation, still did not break the spirit of this pioneer. The poet in the heroine had to be put aside temporarily to give way to someone with enough strong will and energy necessary to bounce and roll with the turbulent challenges of her new life.
When her children, the next generation, had sufficient strength to be independent and successful in this adoptive homeland, the heroine returned to her primary nature as a poet. From then on, verses of poetry flowed from her continuously as a gift of sweetness and gratitude to life. Her new mission was to bring together the two parts of her soul and culture, to celebrate and embellish them as only a poet can.
Part I , VietNam (1975-1977)A. Adjustment to life in Saigon in the days following the VietCong victory over the South: in the hardships and injustices of every day life, and the realities of Communist corruption, grew the seeds of discontentment; the sufferings and heartache of a wife with a husband in "re-education" camp.
B. The failure of the first escape attempt: the terrifying hunt and capture, degradating imprisonment, and the isolation of the dispossessed after the release.
Part II Escape (1977) A . The successful escape: fleeing desperately across the Pacific Ocean on a tiny river boat with 75 other people; through the fear and adversity, the open sea still retained its romance; the glimpse of hope while confronting death.
B . Arriving in the land of hope: life in the refugee camp of Malaysia.
Part III New Americans (1978- 1997) A . The first months, with empty hands: the struggle to stand up and survive at the lowest level of American society; cultural conflicts; the will to transcend all obstacles; the hopes and dreams, with the disappointments.
B . The road back to herself.
C .Poems and Music: in praise of the magical human spirit/love
*****Chú thích :Trong thời gian HKKM và các con bị bắt giam, Nguyễn Văn An (lúc bấy giờ là Thủ Trưởng kiêm Giám Đốc Thông Tin và Truyền Hình, thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) là người đã sang nhà HKKM hôi của, và phường khóm phường 5 Quận 3 đã thu hồi lại được một số tang vật, trong đó có chiếc xe hơi Renault.
Chính vì điều này mà HKKM thóat tội tử hình khi bị ra tòa án nhân dân (1976) Một cán bộ cao cấp lại là một tên ăn cắp thì làm sao người dân không bỏ đi???
. Vì chức vụ của Nguyễn Văn An lúc ấy quá lớn, nên cán bộ phường khóm đành bỏ lơ, không dám truy tố .
Cách đây không lâu nhân vật Nguyễn Văn An này đã có thời trở thành Chủ Tịch Quốc Hội, và hiện nay (theo báo chí ghi nhận) anh ta đang làm chủ một chiếc xe hơi đắt giá nhất ở Việt Nam
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Tình yêu (mê) xe hơi của Nguyễn Văn An đã biểu lộ rõ ràng từ những ngày y chân ướt chân ráo từ Hà Nội đến Saigon nhận nhiệm sở năm 1976 , lúc y hãy còn quá hàn vi, chỉ có cái cặp giấy và vài ba bộ áo quần . Ai bảo rằng bọn Cộng Sản là người lý tưởng vì dân vì nước???..