The Vietnamese Gulag is the autobiography of the Vietnamese pro-democracy activist Doan Van Toai. The book focuses specifically on his arrest and imprisonment by the Communist Vietnamese government, events which precipitated a change in his political belief from lukewarm communist to advocate of democracy.
 First edition | |
| Author | Doan Van Toai, as told to Michel Voirol |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Published | 1979 |
| Publisher | Paris : R. Laffont |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 341 p. |
| ISBN | 2-221-00385-3 |
| OCLC | 476545048 |
| Author | Doan Van Toai, David Chanoff |
|---|---|
| Original title | Le Goulag Vietnamien |
| Translator | Sylvie Romanowski and Françoise Simon-Miller. |
| Country | tr. from France |
| Language | tr. from French |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | tr. from 1979 |
Published in English | 1986 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 351 p. |
| ISBN | 0-671-60350-7 |
| OCLC | 12840146 |
Writing in The New York Times, Robert Shaplan said that the book "is reminiscent, at its best, of E. E. Cummings's Enormous Room and Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon."[1] Shaplan also notes that the book's "value derives from [the author] having been one of the first Vietnamese to write effectively of his experience, and to describe what he calls 'the method of the betrayal' of his revolutionary hopes and ideals."[1] John P Roche, who reviewed the book for the Los Angeles Times, called the narrative "moving" and "written with a striking lack of self-pity".[2]
The Vietnamese Gulag was originally written in French (Le Goulag Vietnamien) and published in 1979.[1][3] A German translation followed in 1980.[4] The English translation was published in 1986 and generally met with critical approval.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c Robert Shaplan (July 13, 1986). "Rethinking the Revolution". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ John P Roche (June 1, 1986). "The Vietnamese Gulag by Doan Van Toai and David Chanoff (Simon & Schuster: $18.95; 312 pp., illustrated)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
- ^ Le Goulag Vietnamien OCLC 476545048
- ^ Der Vietnamesische Gulag OCLC 14405683