Cultural Integration A Mixed Blessing
By Steven Gia Kien
In the context of Vietnam’s integration path, exposure to foreign literature not only satiates a reader’s love for engaging, well-written stories, but may also prove useful to local writers, who have much to learn from their international peers
Stroll into any well-known bookstore in HCM City nowadays, and you are likely to come across a scene undreamt of a decade ago. Nestled along several shelves are rows of translated foreign works, fiction and non-fiction alike. Whatever you are, there is bound to be something that suits your reading preferences.
Trite as it seems, such a change is arguably ascribable to one controversial buzzword: integration.
When Vietnam ratified the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 2004, many were afraid the move would hamper efforts to introduce foreign works to Vietnamese readers. To some extent, their concerns were justified. The daunting prospect of protracted negotiations, as well as the hefty copyright fees imposed, may prove too much of a hassle for Vietnam’s publishers to handle. The number of translated foreign works would probably dwindle, or so some thought. Ultimately, it is book lovers who would bear the brunt of cultural integration.
Thankfully, that gloomy scenario, which once seemed so probable, has yet to materialize. In fact, the reverse appears to hold true. Spurred by the opportunities offered by Vietnam’s stronger ties with the world, companies such as First News or Nha Nam have been quick to clinch deals with renowned foreign publishers to introduce a vast array of international bestsellers to Vietnamese readers, sometimes just shortly after the original works are published. While many enterprises continue to struggle to realize the wonders of economic integration, the virtues of cultural globalization seem to have turned from rosy visions into reality, which undoubtedly delights many Saigonese.
Notably, the books published are diverse in both genre and country of origin. Whereas foreign literature used to be associated almost entirely with Russian and Chinese fiction, Vietnamese in general and Saigonese in particular can indulge in masterpieces by writers from a host of countries, ranging from Italy and Japan to Colombia and Portugal. When Jose Saramago, a Portuguese writer, received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998, he probably could not imagine that his works such as The Cave would one day be translated into Vietnamese and line the shelves of bookstores in Saigon. But that remote possibility has come true, with the translated version of The Cave sharing the same shelf space as that of such Russian works as How the Steel Was Tempered by the late writer Nikolai Ostrovsky. Many Vietnamese readers remain fascinated by martial arts novels by Jin Yong, a renowned Chinese writer, but some are also engrossed in postmodernist musings by the hugely influential Japanese writer Murakami Haruki. If diversity is the spice of life, then the literary offerings that Vietnamese readers currently enjoy surely make for a most flavorful experience.
Just as eclectic, of course, is the world of translated non-fiction. Understandably, business bestsellers such as those by George Soros abound, as do learning materials that promise to help readers acquire a thorough grasp of business English or the insane stock market. The reasons for their remarkable popularity are not hard to see. If anything, this serves as an interesting example of how cultural integration may very well foster economic integration.
There is, of course, more to life than just materialist considerations. Over the past few years, a significant number of foreign books on religion have been translated, perhaps in response to the urgent need for spiritual nourishment in this increasingly hectic society. As economic growth continues unabated, sporadically at the expense of traditional values, many have turned to religion as a shelter against the onslaught of modern life.
For a country where reading has frequently been lamented as a lost art amidst the rise of the Internet, this trend offers a cause for celebration. Even then, the need for prudence remains. One cannot help but realize, for instance, the stark contrast between the thriving market for translated fiction and the dismal state of local literature at present. The resounding success of Nguyen Ngoc Tu, a famous Vietnamese writer whose work has been translated into Korean, turns out to be an exception, rather than the norm. More often than not, Vietnamese writers seem to be trailing behind right on their home turf. In all honesty, they are not entirely to blame. With literary heavyweights arriving on their doorsteps and demanding readers showing increasingly less tolerance for mediocrity, local writers surely have a formidable hurdle to surmount.
Not all is lost, though. If anything, the influx of foreign books into Vietnam has shown that it is often possible to turn a dreary challenge into an enticing opportunity. Exposure to foreign literature not only satiates a reader’s love for engaging, well-written stories, but may also prove useful to local writers, who have much to learn from their international peers. Just as economic integration is able to enhance efficiency, so cultural integration may very well play a key role in livening up Vietnam’s literary scene. Translated versions of foreign works are not an untainted blessing, especially to local writers, but the lack of such versions may turn out far more detrimental and worrisome in the long run.