THE IMMORTAL STONE RAMPARTS ON THE BORDERLAND IN VIETNAM: A UNIQUE STYLE OF HISTORICAL NARRATIVE IN NGUYEN BINH PHUONG'S NOVEL US AND THEM

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1067.2025-0001

Abstract

War literature in Vietnam is marked by a series of prominent names with their unique style. In Nguyen Binh Phuong’s work, the war is narrated in a completely different context and narrative style. The Border War in Mình và họ [Us and them] appears as a chaotic, intricate, and fading presence within post-war life. However, the novel reminds us of an unforgettable history, a past that we must know to understand who we are. This paper examines Nguyen Binh Phuong's novel Mình và họ from the perspective of historical narratology - one of the prominent approaches in postclassical narratology - to clarify two aspects: 1) The journey of seeking war memories through the examination of forgotten narrators, thereby exposing the brutal realities of the Border War and its lingering echoes in the chaotic contemporary life; 2) The structure of trauma in Mình và họ through the analysis of misunderstood violence. From here, the writing considers telling and showing the war realities, as reflected between individual and communicative consciousness, and national history to recognize the unique style of writer Nguyễn Bình Phương.