BI VO (1937)
Binh was originally a gentle country girl, but because of her gullibility, she got pregnant by a guy and was abandoned while pregnant. Unable to stand the harsh customs, after giving birth, Binh had to leave the village. Arriving in Hai Phong city, Binh continuously fell into other tragic and brutal scenes. Raped, cheated, become a criminal, then forced into prostitution. Escaping from the brothel, Binh married Nam Saigon, a homeless man who worked as a thug in Hai Phong and had countless criminal records. Binh loved Nam Saigon and wanted to lure him back to the path of honest business, but she miscalculated because she could not sway her husband. The two of them left each other during the days when life became difficult. Binh returned to Nam Dinh and got married to a new husband who worked as a secret police officer - guarding the cell. But then Binh left that life again... Binh left to comeback to be Nam Saigon's wife. At this stage, Binh took up the profession of stealing. In the end, Binh was arrested with Nam Saigon in a case of both robbery and murder. A boy was killed. Sadly, that was the child that Binh had to give away when he was still a newborn.
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Bi VO (1937) is the first novel by writer Nguyen Hong (1918-1982). This is one of the products with the most successful content of Vietnamese literature in the pre-war time. The work mentioned the fate of the suffering people, belonging to the bottom class of society and exposed many hidden corners and dark sides of Vietnamese social life at that time.
With the illustration bellow, I hopes to bring a personal view to the novel, and at the same time express my love for Vietnamese literature and history.
The people and landscapes of Vietnam have always been a rich source of inspiration for me.
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