Koko News | 芸術 | 5 days ago

Exploring Vietnam War Through Literature

Vietnamhasbeencalledthefirst“television”war.

越戰被稱為第一次「電視」戰爭。

Butithasalsoinspiredgenerationsofwriterswhohaveexploreditsorigins, itshorrors, itsaftermathandtheinnateflawsandmiscalculationsthatdrovetheworld’smostpowerfulcountry, the U.S., intoalong, gruesomeandhopelessconflict.

但它也激勵了一代又一代的作家，他們探索這場戰爭的起源、恐怖、後果，以及導致世界上最強大的國家美國陷入漫長、殘酷和絕望衝突的內在缺陷和誤判。

BritishauthorGrahamGreene’snovelhaslongheldthestatureoftragicprophecy.

英國作家葛拉漢‧格林的小說一直具有悲劇預言的地位。

AldenPyleisanaiveCIAagentwhosedreamsofforgingabetterpathforVietnam—a“ThirdForce”betweencommunismandcolonialismthatexistedonlyinbooks—leadstosenselessdestruction.

奧爾登·派爾是一名天真的中央情報局特工，他夢想為越南開闢一條更好的道路——一種只存在於書本中的共產主義和殖民主義之間的「第三種力量」——這導致了毫無意義的破壞。

TheVietnamWarwasthelastextendedconflictwagedwhilethe U.S. still hadamilitarydraft, andthelasttoinspireawiderangeofnotable, first-handfiction—nonemorecelebratedorpopularthanO’Brien’s1990collectionofinterconnectedstories.

越戰是美國仍實行徵兵制時發動的最後一場長期戰爭，也是最後一場激發大量著名第一手小說創作的戰爭——其中最著名、最受歡迎的莫過於奧布萊恩 1990 年出版的一系列相互關聯的故事。

KarlMarlantes, aRhodesscholaranddecoratedMarinecommander, fictionalizedhisexperiencesinhis600-pluspagenovelaboutarecentcollegegraduateandhisfellowmembersofBravoCompanyastheyseektoretakeabaseneartheborderwithLaos.

羅德學者、功勳卓著的海軍陸戰隊指揮官卡爾·馬蘭特斯 (Karl Marlantes) 在其 600 多頁的小說中虛構了自己的經歷，講述了一位剛畢業的大學生和他的 Bravo 連隊成員試圖奪回老撾邊境附近的一個基地的故事。

VietThanhNguyenwasjust4whenhisfamilyfledVietnamin 1975, eventuallysettlingin San Jose, California.

1975 年，阮越清 (Viet Thanh Nguyen) 隨家人逃離越南，最終定居加州聖荷西，當時他只有 4 歲。

NguyễnPhanQuếMaiwasborninNorthVietnamin 1973, twoyearsbeforethe U.S. departure, andwasrearedonstoriesofhernativecountry’shauntedandheroicpast.

阮潘貴梅 (Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai) 於 1973 年出生於北越，即美國撤軍前兩年，從小就聽著祖國悲慘而英勇的歷史故事長大。

AsayoungreporterinVietnam, DavidHalberstamhadbeenamongthefirstjournaliststoreportcandidlyonthemilitary’sfailuresandthegovernment’sdeceptions.

身為駐越南的年輕記者，大衛‧哈伯斯塔姆是第一批坦誠報道軍隊失敗和政府欺騙行為的記者之一。

FrancesFitzGerald’scelebratedbookwaspublishedthesameyearandstandswith'TheBestandtheBrightest'asanearlyandprescienttakeonthewar’slegacy.

法蘭西斯‧費茲傑拉的著名著作於同年出版，與《最優秀、最聰明的人》一樣，都是對戰爭遺產的早期和有先見之明的解讀。

MichaelHerr, whowouldeventuallyhelpwrite“ApocalypseNow,” wasaVietnamcorrespondentforEsquirewhobroughtanoff-hand, charged-uprock‘n’rollsensibilitytohishighlypraisedandinfluentialbook.

邁克爾·赫爾 (Michael Herr) 後來參與創作了《現代啟示錄》，他曾擔任《時尚先生》雜誌的越南通訊員，並在這部備受讚譽且影響深遠的著作中融入了一種隨意而充滿活力的搖滾情調。

Alandmark, “Bloods”wasamongthefirstbookstocentertheexperiencesofBlackveterans.

《血色》是一部具有里程碑意義的著作，也是第一批以黑人退伍軍人的經歷為中心的書籍之一。

Halberstam’ssourcesasareporterincludedLt. Col. JohnPaulVann, a U.S. adviser toSouthVietnamwhobecameadeterminedcriticofAmericanmilitaryleadershipandeventuallydiedinbattlein 1972.

哈爾伯斯塔姆作為記者的消息來源包括美國駐南越顧問約翰·保羅·范恩中校，他後來成為美國軍事領導層的堅定批評者，並最終於 1972 年在戰鬥中犧牲。

WinnerofthePulitzerin 1989, “ABrightShiningLie”wasadaptedintoanHBOmoviestarringBillPaxtonasVann.

《光輝的謊言》於 1989 年獲得普立茲獎，後來被改編為 HBO 電影，由比爾帕克斯頓飾演范恩。

Vietnam has been called the first “television” war.

But it has also inspired generations of writers who have explored its origins, its horrors, its aftermath and the innate flaws and miscalculations that drove the world’s most powerful country, the U.S., into a long, gruesome and hopeless conflict.

British author Graham Greene’s novel has long held the stature of tragic prophecy.

Alden Pyle is a naive CIA agent whose dreams of forging a better path for Vietnam — a “Third Force” between communism and colonialism that existed only in books — leads to senseless destruction.

The Vietnam War was the last extended conflict waged while the U.S. still had a military draft, and the last to inspire a wide range of notable, first-hand fiction — none more celebrated or popular than O’Brien’s 1990 collection of interconnected stories.

Karl Marlantes, a Rhodes scholar and decorated Marine commander, fictionalized his experiences in his 600-plus page novel about a recent college graduate and his fellow members of Bravo Company as they seek to retake a base near the border with Laos.

Viet Thanh Nguyen was just 4 when his family fled Vietnam in 1975, eventually settling in San Jose, California.

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai was born in North Vietnam in 1973, two years before the U.S. departure, and was reared on stories of her native country’s haunted and heroic past.

As a young reporter in Vietnam, David Halberstam had been among the first journalists to report candidly on the military’s failures and the government’s deceptions.

Frances FitzGerald’s celebrated book was published the same year and stands with 'The Best and the Brightest' as an early and prescient take on the war’s legacy.

Michael Herr, who would eventually help write “Apocalypse Now,” was a Vietnam correspondent for Esquire who brought an off-hand, charged-up rock ‘n’ roll sensibility to his highly praised and influential book.

A landmark, “Bloods” was among the first books to center the experiences of Black veterans.

Halberstam’s sources as a reporter included Lt. Col. John Paul Vann, a U.S. adviser to South Vietnam who became a determined critic of American military leadership and eventually died in battle in 1972.

Winner of the Pulitzer in 1989, “A Bright Shining Lie” was adapted into an HBO movie starring Bill Paxton as Vann.