Set in contemporary Vietnam with flashbacks to 1960’s/70’s communism, Old Man Hung is said to make the best pho (a beef noodle soup)in the city of Hanoi. However, you have to find him first! He has to move his cart to different places around the city to keep the police off his tail. He use to have a space that he rented by between the rent increases and the bribes he had to give the cops, he couldn’t afford it anymore. He has loyal customers and word spreads like wildfire to the exact location of his cart from day to day.
Old Man Hung is like a father to Binh, who lost his father Dao to a communist work camp. Old Man Hung is like a grandfather to Bihn’s son, Tu. Tu is a tour guide.
One day Maggie a Vietnamese woman who grew up in America, shows up at the Pho cart. She asks Old Man Hung to try to remember everything he can about her father, Ly Van Hai, to help her locate him. He was an artist during the Ho Chi Minh regime. Maggie also works for an art museum in Hanoi and hires Tu to take her around on business.
Art, family, relationships, Pho, and communist regimes are all included in The Beauty of Humanity Movement. It is a beautifully written story with well developed and memorable characters.
I especially love Old Man Hung. He is a witty, kind, and intelligent man with great knowledge of human nature. He is who Bihn and his son, Tu turn to and watch out for. The Beauty of Humanity Movement is a delight and I didn’t want it to end. This book is a must read for those who love literary fiction with a splash of foreign history.
5/5
Thanks to Doubleday Canada for this book.
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