Novel Without a Name

Novel Without a Name, first published in English in 1995, tells the story of a young North Vietnamese soldier named Quan whose physical and emotional journey draws heavily from Vietnamese author Duong Thu Huong’s own life. Novel Without a Name is her third book.

At the start of the novel, Quan is with his military unit, having buried six dead girls they found a couple of weeks prior. While hunting for food, one of Quan’s soldiers is accidentally killed by Luy, another soldier in his unit. While discussing the situation with Luong, a Party liaison agent–Luong is also Quan’s childhood friend–Quan learns that another childhood friend, Bien, has gone mad. Luong sends Quan to find Bien and take care of him.

On his way to Zone K to find Bien, Quan first takes shelter with a woman named Vieng, who attempts to force herself on Quan. Quan refuses and leaves her, becoming lost in the jungle. He nearly dies of starvation and fatigue but is rescued by a young girl and her grandfather. The pair nurse Quan back to health.

Upon arriving at Zone K, Quan has a lengthy conversation–and disagreement–about Marxism and Party ideology with an officer named Dao Tien. Dao Tien eventually takes Quan to see Bien, whom Quan realizes is not truly mad; rather, he has been driven to extreme behavior by his circumstances. Quan frees Bien, intending to take him back to their home village, but Bien refuses, fearing dishonor in the eyes of his family and friends.

Quan returns to his home village alone. He has several tense exchanges with his father, with whom he does not have a positive relationship. While visiting Luong’s family, Quan learns that his brother has died. Quan also visits Bien’s family and tells Bien’s father the truth about what has happened to Bien. Before leaving his village, Quan visits his childhood sweetheart, Hoa, who is now pregnant, abandoned, and living alone in a shack.

On his journey back to his military unit, Quan rides a train to Thanh Hoa and listens in on a conversation between Party officials about how easily they can manipulate those around them. Once off the train, Quan visits Bien in his new Special Unit, whose mission, Quan soon discovers, is to build coffins. Continuing his journey back to his own unit, Quan looks for the little girl and her grandfather who aided him and finds their home has been bombed. 

Quan returns to his unit and the frontline of the war. He discovers that Luy has gone mad in his absence. A fight breaks out between two members of Quan’s unit. Shortly after, Quan sees a lynx in the jungle, which he takes to be a bad omen. As the unit prepares for battle, they are hit with malaria but mobilize for battle anyway. During the battle, all but 18 members of Quan’s unit, besides Quan, are killed. While stuck during the rainy season after the battle, Quan comes down with malaria.

Despite being ill, Quan is called to an officers’ meeting, where Luong pulls him aside to tell him that Bien is dead. The army launches another military campaign; Quan’s unit is nearly destroyed and Quan himself is injured in the battle. Quan hears soldiers destroying captured goods and reprimands them. He has a frank discussion with the instigator, Kha, about the realities of Marxism–a conversation that makes him doubt his own beliefs. After another battle, Quan prevents his unit from executing an American prisoner due to Quan’s own misgivings about war. The novel concludes in uncertain terms, with Quan drifting into his own thoughts.

Novel Without a Name contains many sections in italics interspersed throughout the main narrative. These sections indicate Quan’s thoughts and dreams. They often focus on feelings of disgust or doubt, interactions with ghosts and spirits, or dreams involving Quan’s dead mother and younger brother.