"Toc Chi Mui Phu Sa" - The Calming Rhythm amid City Noise

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The multidimensional writers and the explosion of technology nowadays make picking a book easy. Yet it is still difficult to find a book that when finished reading, you get a sense of relief and peace, that you keep on wondering.

In the short story of "Toc chi mui phu sa" (translated as "Her hair has an alluvial scent"), you will find intimate, strong conflict between the character lines, but with Ha Ly's writing, those conflicts result in a gentle ending.

It was as if all resentment in the world could be solved when people all have tolerant, altruistic hearts.

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The prose in the book is really mesmerizing, Ha Ly has a way with words that enchants the readers into her world, the world of peace, the world of a beautiful woman with mysterious, soulful eyes.

It is a world filled with fields, courtyards, banyan trees, wells...Those are the places that embraced her childhood, where she had anchored her soul even since she started a life in the city.

Each of her sentences is filled with concern, deep but peaceful feelings.

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Her stories are honest portraits about her life, about her husband, the children, so honest that it touches the readers' hearts even when she talks about the anxiety piling up in her life. Readers cannot help but wonder: why does her words remain as light as a cool breeze?

Perhaps, it is because Ha Ly always knows how to find a reason to accept life in a joyful way.

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She writes as if she was whispering, softly telling stories about life, humanity, hometown, about Hanoi, about autumn, summer, spring... Even when she talks about her seasonal depression whenever winter comes, it is as light as a feather.

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Writer Nguyen Quang Vinh wrote the preface of the book with deep emotions.

He said: "Ha Ly's literature is authentic, so authentic that it seems like reading pages of her diary. The reader believes that the life in the pages is her real life, without snobbiness, caress, or curviness, the words, the lines, the pages are stuck in the reader's mind like footprints in the sand. The footprints are light but so clear, yet deep, steep and charismatic. From the book, readers also get the impression of an author with great aspirations but she does not rush to usurp. Instead, she is taking it slow towards happiness, her pace is steady, mature and full of humanity. The author does not resort to manipulative flexibility. Instead, she takes each subtle feeling and emotion in observation, in listening and reading, in experiencing to captivate the readers. Hence, Ha Ly's literature is fresh, warm and sincere."

Indeed, "Toc chi mui phu sa" is like the calming rhythm amid city noise.

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