The works selected for this publication are all famous works of writer Kim Lan. They can be pages of writings that are deeply concerned with the reality of the Northern countryside surrounded by poverty, with the fate of many suffering people, as inThe concubine's child, The geisha's child, The picked-up wife… It could also be a slice of the beauty of a bygone era with “hobbies” that required a lot of effort such as dog hunting, cockfighting, bird keeping or cultural imprints such as traditional plays… inThe Old Actor, The City Birds, The Horse-Horse, The Hunting Dog, The Wrestling Bridge… Later, there were pages written about revolution, about land reform with no small amount of pain but also no lack of faith, inVillage, Husband and Wife, The Old Man Next Door.
In particular, among the 18 short stories and novels, there are two works that are often considered to be for children, namelyMr. Can NguandThe Wooden KnightThese are two works that shine with humanistic light, with images of people always rising up, striving for goodness, full of strength and pride.
The stories in "The Old Double" are illustrated by artist Thanh Chuong. As one of the leading artists of contemporary Vietnamese painting, and also the son of writer Kim Lan, artist Thanh Chuong and his illustrations in this book are like a bridge, connecting the writer and the reader, past and present, traditional and modern.
"The Old Actor" is 340 pages thick, printed in full color using microbiological ink technology on high-quality paper, 16x24 cm in size. In addition to the regular hardcover editions, the book will have 370 limited editions numbered from DA 001 to DA 365. In particular, Dong A also published 101 copies commemorating the 100th anniversary (1920 - 2020) of writer Kim Lan's birth, in a lacquer box with a lid printed with the illustration "The Old Actor", accompanied by the lacquer painting "The Wooden Knight" by artist Thanh Chuong.
“All forms of society are always changing, but the nature of human life does not change. All languages can change, but the nature of human love and goodness never changes. The literature of writer Kim Lan belongs to those unchangeable things” - quoted from the Introduction of writer Nguyen Quang Thieu.
About the author
Writer Kim Lan (1920-2007) real name is Nguyen Van Tai, hometown is Phu Luu village, Tan Hong commune, now Dong Ngan ward, Tu Son town, Bac Ninh province.
In 1942, Kim Lan published his first short story.The concubine's child, from there quickly established a name in the literary world and became a familiar writer of the Trung Bac Sunday and Saturday Novels newspapers. Some typical short stories of Kim Lan such asVillage, The Picked-up Wife, is included in the general education curriculum...
In his old age, Kim Lan became involved in cinema and left an indelible mark with the role of Lao Hac in the movieVu Dai village in those daysand the role of Ly Cuu in the movieSister Dau.
In 2001, writer Kim Lan was awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts for his contributions to the country's literature.
