{"product_id":"the-song-of-kieu-by-nguyen-du-9780241360668","title":"The Song of Kieu","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe greatest classic of Vietnamese literature in a stunning new verse translation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"This manuscript is ancient, priceless, bamboo-rolled, perfumed with musty spices. Sit comfortably by this good light, that you may learn the hard-won lesson that these characters contain.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Song of Kieu\u003c\/em\u003e is the greatest classic of Vietnamese literature. It tells the story of the beautiful Vuong Thoy Kieu, who agrees to a financially profitable marriage in order to save her family from ruinous debts, but is tricked into working in a brothel. Her tragic career involves jealous wives, slavery, war, and poverty, and she becomes a nun twice. There are high points, such as when she teams up with a muscle-bound, tender-hearted rebel hero who makes her his queen and summons all her wrongdoers to account, but the ending is bittersweet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'To the Vietnamese people themselves, it is much more than just a glorious heirloom from their literary past,' says Professor Alexander Woodside of the University of British Columbia. 'It has become a kind of continuing emotional laboratory in which all the great and timeless issues of personal morality and political obligation are tested and resolved.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'For elegance and sheer readability I doubt if it could be equalled. English readers already familiar with \u003cem\u003eKieu\u003c\/em\u003e will be delighted by its musicality. And those who have not previously encountered \u003cem\u003eKieu\u003c\/em\u003e will wonder how such a masterpiece could so long have eluded them.' John Keay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46517654782188,"sku":"9780241360668","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/25406013482273.jpg?v=1748944063","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/products\/the-song-of-kieu-by-nguyen-du-9780241360668","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}