Lang Nhan "wastes" effort and time on books

Fond of reading and having a good memory greatly helped Lang Nhan Phung Tat Dac in his work as a journalist and writer. His deep love for books was expressed with respect when he said in his work Before the Lamp: "For Confucian scholars, reading books is not only an elegant pastime, but also a sacred act: finding a way to sympathize with the dead."

The father of the work The Adventures of a Cricket - To Hoai was fascinated by the story Vo Gia Dinh when he was young. PHOTO: NGUYEN DINH TOAN

When writing about Lang Nhan in Ten Faces of Literature, Ta Ty especially noted Lang Nhan's devotion to books: "Lang Nhan spent a lot of energy and time on books. Reading a whole cart of books just to get a few thoughts for himself, and from those thoughts Lang Nhan prepared for his literary career"; "Lang Nhan had a special memory, it seemed that the things he learned or read were imprinted in his subconscious, when needed they would appear for us to use and consider as something we had".

Because he read a lot and gained a lot of wisdom from the world, Lang Nhan fought in all the newspapers from Dong Tay to Thoi Bao, Duy Tan, Hai Phong weekly, Ich Huu, Dong Duong magazine... There were newspapers, magazines, and columns that he managed that became his own brand such as "Before the light" in Dong Tay, "Unreasonable stories" in Dong Duong magazine... Later, many works were published from those articles such as Before the light, Unreasonable stories, Anecdotes of Nho village, Stories of ca ke, Biography of famous people: Ton That Thuyet (pen name Co Nhi Tan)...

Leaving books is as painful as losing a piece of flesh.

That feeling was Nguyen Hong's, before becoming the writer of Childhood Days, Bi Vo, Cua Bien... When Nguyen Hong and his mother moved to Hai Phong to live, in those difficult days when they had no job to earn a living, the mother and son owed money for the room they rented and had no way to manage it. The most precious thing Nguyen Hong had at that time was a box of books and newspapers worth 2 dong with French dictionaries, works by Victor Hugo, Chateaubriand, Alphonse Daudet, Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, by The Lu, Luu Trong Lu... That box of books became a hostage, a debt bond for the rent, making Nguyen Hong absent-minded, "really like being cut into pieces", Buoc Duong Viet Van recorded.

The work "The Story of the Gossip" (1993 edition) by Lang Nhan. PHOTO: TRAN DINH BA

As much as the pain and loss of a part of the soul was because of the beloved book box being separated, the feeling of joy and happiness when redeeming it, also increased many times. After having a coin from the extra tutoring money, Nguyen Hong immediately gave it to his mother to redeem the hostage, and after wandering around exhausted "like a dream and just wanted to lie down somewhere, but when I returned home and saw the lights were on, the book box was in the middle of the table and my mother was lying up and frantically calling me, I was completely awake. I ran in, grabbed the book box, opened it, counted and rummaged through it, and screamed".

Even before that, when he was a child, the author of Bi Vo Tuoi Thieu Nhi, had early contact with literature, reading the novels Qua Dua Do (Duck Watermelon) (Nguyen Trong Thuat) and Tay Du Ky (Journey to the West) to his grandmother and father and immersing himself in those works. That's not all, in the house, there were still books from East and West such as Tam Quoc Chi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Dong Chau Liet Quoc (The Tales of a Chinese Studio), Lu Binh Son Phieu Luu Ky (The Adventures of a Chinese Studio), Telemac Phieu Luu Ky (The Adventures of a Chinese Studio), etc. Besides, the little boy Hong also rented books to read more, Those characters have lived with me.

Early familiarity with and influence from literary works and books seems to be the common denominator in many writers and poets. To Hoai is no exception compared to his colleagues. Knowing how to read and write, the little boy Sen (To Hoai's name) found in his father's trunk so many books with Chinh Tay, Tam Ha Nam Duong, Luc Van Tien, Ba Chua Ba... and then "all day long, I buried my head in that special place to read. I glued my eyes from page to page". And here, the image of someone who is passionate about books, escaping from reality "putting down the book, my face was dull", To Hoai recalled in Wild Grass.

Once in love and addicted to books, it is impossible to stop. Wherever you go, whatever you do, if you come across a book, it is no different from an addict encountering drugs. The only difference is that the habit of being addicted to books is more refined, polite, legitimate, and legal. It was still To Hoai when he had to stay at his father's acquaintance's house. Little Sen immediately found a soul mate. When he arrived at the house, he saw "a pile of books, big and small". Here, Sen let her soul drift, "absorbed in the boy since he left home to follow the old man to do circus" in the work "No Family" by Hector Malot, translated by Nguyen Do Muc, even though the book was old and tattered, with the last few pages faded. Sen considered that old and tattered book a precious friend, hiding it under the bed, afraid that someone would steal it. Later, when his grandmother picked him up, before leaving, the little boy was very sad because "there was no way to steal the book "No Family", so I left it by the table, like a ship taking shelter from a storm there". (continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lang-nhan-phung-tat-dac-doc-ca-xe-sach-de-gom-ve-vai-suy-nghi-185250422223808658.htm