Society - Culture

Anna Moi: Within the soul, the motherland resides

Translated by H.THU Mar 17, 2025 14:35

(QNO) - Anna Moi lived alone in Hoi An for a time, where she completed Nọc Bướm (The Venom of the Butterfly). To her, it was the perfect place for solitude, creativity, and living true to oneself.

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Anna Moi

Anna Moi (real name Tran Thien Nga) studied history in France in 1973 and wrote extensively in French. Later, she explored fashion at École de la Chambre Syndicale before delving into philosophy. She dabbled in many arts (music, painting, calligraphy), embracing life as a quiet pursuit of passions.

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Anna Moi’s home in Hoi An

Returning to Vietnam, she pursued writing. Her debut novel Riz Noir drew multiple offers, but she chose Gallimard, home to literary greats, marking her place in global literature.

Anna Moi admires Harriet Doerr, who debuted at 74, as well as Guy de Maupassant and Nguyen Huy Thiep for their evocative realism.

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Nọc Bướm (The Venom of the Butterfly)

Her novel Nọc Bướm won France’s Littérature-monde Prize in 2017, praised for its raw portrayal of a young girl’s self-discovery amid war. Reflecting on her own past, she explored adolescence, violence, and resilience through Xuan, a girl navigating love and life despite turmoil.

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Anna Moi (left) in Hanoi

For Anna Moi, writing is ultimate freedom, a release from earthly burdens. She found solace in Hoi An, where she lived post-divorce and wrote Nọc Bướm in her riverside home, inspired by the town’s timeless charm.

Anna Moi has published eight short story collections and three novels till now. Nọc Bướm (Le Venin du Papillon in French, 2017) won the Littérature-monde Prize.

Her latest novel, Mười Hai Lâu Đài Ký Ức (The Twelve Castles of Memory, 2021), solidified her literary acclaim. She was honoured as a Knight of Arts and Letters by the French Government.

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