Book review: “Ngoi truong Moi Khi’ – Nguyen Nhat Anh

I was captivated right from the very first name, which in English means ‘The school as usual’.

Summary

This is a book written by author Nguyễn Nhật Ánh (Nguyen Nhat Anh), viewed from the perspective of a student who has just entered 10th grade. Indeed, just through the way of speaking and the interactions between the characters, we can feel the characteristic shyness and innocence of 16-year-old students.

The book revolves around childhood fun and activities, emphasizing the emotional development often seen during adolescence. The story is not only about romantic love but also friendship, teacher-student relationships, family love, and even academic pressure, comfort, and consolation. Bao says that calling it a diary of youth isn’t wrong, as the arguments, sulks, crushes, frustrations, and so on of the characters are all vividly portrayed. An interesting characteristic of author Nguyễn Nhật Ánh’s stories is “He doesn’t leave anyone behind.” This book is almost like a compilation of small stories from each character, both main and supporting, capturing the emotional range of each character, and vividly describing their appearance, family, personality, and feelings. Thanks to this, his works always stand out for the way he portrays and sketches each character uniquely, with no two alike.

About the author

It’s not surprising that the author of this work is Nguyễn Nhật Ánh

Nguyễn Nhật Ánh is a very famous writer and poet in Vietnam, who usually known as a Childhood Writer (Tác giả của tuổi thơ), and his works were once closely associated with the youth of a generation.

Nguyễn Nhật Ánh born in Quang Nam, Vietnam. He had published his first poetry since he was 13, and his first work has been published in 1984, was called Thành phố tháng tư.

Moreover, in 2010, Nguyen Nhat Anh’s books – known as Cho tôi xin một vé đi tuổi thơ – was awarded the ASEAN Literature Prize and also the best works of him.

Characters

As mentioned above, his work ‘Ngôi Trường Mọi Khi’ not only captures the youthful days full of sunshine and laughter, but also delves deeply, personalizing each character and personality. In the story, the main character is named Tóc Bím, a student just beginning her journey in high school. However, Tóc Bím is not alone, because she still has friends and companions, including: Tóc Ngắn, Bảnh Trai, Kiếng Cận, Mặt Mụn, Răng Chuột, Bắp Rang, Hột Mít, Mắt Nai, Hạt Tiêu, and Ria Mép.

Among all those countless characters, the one I like the most is Tóc Ngắn – Short Hair. In the book, Short Hair is portrayed as having a girl’s body, but a boy’s personality and appearance. Short Hair doesn’t like having long hair and hates wearing female clothing (which is also why, while all the girls around her are wearing traditional dresses, she stands out in a shirt and trousers). In fact, in the early pages describing Short Hair, the author even mentions, ‘All those pink princess dresses that Short Hair’s mom bought for her, she gave away to her cousins, almost making the little girl hospitalized from being so touched.’

So, for me, Short Hair is a very cool and special character. In the story, because of her short hair and dressing like a boy, Short Hair has often been mistaken for a man. But on the upside, Short Hair is known to be in a relationship with Bảnh Trai (Banh Trai) – the most handsome boy at her old school, and even has a small fan club.

In the storyline, Short Hair, due to her easygoing and straightforward personality like a man, is never shy or embarrassed in front of Bảnh Trai. On the contrary, Bảnh Trai, who is used to being pursued by girls, feels embarrassed and angry when Short Hair calls him ‘little brother,’ but later he starts to feel a little bit of affection.

Conclusion

Every book by Nguyễn Nhật Ánh leaves me with countless impressions: sadness, happiness, humor, and fear.
These stories and characters are intertwined with my childhood and are impossible to forget. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to forget these beautiful memories.
In the end, I only hope to share these stories and content with friends around the world so that everyone can better understand my life – the life of Vietnamese children.