Dumb Luck

"Dumb Luck is a bitter satire of the rage for modernization in Vietnam during the late colonial era. First published in Hanoi in 1936, it follows the absurd and unexpected rise within the colonial society of a street-smart vagabond named Red-haired Xuan. As it charts Xuan's fantastic social ascent, the novel provides a panoramic view of late colonial urban social order, from the filthy sidewalks of Hanoi's old commercial quarter to the gaudy mansions of the emergent Francophile northern upper classes. The transformation of traditional Vietnamese class and gender relations triggered by the growth of colonial capitalism represents a major theme of the novel."

Vu Trong Phung