Hanoi at Midnight Quotes

“No matter how young we were then, by shouldering the memories of war that seemed heavy as a thousand-year burden, we felt as though we had lived through the most profound years of our lives. Later in life, we would remind ourselves that whatever misfortunes we encountered were nothing compared to those we experienced as soldiers. We were a young generation who became men in the trenches and on the battlefields, and this was what gave our lives meaning. And if we were to find happiness, we would always remember that no amount of happiness could overshadow our time spent together in the war. The war, and our friendship, was what made us who we are.”
― Bảo Ninh, Hanoi at Midnight: Stories

“In the war, I had seen much worse, more horrifying things than this, but what haunted me for the rest of my life was how the Americans, during that month, had destroyed our land with Agent Orange.”
― Bảo Ninh, Hanoi at Midnight: Stories

“A soldier’s life is hard . . . but to our youth, there is glory in fighting the war.”
― Bảo Ninh, Hanoi at Midnight: Stories

“My memories of that time are fleeting, but they will never vanish completely, because the unexpected encounters of our lives will always remain with us, causing us great pain in the silent ways we evoke them.”
― Bảo Ninh, Hanoi at Midnight: Stories