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HNUE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Social Sciences, 2020, Volume 64, Issue 4D, pp. 17-25 This paper is available online at http://stdb.hnue.edu.vn VIETNAMESE OVERSEA PROSE FROM REGIONAL LITERARY IDENTITY PERSPECTIVE Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung Falculty of Vietnamese Studies, Hanoi National University of Education Abstract. The paper studies on Vietnamese oversea prose from 1975 to present, focusing on two regions of North America and Western Europe, to describe the identities of immigrant literatures in these two regions in terms of major themes and literary inspirations, prominent features of literary forma, and typical authors, etc. The study also gives an explanation of the differences of Vietnamese oversea proses in those literary areas relating to differences in political, historical, social, cultural context of each regions, and impacts of globalization as well as the diversity, complexity of migration conditions and writers’ generations. Keywords: immigrant literature, Vietnamese oversea prose, identity, North America, Western Europe. 1. Introduction The Vietnamese literature’s picture in the integrity, unity, diversity and richness is made of many different colours, of which not to negate the literary part of overseas Vietnamese in general, Vietnamese oversea prose in particular. Originating from the land of national literature, flourishing and growing outside the territory of Vietnam, Vietnamese oversea literature is “an objective, self-existent existence”, a remarkable phenomenon that has contributed to the history of Vietnamese literature because it is associated with historical and social issues as well as Vietnamese people's thoughts, souls and languages. Especially in the context of globalization nowadays, while the subject of region, global integration and the trend of national reconciliation are more and more affirmed, the study of Vietnamese oversea literature has not only brought in the scientific significance but also met the craving of profound topicality. Researches on Vietnamese oversea literature from 1975 up to now have made certain achievements. Abroad, in addition to the articles that both identified and generalized, summarized its stages of formation and development at the milestones of 15 years, 20 years, 25 years and 30 years after 1975 such as Twenty-five years of overseas Vietnamese literature 1975-2000 (Thuy Khue) [1], Outline of the stages of formation and development of prose lineages from 1975 to the present (Nguyen Mong Giac) [2], Fifteen years of literature in exile, formation and development (Nguyen Hung Quoc) [3], Thirty years of overseas literature (Tran Nha Nguyen) [4], Vietnamese literature abroad, issues of development (AA.Sokolov) [5], astute and talented literary critics as Tran Dao (Phan Huy Duong), Dao Trung Dao, Thuy Khue, Received April 11, 2020. Revised April 24, 2020. Accepted May 15, 2020. Contact Luu Thi Kim Nhung, e-mail address: nhungltk@hnue.edu.vn 17 Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung Nguyen Vy Khanh, Doan Cam Thi, Vo Phien, Nguyen Hung Quoc, Doan Nha Van, Phung Nguyen, Le Quynh Mai “drew” the portraits of Vietnamese oversea writers such as Tran Vu, Kiet Tan, Doan Minh Phuong, Thuan, Mai Ninh, and Le Thi Tham Van, etc. In the country, it is worth noting that the articles like A look at eighteen-year Vietnamese literature abroad (Le Hoai Nguyen) [6], Some comments on Vietnamese literature abroad (Nguyen Hue Chi [7], Overseas literature viewed from within the country (Do Minh Tuan) [8], Vietnamese immigrant literature in the context of East Asian immigrant literature in the United States [9] and The phenomenon of “going” and “returning” of contemporary Vietnamese writers (Tran Le Hoa Tranh) [10], The similarities between domestic Vietnamese literature and abroad after 1975 to present (Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung) [11], etc. The above articles gave initial introductions to a literature department that was both strange and familiar at the same time raised the questions about its nature and prospects in the trend of national harmony. A number of other articles have directed attention to overseas Vietnamese writers whose works were published in Vietnam such as The sense of being lost in contemporary prose (Tran Hanh Mai, Ngo Thi Thu Hien) [12]; Lost feeling in Thuan’s compositions (Trinh Dang Nguyen Huong) [13]; The technique of consciousness stream in the novel And when the ashes (Nguyen Duc Toan) [14]; The status of global citizen in Thuan's novels (Nguyen Thi Hoa) [15], etc. In general, the above researches mainly focused on the summary of Vietnamese oversea literature for 15 to 30 years (stopped at 1995 or 2000), therefore, did not cover the literary phenomena that have been appearing after 2000 that, in our view, have created the new features of Vietnamese literature abroad, different from the previous period. They also paid more attention to the political factors than the cultural - aesthetic aspects of this literature section as well as did not summarize the achievements in terms of genres of overseas Vietnamese prose at each stage of mobilization and development. Inheriting the previous results and by our own survey efforts, this paper aims to clarify the achievements and limitations of the content and art of Vietnamese prose abroad after 1975 to present, compare and explain their characteristics in different areas and cultural environments. We also point out the relations between migration and cultural identity of Vietnamese immigrants in each region. They are the new contributions of the article. Based on the criteria of the language and the context of the writing, we determine that Vietnamese oversea literature includes works written in Vietnamese language by Vietnamese people residing and temporarily residing abroad. Derived from the conception of the “ego identity” or “self-identity” of Erik Erikson [16], a series of subsequent studies suggest the concepts of “social identity”, “religious identity”, “political identity”, “ethnic identity”, “gender identity”, etc. In this paper, the concept of “regional literary identity” defines the unique characteristics of Vietnamese literature in different communities and regions around the world. Regional literary identity is primarily formed from the process of transformation and creativity to shape the appearance of each regional literature. Differences in geo-politics, cultural and social contexts, migration origins and living conditions of groups of people are the decisive factors that create “regional literary identity”. In general, we divide Vietnamese oversea literature after 1975 to present into 5 areas where the Vietnamese community is relatively crowded: North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Australia, and some African countries, South America. In particular, due to the paper’s limit, we will discuss more carefully two most strongly developed areas of Vietnamese literature abroad, namely North America and Western Europe. So far, these are the places where Vietnamese communities are the largest as well as there was the “sensitive” relationship in the history between Vietnam and the places of residence of Vietnamese abroad. Understanding Vietnamese literature in these two regions will contribute to unravel the historical and cultural slices of the Vietnamese community in the historical process. We will identify and distinguish 18 Vietnamese oversea prose from regional literatery identity perspective literature differences in each region according to the following criteria: economic, cultural, social environment, immigrant composition, major trends in content and form, and typical authors. 2. Content 2.1. North America region The North American region (including the United States of America, Canada and Mexico) is the current largest destination for international immigrants. The United States of America was once called “a melting pot” or “a salad bowl”. It can see here the most diverse and complex ethnic groups, religions and population in the world, from the first immigrants from Western Europe to the Native Americans and West African slaves, from Latin American immigrants to the increase in migration from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe in the late nineteenth century and early 20th century, and most recently the wave of immigrants from Asia. It is also a place where immigrants come in the hope of a “promised land” because, to this day, it is still one of the leading countries in the world economy, considered to have a civilian politics, advanced education systems, as well as a vibrant culture, accepting all diversity and differences, world immigrants to the United States are also exposed to the modern, constantly changing academic environment, one of the biggest literary and cultural centers with the long tradition and the high level of intelligence. According to the statistical results, the number of overseas Vietnamese in 108 countries and territories worldwide in 2004 - 2005 was 3,078,143, of which, the total number of overseas Vietnamese in North America accounted for nearly half of the total number of that around the world. The Vietnamese literary community in North America is mostly concentrated in the United States. It was mainly formed after April 30, 1975 that led to large waves of Vietnamese immigrants to foreign countries. The first departure was called an “evacuation”, which is understood as an official and organized departure from Vietnam. It was estimated that there were 50,493 people that evacuated from Tan Son Nhat airport from April 29, 1975. The second largest diaspora after 1975 was called “boat people”. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, during the period 1975-1995, there were 849,228 people crossing the border by sea and road. They faced many risks and dangers such as being cheated, arrested, stormed, stalled, strayed, killed by pirates, robbed, harmed, starved, thirsty, etc. Some of the boat people were rescued by other ships (including the US Navy); some reached the islands in the South China Sea around Vietnam. Refugee camps for Indochinese boat people have been set up in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, the Philippines, and Thailand. The third wave of migration was called “orderly departure” (or voluntary). Since 1990, reunification, re-education, cross-breeding, resettlement, and refugee return programs have introduced new immigrants to the US and many Western countries. In addition to the ODP (Orderly Departure Program), after the normalization of Vietnam-US relations, it changed to HR (Humanitarian Resettlement Program), the number of overseas Vietnamese from the early 90s of the twentieth century to the present has been increasing for many purposes: labour export, study abroad, marriage with foreigners, officials as “ambassadors”, etc. [Ref 17]. Corresponding to the above three migration waves are the three main generations of Vietnamese writers in North America that have associated with the movement and transformation of artistic and ideological trends. The first generation of composers consisted of refugee writers in North America (19751980), who attached and left most of their lives in their homeland, so in the first steps to a new land, most of them deeply felt to be “uprooted” from the source. The impotence, lost, 19 Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung bewilderment when living in foreign land is the main topics in the compositions of the first generation. However, after the efforts to adapt into the “temporary country”, evacuating writers often found themselves a “Vietnamese identity” as a vital reason, a final shelter. Nostalgia for the homeland, the nation and the recollection of historical events was a vortex from which they could reserve their origin. The number of authors and works in this period is not much. Typical for this stage are the authors: Thanh Nam with “The famous singer”, “Sad little station”, “And one night”, “Wild horses”, “The streets without lights”, “Painful seasons”, “Moon in the foreign land”; Vo Dinh with “The Land of Thunder”, “the Loft”, etc. For the first-generation writers, writing in Vietnamese was a natural and indispensable option, because that was the way to both alleviate nostalgia as well as relieve cultural “shock” when setting foot on new land. Because most of them are writers from Southern literature before 1975, their compositions imprinted with the characteristics of the previous period's literature, manifested in traditional language classes, using many Southern dialects. The lyrical, passionate tones associated with the nostalgia of the homeland, the helplessness and insecurity in the present had come to live in the custom pen-style or short stories by Vo Dinh, Thanh Nam, Le Tat Dieu and Mai Thao, etc. The second generation of writers is associated with the “boat people” migration (19811988). Some of them experienced the re-education camps in the country. Most of them had horrified experiences of crossing the sea. Those who luckily escaped from piracy and natural disasters drifted onto an island in an intermediary country in Southeast Asia, waited for a long time before being transferred to asylum in the third country. In terms of genre, memoirs occupied a prominent position at this stage due to the need of record and narration about the ups and downs history that the authors had experienced, typically Ta Chi Dai Truong with the memoir “One Moment of extended Republic Vietnam”, Cao Xuan Huy with “Broken gun in March” (1986), Duyen Anh with “Saigon, the longest day” (1987), Hoang Khoi Phong with “N+ Day” (1988), etc. In the novel, it was noted the appearance of longer works, broadening the scope of reality such as “The years of re-education camp in North Vietnam” (1981) by Tran Huynh Chau, “University of blood” (1985) by Ha Thuc Sinh, “The person walking in the clouds” (1987) by Nguyen Xuan Hoang, “Downstream” (1987), “Depressed horse” (1988), especially a series of novels in “The rough sea season” (1984-1989) by Nguyen Mong Giac. Regarding short stories, it can be named as short sharp pen stories such as The Giang, Nhat Tien, Nguyen Sa, Nguyen Khac Ngu, Le Van Phuc, Nguyen Duc Lap, Tuong Nang Tien, Vo Hoang, Nguyen Ba Trac, Xuan Vu, Phan Nhat Nam, Vo Ky Dien, etc. In this period, although the press, publishing abroad had the strongest development and attracted the most readers, there were no works that actually required the quality of literature. The compositions did not bring changes and innovations in terms of art form. In terms of content, Vietnamese literature in North America in general and prose in particular, due to the “boat people” event, focused on hot and current political issues such as the war in South Vietnam 1954-1975, especially the failure of the Republic of Vietnam government, the re-education camps and the Southern society after April 30, 1975, “the boat people disaster”, etc. In addition to the compassionate inspiration of normal people’s fate in historical fluctuations, the works were mainly written from the view of the defeated, who were hostile to the domestic regime and obsessive, inferiority complex. It was the intense political consciousness and extremism that damaged the artistic and humanistic nature of literature. It is thought that the compositions in this period were mainly for propaganda purposes. Therefore, they cannot be considered as authentic or “top” literary works. From 1989 to 1999, after the proliferation of political press and memoirs, historical documents, Vietnamese oversea prose was somewhat free from political prejudice as well as hostility. The number of new authors and published books increased, “professional publishers were born, and a real, rich and diverse literary life has appeared” [Ref. 6; p.49]. Short stories 20 Vietnamese oversea prose from regional literatery identity perspective blossomed, prevailed at this stage. Apart from the writers who wrote in the previous period, continued writing in this period such as Nguyen Mong Giac, The Uyen, Ho Truong An, Nguyen Sa, Mai Kim Ngoc, Song Thao, The Giang, Vo Ki Dien, it is impossible not to acknowledge the younger short story writers, crystallizing the achievements of the genre and creating their unique art style. Beside the simple, everyday life style mixing with the charm of humour, wittiness in the pages such as “The Diary to the West” (Do Kh.), “Between the two rainy and sunny regions” (Hoang Mai Dat), “The story of a moderately headached immigrant” (Nguyen Ba Trac). It was also recognized the fairly sharp, intense short-story style of Khanh Truong in the two volumes of stories “Contiguous to the Field” (1991) and “Do you love me?” (1997), Phung Nguyen with concerns about his identity and migration status through the “Memory Tower” (1998), Duong Nhu Nguyen, Mai Kim Ngoc in the short stories within profound lyrical writing style, etc. In particular, during these ten years, the trend of integration and adaptation increased with the emergence of the generation of female writers of the 1.5 generation, such as Tran Dieu Hang with “The Dance of Peacock” (1985), “Rain in the strange land” (1986), “Beloved Rambutan” (1989), Nguyen Thi Ngoc Nhung with “Finally night will be over” (1986), Vu Quynh Huong with “Eternity land” (1986), Le Thi Hue with “Rose Bush” (1984), “Memory with My Anh” (1987), “Snake and Dragon” (1989), Nguyen Thi Hoang Bac with “Glitter dust particles” (1988), “Witches” (1992), “Mudslides alongside”, “Pulling anchors to run” (1997), Phan Thi Trong Tuyen with “Summer, elsewhere” (1989), “One page of life” (1991), Bui Bich Ha with “Morning alone” (1989), Tran Thi Kim Lan with “Night Breeze” (1989), “New Year”, “Like a dream” (1991), Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan with “A little happiness” (1993), ... Other female writers like Tran Mong Tu, Truong Anh Thuy, Le Hang, Pham Thi Ngoc, Vu Quynh Nhu, Nhung Uyen, etc., each one brought her own voice, created the richness and polyphony for Vietnamese literature in the United States. In Canada, some female short story writers such as Tran Sa, Nguyen Thi Som Mai, etc. were appreciated. The main theme in their writing are the life and people in the new residence place, the hidden memories and eternal desires of women. Among them, there were sad stories of the obsessions with personal tragedies and the breakdown of families on new land. There were stories of the failures to integrate into a local culture. But there were also stories that brought a bright colour to the process of reconciliation with the past and adaption to the present. However, in terms of form, short stories of female writers in this period did not really make a breakthrough in plot, characters, language or tones. Most of them were still structured in linear or causal logic; the characters were mainly viewed in terms of fate but had not delved into the crooked, mysterical parts of the inner and psychological speech; language and tone mainly were lyrical and romantic. During this period, the number of published and consumed works showed the signs of going down, the Vietnamese readership community was gradually narrowed. In 1989, the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the disintegration of the system of socialist countries, after that, the establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and Vietnam in 1995 brought Vietnam into the process of integration and globalization. As a result, Vietnamese literature abroad has changed accordingly in the next stage. From 2000 to present, Vietnamese oversea literature in North America has developed in the context of new culture and technology. The advent and growth of the internet has created an open space for overseas literary activities. Vietnamese writers and readers abroad not only interact with each other via the internet but also have contacts and exchanges with domestic writers and readers (through literary magazines such as “Confluence”, “Literature”, literary websites). The movement of immigrants from Eastern Europe to Western Europe, from Asia, Africa to North America and Western Europe has created new appearance for Vietnamese oversea prose after 2000. During this period, the compositions of the previous writers levelled off or even disappeared; only a few writers still occasionally published their new works such as “The Silence of Clouds” (2001) by Le Thi Hue, “Saigon rain, Seattle rain” (2006) by Tran 21 Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung Mong Tu, “Golden sand” (2006), “Winter rains” (2010) by Lu Quynh, “Other woman” (2010) by Trinh Y Thu, ... In the United States, it was remarkable to welcome the outstanding female writers, aged 35-40 such as Dang Tho Tho and Le Thi Tham Van, aged 25-30 such as Phan Viet and Do Le Anh Dao, Le Quynh Mai and Phung Khanh Minh, Ngo Ngọc Trang, Trang Luan, Nguyen Xuan Tuong Vy, etc. They brought many positive signals to the future of Vietnamese literature abroad while the aging both in the writers and readers was a possible risk. In Canada, the most prominent author is Nam Dao. Although he started writing quite late (1998), his collection of short stories named “Moon rented illusion” and two historical novels “The wind of fire” and “Earth and Sky” showed the bravery of an experienced writer, who made efforts to innovate the form of short stories as well as to bring a particular voice to the genre of historical fiction in Vietnamese literature. On the subject, in general, the writers in this period have expanded topics such as the status of “global citizens” in the clash between cultures, the issues of migration and integration into residence place, human with their roots, etc. Regarding genres, it is recognized the appearance of some big historical novels such as “Con river in flood season” (Nguyen Mong Giac), “Wind and Fire”, “Earth and Sky” (Nam Dao), and a number of novels written by female writers that made the strong impression on readers such as “Human language” (Phan Viet), “Echo”, “Shadow of the legend”, “The land of sunshine” (Le Thi Tham Van), and “Looking for the last bible” (Dang Tho Tho), ... Besides, the short story is still developing with the creative pens such as Le Quynh Mai, Do Quynh Dao, Phan Viet, Do Le Anh Dao, etc. In terms of the art form, the compositions in this period were aimed at bold exploration, experimentation and innovation in forms such as building structure and characters, organizing narrative points, language and tone, etc. However, in addition to the works such as “Con River in flood season” by Nguyen Mong Giac, “Hired moon illusion”, “Land of Heaven”, “Pristine Moon” by Nam Dao, “US, US”, “Human language” by Phan Viet that were published in the country and received many positive feedbacks, not many works of Vietnamese writers in North America were introduced and published in the country. Emerging on the basis of North American culture with multicultural characteristics and a more “open” view of sexuality, some prominent female writers such as Le Thi Tham Van, Dang Tho Tho, Do Le Anh Dao, Le Quynh Mai, etc. became the representatives of flippant, contemptuous prose style. In their compositions, readers recognize the imprint of Feminism. They demanded the equality of men and women right in the liberation of language. The female characters freely talked about sex as well as the obsessions with the past, the insecurity in present and the uncertainty about future in the “naked”, uncovered language. The woman here seemed to deliberately expose their longing for freedom in non-standard language. However, in some works such as “Echo”, “Shadow of the fairy” (Le Thi Tham Van), “Looking for the last bible” (Dang Tho Tho), the character’ words are turned out to be “aggressive”, extremist and anti-aesthetic. It provoked readers without caring “the limit”. That is also a reason why these compositions are difficult to reach domestic readers. Since 2000, there has been the rise of a generation of young Vietnamese-Americans born in North America, mainly in the United States. Because they are fully grown in a new environment, they can only learn and speak basic Vietnamese. To compose, they often choose the language of residence place as a medium. Their works is no longer in the Vietnamese literature stream but has become a small branch, like “ethnic minority literature” in the mainstream literature in the indigenous. In writing, this generation both expresses a deep sense of Vietnamese identity, its Vietnamese origin, and strives to fully integrate into the mainstream culture. In spite of denying or seeking ways to forget the past, in the end, people do not flee from the past, and cannot deny their lifeblood. The writing of this young writers’ generation has somewhat affirmed the Vietnamese nature in the immigrant community of North America or Western Europe. Some works are well received and appreciated by North American readers. 22 Vietnamese oversea prose from regional literatery identity perspective Typical for this generation of writers are Monique Truong, Aimee Phan, Lan Cao, Le Thi Diem Thuy, Dao Strom, Mong Lan, Nguyen Minh Bich, Kien Nguyen, etc. 2.2. Western Europe region Not being as “multi-racial” as the United States, Western Europe is also a region that has welcome many international immigrants. For major countries such as France and Germany, due to historical events (World War I and II), the composition of immigrants to these two countries is quite large from countries that were once colonized for example African and Asian people. However, it was not until April 30, 1975 that the Vietnamese people appeared in Western Europe, but from World War II (1939 - 1945), there was a wave of soldiers who came to France. Then during the period 1954 - 1975, many Vietnamese studied abroad in Eastern and Western Europe. These are the two classes of Vietnamese immigrants to Western Europe before 1975. The third largest class of immigrants to Western Europe consisted of “wall people”, such as Northern students studying abroad and finding the ways to stay in Eastern European countries and Soviet Union in the 90s of the twentieth century. The motive for leaving Vietnam in this period was mainly due to economic reasons rather than political reasons. Since then, the number of people studying, working, traveling or labour export in Western Europe has been increasing. They have been creating the unique national and cultural colours to the countries in this region. It can be said that the relatively high economic life, the relatively stable politics and the preferential social welfare regime have made Western Europe an attractive destination for international migrants, including Vietnamese ones. In writing, the number of Vietnamese writers and prose works in this area is not as much as in North America, but most of writers have their own styles. The first class of writers in Western Europe who were educated in the 1960s were Vo Dinh, Kiet Tan, Nhat Tien, etc. Their compositions often associated with nostalgia for the people and homeland. In 1988, when Vietnamese literature in North America was “boiling”, rich with the prevalence of journalism and historical memoirs, Tran Vu, through the short story collection, immediately made the impression of a strange writing style in which he mixed reality and imagination and broke the normal narrative structure. In this volume, the writer still partly showed his guilt and prejudice about the Northern soldiers and the obsessions with historical changes. The next collection of short stories entitled “The death after the past” (1993) developed his imagination, creativity, and marked the artistic personality of Tran Vu, the writer of the bold violent fictions that sometimes went beyond the “psychological threshold”, traditional culture and aesthetics as well as the “reception threshold” of the majority of readers. From 2000 to present, the phenomenon of “moving the writing tables” of some Vietnamese writers living abroad to the domestic country has appeared, along with the tendency of some young writers going abroad to explore the world, finding their living and writing spaces on the new land. A number of foreign-born works have been published in the country and received positive feedbacks from the domestic literary community. The typical faces for this “adaptation period”, in short stories, in Germany, there are Nguyen Van Tho (“Ancient Gold”), Le Minh Ha (“Unexpected encounters”); in France, there are Do Quynh Dao (“A woman”), Mai Ninh (“Chord in the hidden area”), Mieng (“Who loves?”) and some other female writers like Phan Thi Trong Tuyen, Tran Dieu Tam, etc. There are some talented younger writers such as Pham Hai Anh (Netherlands), Co Ngu, Duong Thuy (France), Ngo Thi Giang Uyen (UK). Regarding novels, it is affirmed the different voices and styles such as Doan Minh Phuong (“And when the ashes”) , Mai Ninh (“Whale slaughtered”), Le Minh Ha (“The wind fades from time to time”, “Love... old days” and “The Agarwood drops”), Thuan (“Chinatown”, “Paris August 11”, “Van Vy”, “T missing”, “Saigon Elevator”), Nguyen Van Tho (“Quyen”), etc. The compositions of Vietnamese writers in Western Europe mainly tends to inspirations: inspiration of nostalgia 23 Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung (reminiscing about the war in the South Vietnam in 1975 through the gaze of a Northern soldier in the short stories by Nguyen Van Tho; nostalgia for the homeland and birthplace in several stories by Pham Hai Anh and short pieces of non-fiction by Le Minh Ha); inspiration of exile (the difficulties and challenges of material and spiritual life in the stories by Nguyen Van Tho, Le Minh Ha, Thuan, Do Quynh Dao, etc.); inspiration of integration and “back to the source” in the novels by Doan Minh Phuong and the short stories by Le Minh Ha, Phan Thi Trong Tuyen, Tran Dieu Tam, etc. Western European society with the dark side of modern capitalist civilization is shown in Thuan's novels, as well as the upheaval of Eastern Europe and Germany (the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 led to unity 2 regions in Germany, the wave of migration from Eastern Europe to Western Europe, especially Germany, strongest in the 90s of the twentieth century including many Vietnamese going to labour export and do business in “black market”) also came alive through the compositions of Nguyen Van Tho and Le Minh Ha. While the first and 1.5 generation writers in North America are still obsessed with the painful past associating with the failure of the Republic of Vietnam government, the writers of this generation in Western Europe are less obsessed with the war in the South Vietnam. Most of them originally were students that studied in Western Europe during 1954-1960 or export workers overflowing from Eastern Europe after the Soviet Union disintegration in 1991. That is the reason why their compositions mainly reflected the status of “multi-identity” or “global citizens” of Vietnamese immigrants. Nostalgia for the homeland, somewhere, is attached to the memories of subsidies policy of Socialist in the North after 1954 (novels by Thuan, Le Minh Ha, Pham Hai Anh, etc.), in comparation with European-American civilization and culture. The collapse of faith, the loss of the spiritual fulcrum of the younger generation after the collapse of socialism in the Soviet Union and the rapid change of value systems after 1991 have created the deep bass, sorrow, humorous, mocking tone to the prose. Important innovations in forms such as breaking the traditional narrative structure, diversifying narrative viewpoints, building postmodern characters and polyphonic language, etc. were created by the middle-aged writers such as Doan Minh Phuong, Mai Ninh, Mieng or younger writers like Thuan, Do Quynh Dao, Co Ngu, Mach Nha, etc. 3. Conclusions It could be said that studying the appearance of the Vietnamese oversea literature after 1975 and in different regions of the world is a big challenge for young researchers. Due to the limitation of paper, we only briefly present the appearance of Vietnamese literature in North America and West Europe. The differences in the political, historical, social, cultural environment of residence place, the globalization context as well as the diversity and complexity of migration compositions and generations have shaped different appearances. We hope that in the subsequent studies, we will expand our study of other regions’ literature to identify the overall picture of Vietnamese literature abroad after 1975 to present or conduct indepth study of a literary topic in these areas. REFERENCES [1] Thuy Khue, 1999. Twenty-five years of overseas Vietnamese literature 1975-2000, Confluence (50), USA, pp.31-47. [2] Nguyen Mong Giac, 2004. Thinking about oversea literature (Essay), Van Moi Publisher, California, USA. [3] Nguyen Hung Quoc, 1998. Fifteen years of literature in exile, formation and development, Viet (2), Australia, pp.5-14. 24 Vietnamese oversea prose from regional literatery identity perspective [4] Tran Nha Nguyen, 2005. 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