HCM CITY  (VNS) — Well-known author Nguyen Ngoc Thuan's latest book on post-war has been released in HCM City by the Tre Publishing House.

The 128-page book Co Ban La Buon (Only Sad) features the lives, challenges, dreams and hopes of Amerasian children living in Viet Nam after the American war.

It focuses on Huu Nghi, a boy who suffered from the effects of dioxin.

It also describes difficulties and challenges of American veterans who cannot forget the war although it is over.

"I didn't want to write a story about war. I have no ideas about war. I met a victim of Agent Orange in Bien Hoa City. He left a very strong impression on me. I felt war through his life. I decided to write Co Ban La Buon later," said Thuan in an interview with local media last weekend.

The postwar era is a new topic for Thuan, who is famous for his children books.

But the 42-year-old writer believes his new book "will bring a new experience for my readers".

A writer from Binh Thuan Province, Thuan won top prizes at national writing contests.

His winning-prize works, Tren Doi Cao Chan Bay Thien Su (Tending Cherubs on High Hill) and Mot Thien Nam Mong (Children's Dreams) and Vua Nham Mat Vua Mo Cua So (Closing Eyes while Opening Windows), have been reprinted several times by prestigious publishing houses.

Tren Doi Cao Chan Bay Thien Su won first prize at the National Writing Competition for Youth 2003-2004, while the Mot Thien Nam Mong was acclaimed at the Writing Competition for Children 2002-03.

Born into a poor family, Thuan, a former student of HCM City Fine Arts University, worked hard to maintain his love for literature. — VNS