The cover of Vietnamese-language version of the Oscar and the Lady in Pink.

HA NOI  (VNS) — Mathematician Ngo Bao Chau will release his latest book Oscar and the Lady in Pink, which he translated from the novel by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt on Saturday.

The book is composed of letters by a 10-year-old boy addressed to God. They are found by "Mamie Rose" (who pretended to be a wrestler), the Lady in Pink of the title, who visits him in hospital in the pink uniform worn by nurses on the children's ward.

The letters describe the 12 last days in the life of Oscar, a cancer patient, and are filled with funny, moving characters.

The book release will take place on 10am at LACA cafe, 24-26 Ly Quoc Su Street, Ha Noi.

On the day, Nha Nam Company, the book's publisher, will auction books and two artworks by painter Nguyen Thanh Binh. The proceeds will be donated for Tro Ngheo Vung Cao, a fund for students in the mountainous region. Chau is honorary president of the fund.

This is the first time Chau has worked as a translator. Before, he was co-writer of the book Ai va Ky O Xu So Nhung Con So Tang Hinh (Ai and Ky in the Land of Invisible Figures), which was published in 2012.

Chau was born in Ha Noi in 1972. He won two gold medals at the international mathematics competition Olympiad when he was a high school student and was offered a scholarship to study in Paris. He was the first Vietnamese to win the Fields Medal, the world's most prestigious award in mathematics. — VNS