The Sorrow of War

by

Bảo Ninh

Kien’s Father Character Analysis

Kien’s father was a painter who refused to conform to the artistic style prevalent in North Vietnam in the 1960s. At that time, Communist ideals upheld that paintings should be accessible to everyone, including people with working-class backgrounds. But Kien’s father was interested in more abstract, highbrow artwork, and he refused to change his aesthetic style. The art community therefore shunned him, though this didn’t stop him from painting. He considered himself a free spirit who didn’t belong in the patriotic wartime climate of Hanoi in the 1960s. Phuong felt the same way, so they developed a close relationship—closer, even, that Kien’s own relationship with his father. Eventually, though, Kien’s father grew tired of life and decided to kill himself, though not before burning all of his paintings. Phuong watched him burn them, but she didn’t tell Kien about the experience until years later. When Kien returned from Vietnam, he started working on his novel in the very same attic where his father used to paint, suggesting that he felt a connection to the old man while in the throes of agonized artistic creation.
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Kien’s Father Character Timeline in The Sorrow of War

The timeline below shows where the character Kien’s Father appears in The Sorrow of War. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pages 79-100
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
Love in Times of Hardship Theme Icon
...on the third floor. He went up to his old apartment and saw that his father’s name was still on the door. Just as he was about to open it, he... (full context)
Pages 108-116
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
Coping Through Writing Theme Icon
...Kien’s building a few years before the war ended, living in the attic where his father used to paint. Kien has written about her, explaining that she slowly began to realize... (full context)
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
Love in Times of Hardship Theme Icon
Coping Through Writing Theme Icon
...his manuscript into the stove and trying to light a fire. She knew that his father had apparently burned all of his paintings before his death, but she didn’t want Kien... (full context)
Pages 116-146
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
Patriotism, Sacrifice, and Skepticism Theme Icon
...Kien to look forward to when he’d be able to join the Youth Union. His father, on the other hand, was a somewhat reclusive painter whose art didn’t conform to communist... (full context)
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
Kien’s father burned all of his own paintings before his death. Kien resented him for a long... (full context)
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
Patriotism, Sacrifice, and Skepticism Theme Icon
Although Kien wasn’t close with his father and didn’t understand his eccentric ways, Phuong had a tight bond with him. She seemed... (full context)
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
Love in Times of Hardship Theme Icon
Patriotism, Sacrifice, and Skepticism Theme Icon
...what, exactly, he’d be coming home to. This conversation transitioned into a discussion of Kien’s father. Phuong claimed that she glimpsed into the future when Kien’s father burned the paintings. She... (full context)