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.