The Sorrow of War

by

Bảo Ninh

Tu was a soldier who fought alongside Kien in the Vietnam War. He died on the very last day of the war. That very morning, he sensed that he wouldn’t survive, so he gave Kien a deck of cards that they often used to use with their other friends, all of whom had also died in battle in the previous few days. Just as he predicted, Tu died that day while attacking the Saigon airport. The war ended mere hours after his death.
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Tu Character Timeline in The Sorrow of War

The timeline below shows where the character Tu appears in The Sorrow of War. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Pages 8-26
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
Eventually, Kien’s entire platoon was down to just four soldiers: Tu, Thanh, Van, and Kien himself. They were playing cards the morning of the North’s first... (full context)
Memory, Trauma, and Moving On Theme Icon
...his fellow soldiers took place on April 29. Early the next morning, only Kien and Tu were left. They had reached the airport in Saigon and were about to overtake it.... (full context)