Literary Style
Nguyễn Tuân mastered the journal free style, with a tone easily distinguished from other authors. Before the August Revolution in 1945, his style can be summarized as free will with a dash of eccentricity. Every subject of his essays was described with artistic remarks and knowledgeable observations. After 1945, his works no longer seek the contrast between the old traditional values and the new life, but the tone still had the light combination of quaintness and youthful.
Because Nguyễn Tuân praised the idea of "motionism," his characters are full of willful emotions; even the settings of his works usually reflected a sense of confidence and a majestic spirit, that is said to be higher than those of his surrounding environment and of his time (an example is the character Bạch in Thiếu Quê Hương (Without Homeland). Strongly emphasized, the self in Nguyễn Tuân's works also carries careful thoughts and examination of the surroundings. The aloofness in early works was replaced by a more subtle self-humor, an indication of the maturity in his literary style and life.
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