The Beauty of Humanity Movement

Anyone who has been to Vietnam – or even visited one of the increasing number of Vietnamese cafes in London – will have sampled the country’s national dish, pho. After reading Camilla Gibb’s evocative novel I can almost taste it.

The Beauty Of Humanity Movement contains as many different layers as the flavour of itinerant chef Hung’s pho. Mixing a compelling, poignant narrative with a modern history of Vietnam, Gibb’s novel centres on the stories of three central characters: Old Man Hung, whose relationship with pho has remained constant throughout a heart-wrenching, turbulent life; Tu, Hung’s surrogate grandson who represents contemporary Vietnam; and Maggie, a Vietnamese-American who comes to Hanoi in search of the truth about her artist father.

Switching between these narratives, Gibb’s novel builds up a picture of the effect of communism on the people of Vietnam, from the brutal treatment meted out to ordinary peasants when the French were driven out in the 1950s, through the war with America, to the present day, when police bribes and informants mix with mobile phones and Vietnam Idol.

Although Gibb switches between narratives and eras so often that at times it becomes confused, each strand of the story is entirely convincing and the characters are beautifully drawn. Obviously thoroughly researched, the novel is an illuminating portrait of a people struggling to make sense of their lives under an imposed regime.