The dearth of translated works is not just an American problem. Thanh Nien News profiles 28-year-old Cao Viet Dung, a “prolific” translator of works by Milan Kundera, Thomas Friedman, Michel Houellebecq, and Paul Auster. He bemoans Vietnam’s “chaotic reading culture in which people rush to read worthless books while ignoring worthwhile ones.” Dung is also critical of the 50-plus state-owned publishers in Vietnam, as published novels “lack high-quality content and have been sloppily edited” and censorship has led to many books being withdrawn from circulation after publication.Thanh Nien News
