Memory of War and Trauma in Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War and Naoki Hyakuta’s The Eternal Zero: A Comparative Study

Memory of War and Trauma in Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War and Naoki Hyakuta’s The Eternal Zero: A Comparative Study

Tran Thi Thuc*

 ABSTRACT

In Vietnamese literature, the novel The Sorrow of War (1990) by writer Bao Ninh addresses the theme of soldiers with memories of horrific experiences during the war, where they constantly face death and endure both physical and psychological trauma even when they survive and return home. The memories of war haunt the soldiers, causing them pain and agony both physically and mentally. The novel The Eternal Zero (2006) by Japanese writer Naoki Hyakuta contains astonishing truths about Japanese kamikaze pilots during World War II, recounted through the vivid memories of those involved. They fight with all their might, unafraid of sacrifice, yet also deeply yearn to live and return home. The memories of war cling to the soldiers throughout their lives, making them seem like prisoners who cannot escape from those memories. The article analyzes the war experiences of soldiers through two works of Japanese and Vietnamese literature from a comparative perspective. It aims to identify the similarities and differences in how these works express memories of war, the experiences of war, and the processes of healing from traumatic memories and wounds. It examines how these experiences traumatize them mentally and how the writers use literature and art to heal these wounds. The memories of the war experiences of soldiers who directly engage in battle remain vivid and unforgettable, even decades after the war ends.

KEYWORDS: memory of war, trauma, traumatic memories, victim, The Eternal Zero, The Sorrow of War

Tran Thi Thuc, Lecturer, Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (thuctt@vnu.edu.vn).

DOI: 10.30395/WSR.202512_19(1).0002