The book is titled “The Kim Van Kieu of Nguyen Du (1765-1820), and was published in 2004 by Pandanus Book, under the School of Pacific-Asian Studies, National University of Australia.
In the February 2006 Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Professor Keith W.Taylor of Cornell University praises this translation as “remarkable achievement”. “This is a translation which we can read with excitement as Vietnamese people recite beautifully the original Truyen Kieu. It reflects the poet’s linguistic passion and the deep understanding of English” he said.
Vladislav Zhukov studied Vietnamese at the National University of Australia and lived in Vietnam for 2 and a half years, wants his translation of Truyen Kieu to be not only a cultural document but an artwork. He added, “If the reader wants to read this work of Nguyen Du as an original document on Vietnam culture, the translation annotated by Huynh Sanh Thong (Publishing House of Yale University, 1983) is recommended. Otherwise, to read Truyen Kieu as its original purpose to recite beautifully, to feel the poesy and intellectual meaning, the translation by Zhuko will be satisfactory”.
