Delivery man working as book translator

Huynh Huu Phuoc and his newly released translation "Girl"

Huynh Huu Phuoc is considered lucky when he suddenly became famous after attending writer Marc Levy’s author event. But his newly released translation “Girl” (Vietnamese Women's Publishing House) shows that Phuoc himself has made a great effort.

Golden opportunity

In November last year, French writer Marc Levy held an author event at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street. As a delivery man who had great admiration for Marc Levy, Huynh Huu Phuoc took the chance to attend. In the Q&A section, he asked the writer questions in French fluently. Unexpectedly, the video of him, as a delivery man, speaking French with no difficulties became viral on social media.

Phuoc's financial hardship was also brought to light as a result - not long after he got a place in the French Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, his parents got divorced, and Phuoc had to live in a boarding house. Consequently, to ease the financial bottlenecks, Phuoc had to sacrifice his pursuit of education and started to work as a delivery man.

After the video was shared on social media, Huynh Huu Phuoc received nationwide support and thus managed to continue with his study program. Currently, Phuoc is in his third year, studying French and Geography at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. In addition to French, he can also speak English and Chinese, and he is attempting to self-study Japanese. Phuoc's wish after graduation is to be able to go to France to study French Literature.

His love for literature, especially French literature, dates back to when he was in elementary school. He had the habit of reading at an early age, and two contemporary French writers of his interest are Marc Levy and Guillaume Musso.

The opportunity to translate “Girl" by Camille Laurens came to him at the end of 2021, even before the author event of writer Marc Levy at HCMC Book Street. At that time, Phuoc was facing difficulties both mentally and physically as he had just recovered from Covid-19.

Receiving an invitation to translate the book, Phuoc did not dare to try at first, given his limited knowledge of French back then. However, as his friend kept encouraging and providing support, he decided to accept the invitation.

Utilization of time to translate the book

The publication of the book brought great happiness to Phuoc. It took 8 months for him to complete the translation work as he also worked as a delivery man when he conducted the translation. During the day he carried a notebook with the original print, making use of his lunch break or when there were no customers, he pulled over to a residence or a certain tree, made a translation draft, and polished it at the end of the day, Phuoc said.

According to Phuoc, the biggest challenge when translating Girl is the puns or French idioms used, as not all terms have the corresponding equivalences in Vietnamese.

The book “Girl” by Camille Laurens is thin but not easy to translate, said an editor of Vietnam Women's Publishing House. In the book, the author uses homonymous words in French and some words about the genitals. This requires a translator with a good grasp of both French and Vietnamese vocabulary so that the translation sounds natural and the original messages are correctly conveyed. According to the editor, Huynh Huu Phuoc has smoothly handled this challenge and produced a comprehensive translation.

Phuoc acknowledges his passion for translation, yet also comprehends the importance of stabilizing his finances to pursue this career. To him, only when translating with passion will the translator make an effort to find the closest and most natural equivalences to the original words while still preserving the author's writing style, hence enhancing the work.