Nguyen Le Sang works on his epic novel.

Nguyen Le Sang’s gigantic novel revolves around 9 people who have learned of an upcoming deluge. As the lives of those characters intertwine, the mystery of the cataclysm is gradually revealed. 

Inspired by deluge myths that are widespread in Eurasia and America, Sang started to outline “The Last Storm” in 2012. He initially intended to write a short novella and release it that same year in order to catch the wave of a “doomsday” trend related to a Mayan calendar that ends on December 21, 2012. But things turned out differently.

“At first, I planned just to write a shortbook. But the more I wrote, the more I felt that the deluge was a catalyst for me to bring up many other topics and delve into people’s psychology. For example, if someone knows about a coming deluge beforehand, maybe 1 or 2 years earlier, how will they prepare for it?” said Sang.

"The Last Storm" series will hit the shelves in March 2022.

Except for one key book, the 9 other books are neither numbered nor chronological, providing readers a unique reading approach. A reader can begin with any of the books, and his view of the whole story is likely to depend on the order in which he reads them. Each book raises questions that are answered only in the other books in the series. Each reader, then, puts together the events of the story into a seamless whole in a different way, and may find a part of their inner self somewhere in the story.

Looking back at his10-year journey, Sang said that one of the biggest challenges was to gather a large amount of information in various fields. He was searching constantly for reliable sources and consultants to ensure the accuracy and reasonableness of each plot element.

“Sometimes I felt tired and told myself either to take a break for a few years or stop altogether. But each time I felt like giving up, I tried to imagine what my life would be like if I stopped writing and did another job. And the answer was always the same," Sang told VOV.

"No matter what I did, whenever I observed things that happened in daily life to the people around me, I would find more material for literature and would inevitably start writing again. I would not be able to get rid of the impulse to write. It’s my obsession.”

Because Sang has chosen to write full-time, he takes advantage of evenings to do other things, like writing short items just to earn a living. He says maintaining his inspiration, creativity, and work discipline is crucial to fulfilling his goals.

“To be able to work for a long time, I can’t work on a whim. I start working at 8 am and stop at 5 pm every day. Thanks to this disciplined routine, I can maintain writing as a full-time job,” said Sang.

Sang hopes that his effort will inspire others who dream of becoming a writer and contributing to Vietnam’s literature.

“This series is very long and wide-ranging. I wanted to prove that Vietnamese people can write long-form stories. If they have the right conditions, they can write massive literary works, not just short books,” he said.

Sang says he plans to have the series translated into other languages, beginning with English, to help introduce Vietnamese literature to foreign friends.