“Be with you” tells the story of a family including the father – Takumi, or “Takkun”, the wife – Aio Mio and the son Yuji. Takkun, the narrator, and Yuji were struggling with life after the death of Mio, which was specially arduous as Takkun suffered from serious health problems, and Yuji was just a 6-year-old. In her last moments, Mio promised that she would come back in next year’s rainy season to look into how the other two had been living, and she did reappear. The novel narrates 6 weeks that Mio relived with her family. The book closed with a letter of Mio, explaining her unusual return, that the woman was her 21-year-old self who jumped to the future 7 years later.

The novel was particularly impressive from the very first pages with its light-hearted, ordinary writing style. If the classic American and British novels are noted with sophisticated diction and structure, the Vietnamese works are filled with realistic situations and identities, then the Takuji style left waves of effortless relaxation and engagement. The author makes tremendous use of short, curt sentences. “Will you ride to a convenience store and buy me something to eat?” “Something to eat?” “Yes. I need to be recharged” “Yeah?” “Yes, can you do that?” “Yes” “Off you go” “Yes.” This writing style is perfectly matched with the characters. Takkun is seriously ill, having something called “the chemical” inside his body, which knocks him down every time the switch is activated and subsequently releases the chemical. With that sickness, Takkun does not operate like a normal person: he cannot go into the elevator, travel by subway, get a car license or take medicines even though he is ill. Parallel to those symptoms, his thinking and reasoning are also different, as he does not use the elevator because he is afraid that he will “go to Mars.” Therefore, it is reasonable that his talking is simplified with simpler, shorter use of words. With Yuji, he is a child with naturally elementary thoughts and words. It is this style of simplicity that creates the novel’s vibe – pure, peaceful, halcyon. At nowhere do the readers feel tired, stressed or burdened; everything, from the leisure trip to a botanic garden, to the breakup of the couple, flies indiscreetly, like clouds drifting on that blue summer sky pool , into our mind and heart.

“Be with you” embraces flashbacks to structure its storyline. It narrates mostly the ordinary life of the family when Mio comes back mingled with the memories of Mio and Takumi. As readers progress on the story, they grasp a sense of self-reflection. The authors bring in familiar scenes of daily life, scenes that everyone may see themselves once in, seeing a movie, going on a date. As familiar as the stories may be, the author keeps the reader hooked for one important detail: how Mio returns after she is dead. In the novel, Takumi keeps reminding himself that his wife is surreal, rather a soul than a person; even when the three took a picture together, he keeps asking himself: “How is this possible when she is only a soul? Is a soul visible on the camera lens?” That even the narrator himself wondered the authenticity of Mio leads to the light, dreamy, captivating aura of the novel. It is this detail that turns the ordinary life into an extraordinary tale. This is a book, a product of either reality or imagination, which means literally anything can happen. There are numerous explanations as to why and how Mio came back, yet wisdom and subtlety lie in which way to choose. In her letter, Mio states that the woman who returned in rainy season was her 21-year-old self, who traveled to the future after an accident. This is where the novel becomes truly extraordinary. Takuji chose a reason that connects the past, the present and the future. Normally, without the past, there cannot be the future, but in this case, past and future are intertwined: without the future there also cannot be the past. When Mio was 21, Takumi left her (because of his illness); she was still in love with him but she did not plan on any plan. That journey to the future triggered her into action. She did wonder, what if she got married to another person, what if she chose not to do anything. But after all, the journey was only a necessary catalyst to the main factor, that is, her strong and lasting love for Takumi, which was gradually built in 6 years.

“Be with you” stands out for its unique exploration on the theme of love. The romance between Takumi and Mio developed in an unusual way. The author recounts that they first met each other when they were in high school. At that time, Mio was “more a soul of a coffee spoon than a girl”, with the shortest hair in class (including the boys), a pair of metal glasses, skirts that touch the knees, no definition of earrings, necklaces or lipsticks and undivided focus on the blackboard, teacher, books and notebooks. Takumi, without detailed description, was also a boy with no intention of seeking a girlfriend. They were almost parallel lines, except for those interactions when Takumi borrowed Mio’s notebooks. Parallel as they were, Takumi claimed that they were constantly exchanging “the chemical”, not the lethal substance above but another type of chemical, one that transmit the message “I am finding a partner to maintain my lineage,” even though both were oblivious of this transaction. The chemical was also their means of communication when taking notes or resisting the temptation to sleep (“I’m looking for my partner. Anyone there?”), and Takumi alleged that this process is where love is built subliminally, that this was the base for the immediate feelings the two had for each other the moment they met after one year of seperation and 3 years of little real interactions. Takuji let his characters love each other obliviously, unconsciously before officially. This way of thinking and believing is unique in the world of love, where people mostly love at first sight or love gradually after days of familiarization. At first, their love seemed so mundane with small talks, simple hellos, blank smiles and empty glances. Later it rose to be a splendid love, above Takumi’s vile disease and every life impediment.

“Be with you” is a cosmos of peace, purity and light-heartedness, an escape from the hustle and bustle of life, an absolute gate of relaxation. Think of how you lie thoughtlessly beside the swimming pool, beneath that blue sky, wondering nothing but to drink orange or apple juice: that is how “Be with you” will treat you. Drown yourself in that universe of simplicity, and watch how, in the end, simplicity becomes sophistication.