URBAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL NARRATOLOGY IN NGUYEN VIET HA’S URBANITE NOVEL

Abstract

This article approaches the novel Urbanite Novel from the perspective of urban anthropological narratology, viewing storytelling as a form of practice and a means of constructing cultural meaning within urban spaces. The research findings indicate that, at the level of content, the work constructs an intersubjective “narrative community” where urban dwellers collectively recount their lives. This process reveals the fractures, collisions, and restructuring of Hanoi’s “cultural genetic code” amidst modernization. The differing perspectives of these urban dwellers not only reflect generational differences but also create a polyphonic field of dialogue organized through the narrator's parodic tone and self-reflective consciousness. At the level of form, urban anthropology functions as an organizing principle of narrative organization through an urban narrator and an assemblage structure. The technique of shifting focalization allows urban experiences to be expressed from multiple positions, while the fragmented-interwoven structure reimagines the city as a multi-layered space of memory and consciousness. Ultimately, the narrative does not merely reflect but actively participates in the construction of urban cultural meaning.