Cultural and Literary Representations of the Automobile in French Indochina

Book excerpt: How are the pleasures and thrills of the automobile linked to France’s history of conquest, colonialism, and exploitation in Southeast Asia? Cultural and Literary Representations of the Automobile in French Indochina addresses the contradictions of the “progress” of French colonialism and their consequences through the lens of the automobile. Stéphanie Ponsavady examines the development of transportation systems in French Indochina at the turn of the twentieth century, analyzing archival material and French and Vietnamese literature to critically assess French colonialism.