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Still, though, I really did enjoy this. As another reviewer pointed out, I think it's good for Americans to read more historical fiction about the impacts of the Vietnam War by Vietnamese authors. Something that I really appreciated in Dust Child and appreciate here as well is the sprinkling of Vietnamese phrases/proverbs throughout in Vietnamese (then followed by the English translation), as well as the fact that names of characters, names of locations, etc. aren't Anglicized (so "Hà Nội," not "Hanoi," and "Trần," not "Tran"). Though it does also make me think I probably should've listened to this as an audiobook instead of reading it physically. Since I don't know Vietnamese, the pronunciations in my head were probably off.
To the actual content of the book, it was really a beautiful tale, both heartbreaking and heartwarming at times. And although I did like Dust Child better overall, this was still fantastic, and I would still absolutely recommend it to others.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Child death, Torture, Death of parent, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Rape, Suicide, Abortion
Graphic: Death, Rape, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Abortion, Abandonment
Graphic: Death, Grief, War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Physical abuse, Abortion, Colonisation
Graphic: Abandonment, War, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Rape, Murder
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Infertility, Slavery, Excrement
Graphic: Murder, War
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Rape
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Classism
Graphic: Violence, War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Excrement, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Classism
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
It could also be frustrating; despite how much I loved the book, I often felt like the characters were almost too naïve deliberately so the author could use them as a mouthpiece for philosophical arguments; i.e. Huong being 15 and not understanding what rape is so that the book can make the argument that no one should be shamed for violence inflicted upon them. There were other instances of this that tested believability, but for me it didn't drag down the impact of the novel. I'd recommend this to anyone and it will have a permanent place on my bookshelf and rotation of revered books.
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism