Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to tell my uncle not to blame himself but feared I'd interrupt his thoughts. Perhaps he had to untangle his feelings on his own, by talking out loud, so that he could understand how it was to be alive, and to be dead at the same time.
“The Mountains Sing” is a beautiful novel about the hardships of Vietnam’s recent history. It tells a story of a Vietnamese family, its members - broken by wars in their country one way or another - and those who surrounded them. It is a story about love, pain, humanity, trauma and hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Rape, Abortion
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The scope and breadth of this novel is ambitious, and, I think, perhaps its downfall. In trying to show so much of Viet Nam's history, the narrative jumps through time in an inconsistent way, especially in Grandma Dieu Lan's perspective. In being tailored for a unfamiliar audience, the narration includes jarring moments, especially in the first half of the novel, where the prose digresses into unnecessary historical facts and figures, breaking the stride of the novel's plot and undercutting its heart. In being written for an English-speaking audience, words in Vietnamese are almost always followed by a shoehorned definition, making the narrative voice feel clunky and inauthentic in places, especially in dialogue. At the beginning, especially in audiobook format, these peculiarities made it difficult for me to become immersed in the story and attached to the characters. It was not at all that the information was there; I am extremely grateful for the context and knowledge, just that I felt that the more non-fiction elements were less thematically successful and articulated with less poise and beauty, than the emotional core of the novel.
But by the 50% mark, I was hooked. I have trouble DNFing books and books like this are exactly why. Had I decided to set this book aside I'd have missed the growth and nuance in the later half. All throughout, the prose is alternatively lush and crushing, evocative and tender. Each scene is built with such precision and care. Each generation of the Tran family is weaved carefully into the structure of the novel, part epistolary, part oral tradition, stories upon stories, realistic and compelling. As Hương ages and time inexorably moves forward, the tale becomes more intimate somehow. The poetic close of the novel drew its themes together perfectly, leaving us with a vision of hope and peace even throughout the dark events laid out in the past. The intimacy of it brings the personal into the political in an unforgettable way.
Nguyen Phan Que Mai's voice is clear, profound and powerful, and I will certainly look forward to encountering it again.
But by the 50% mark, I was hooked. I have trouble DNFing books and books like this are exactly why. Had I decided to set this book aside I'd have missed the growth and nuance in the later half. All throughout, the prose is alternatively lush and crushing, evocative and tender. Each scene is built with such precision and care. Each generation of the Tran family is weaved carefully into the structure of the novel, part epistolary, part oral tradition, stories upon stories, realistic and compelling. As Hương ages and time inexorably moves forward, the tale becomes more intimate somehow. The poetic close of the novel drew its themes together perfectly, leaving us with a vision of hope and peace even throughout the dark events laid out in the past. The intimacy of it brings the personal into the political in an unforgettable way.
Nguyen Phan Que Mai's voice is clear, profound and powerful, and I will certainly look forward to encountering it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
The Mountains Sing is the story of four generations of the Tran family, told through the experiences of two women, set against the backdrop of Vietnam’s difficult history. It is a beautiful and heartbreaking story of the indomitable human spirit to persevere in the face of injustices and a family who refuses to give up.
There is so much history we don’t know about, so many injustices that people were forced to endure in the past that can’t be put right, so many lives lost and families torn apart by wars, entire generations who inherit the trauma of wars brought back by returning or lost family members. There are still so many who carry the grief and loss in their hearts. So many countries and their histories erased, together with the lives of countless people. People forbidden to talk about the inhumanity of those in power. But as @nguyenphanquemai_ rightly says, history lives on in people’s memories, and as long as those memories live on, there is faith that we can do better.
And isn’t that why we read? Stories bring us closer to people separated from us by distance and experiences. It gives us an opportunity to share in their grief and loss, to live with their fears and dreams, to celebrate their victories and endure their heartbreaks, because “Somehow I was sure that if people were willing to read each other and see the light of other cultures, there would be no war on earth.”
There is so much heart in this book, so many experiences and memories poured into it to bring Vietnam to life on these pages. Author Que Mai’s words are simple but impactful. They have the power to invoke a million different feelings in you. I read countless book reviews before starting with the book, but nothing could prepare me for how much this story has to offer. I had not expected to cry as much as I did. I had not expected that this book will bring back memories for me that I tried but failed to bury repeatedly, that it’ll be the start of not one, but many difficult conversations. I did not expect this book to break my heart and then put it back together all in 339 pages. Thank you @nguyenphanquemai_ for bringing me closer to something I constantly fear I’ll lose.
There is so much history we don’t know about, so many injustices that people were forced to endure in the past that can’t be put right, so many lives lost and families torn apart by wars, entire generations who inherit the trauma of wars brought back by returning or lost family members. There are still so many who carry the grief and loss in their hearts. So many countries and their histories erased, together with the lives of countless people. People forbidden to talk about the inhumanity of those in power. But as @nguyenphanquemai_ rightly says, history lives on in people’s memories, and as long as those memories live on, there is faith that we can do better.
And isn’t that why we read? Stories bring us closer to people separated from us by distance and experiences. It gives us an opportunity to share in their grief and loss, to live with their fears and dreams, to celebrate their victories and endure their heartbreaks, because “Somehow I was sure that if people were willing to read each other and see the light of other cultures, there would be no war on earth.”
There is so much heart in this book, so many experiences and memories poured into it to bring Vietnam to life on these pages. Author Que Mai’s words are simple but impactful. They have the power to invoke a million different feelings in you. I read countless book reviews before starting with the book, but nothing could prepare me for how much this story has to offer. I had not expected to cry as much as I did. I had not expected that this book will bring back memories for me that I tried but failed to bury repeatedly, that it’ll be the start of not one, but many difficult conversations. I did not expect this book to break my heart and then put it back together all in 339 pages. Thank you @nguyenphanquemai_ for bringing me closer to something I constantly fear I’ll lose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Excrement, Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content
Minor: Cancer, Abortion
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh, this book. It broke my heart. Told through the eyes of a Vietnamese grandmother and granddaughter, The Mountains Sing is a heart wrenching and beautiful tale about tenacity, suffering, sacrifice, and humanity. Spanning nearly a century, this novel is rich with Vietnamese history and is a perspective we all need to read. This one is brutal and honest, and I warn anyone who embarks on the journey to read that it’s not for the faint of heart. The details about the war are gruesome and devastating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, Rape
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A great, emotional book. Deeply examines the tensions between Northern and Southern Vietnam.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Rape, Abortion
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality