Reviews tagging 'Death'

Góry śpiewają by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

125 reviews

helaylay's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical content

andreinavhernandez98's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, War

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Abortion

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Xenophobia

isobelk_18's review against another edition

4.5

emotional sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, War

lindsaywalsvick's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, War, Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Rape, Murder

bananspagat's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Colonisation, War

justinegrace's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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I just finished The Mountains Sing for my bookclub, and I listened on audio but also read the paperback along with it. I’m so glad I listened because hearing the family names, songs, and Vietnamese phrases gave this book an extra layer that I wouldn’t have gotten just reading it on my own and wondering how to pronounce what is written on the page. This story is hard, very hard to read in places but there is so much love and strength throughout the book—and it’s told beautifully. This is the second novel I’ve read written by a poet and the turns of phrases and writing are so lyrical and visual that it makes the reading experience so rich. I also loved the descriptions of food—though hunger is a large part of the suffering the characters go through. 
This is historical fiction at its best I think—it’s made me realize how little I know about the Viet Nam war, and now I’ll be doing a deep dive into that. Highly recommend this for those who love multigenerational sagas and strong women characters—though keep in mind this is a book about the ravages of war on a family, so it’s going to be tough, but it’s worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

reidob's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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A magnificent, sweeping epic tale of one Vietnamese family's struggle to survive war and revolution

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, War

Moderate: Rape

skurtyka89's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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: No

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I loved this book! It has a good balance between historical reality and family fiction. The characters are dynamic and beautiful. A portrayal of hardship, hunger, death, war, violence, separation, family, grief and suffering. The story is intimate from the POVs of a grandmother (who lived through everything) and a granddaughter (who lived through the most recent). The stories of their family members, neighbors and friends are punctuated throughout. Difficult to read in its brutality and harshness. Covers the 1920s-1970s-Great Hunger, Land Reform and Viet Nam War. This novel brings the history of Viet Nam to life. 

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Content Warnings

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

23mama's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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: No

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Genocide, Sexual assault

rieviolet's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Despite its difficult subject matter, The Mountains Sing is a book that I didn't want to put down. You are compelled to keep reading to find out what happened in the past and what fate will befall the characters that you've grown attached to. 

I really appreciated how the author explored war and its aftermath, both at a wider and at a more personal level (through the story of the Trần family). I think it did well in depicting all the contradictions and nuances in a country's history.   
My only minor complaint in terms of the plot is the big revelation in the final chapters; I found it a little bit melodramatic and fortuitous.

I wasn't completely captured by the writing style but, here and there, there were some touching moments elevated by the prose.

Overall, this is a gripping and powerful book that I would encourage everyone to pick up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Blood, Sexual harassment, Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury