Reviews tagging 'Death'

Góry śpiewają by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

125 reviews

wy_woman's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation

Minor: Child death, Rape, Abortion, Alcohol

thevietvegan's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, War

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Classism

ok7a's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional hopeful tense slow-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Murder, Abandonment, War

Moderate: Cancer, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent

jayisreading's review against another edition

4.25

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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If time allowed, I would have read The Mountain Sings in one sitting. It was tough and heartbreaking to read, but Nguyễn wrote such a powerful story featuring strong women who, despite all the struggles they have faced, continued to push forward. I admittedly don’t know much about Vietnam’s history, so this book was not only an engaging story for me but an opportunity to learn as well. There was an intimacy and a complex love for the country and its people that Nguyễn explored through themes on family and compassion, but also war and grief.

One thing that took a little bit of getting used to was the jumping back and forth between time. It was disconcerting at first, but it started making more sense as you learned more about the Trần family.

Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed The Mountain Sings, finding that I needed to reflect on the themes I mentioned earlier. It’s clear that one thing that Nguyễn wants the reader to understand is the devastating effects of conflict, making you think about ongoing conflict today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Torture, Blood, Abortion

Minor: Cancer, Genocide

tumbleweedreads's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Abortion, Pregnancy

Minor: Chronic illness, Excrement

mandkips's review against another edition

3.75

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Abortion

Minor: Cancer

maigguu's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional informative tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Rape, Violence, War

Minor: Child death

hanytea's review against another edition

5.0

emotional sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Abortion, War

unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War

marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Lyrical and enchanting, The Mountains Sing tells the history of a whole country through the tale of two generations of women. A must read! Quê' Mai details a large part of the atrocities committed during the Vietnam war with painstaking care, covering everything from PTSD to the devastating impact of chemical warfare. At the same time, this story is filled with love, hope and compassion. The language is just beautiful and you can really tell that the author also writes poetry. The only issue I had with the book was that the pacing was a little off at times. The resolution came too quick, which undermined the build up that the two different time lines were supposed to set up. I think the book could have benefited from a few extra chapters, especially in Diêu Lan's perspective. My rating would be 4.5 stars if possible but will round up because I still really enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Miscarriage, Rape, Forced institutionalization

Minor: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail