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dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcohol
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A lovely story overall, with some simple yet effective writing. It just has some pretty glaring pacing issues - thing that seem like major emotional beats or plot points get narrated in a few paragraphs, and the events come off as episodic rather than part of complete whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, War
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
I really enjoyed this book, though, reflecting on reading Dust Child earlier this year versus reading The Mountains Sing now, I do have to say that I enjoyed Dust Child more, which appears to be an unpopular opinion. Maybe it's because I read Dust Child first, but I felt like The Mountains Sing was a bit more slow paced, and I think that is where the major difference came in for me.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Child death, Torture, Death of parent, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Rape, Suicide, Abortion
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Abortion, Abandonment
emotional
informative
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
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, War
challenging
emotional
informative
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
Beautifully told story of a family pulling itself back together after hard times. Through the voice of its matriarch Diêu Lan and her grandaughter Hương we hear them survive through struggles with changes in politics, war zones, wealth and poverty keep going for their family. The love and forgivness is important and the heart of their story.
Diêu Lan is an amazing character of strength and I thank the author for sharing parts of her family history.
Diêu Lan is an amazing character of strength and I thank the author for sharing parts of her family history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, War
Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Alcohol
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, War
emotional
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:
No
This was so beautifully written and narrated. Very sad book. I enjoyed the characters coming to life and the unveiling of a history that isn't really talked about in the US (at least not in my small section of it). It gives me a new perspective of the Vietnam War, and the hippie movement and everything. Despite the sad history the characters still come to life, the setting of Vietnam itself is very well done. Etc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Physical abuse, Abortion, Colonisation
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Vomit
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I realised as I read this that my knowledge of the Vietnam war was based almost entirely of fuzzy memories of 'Mash' being on TV as a child, meaning I really didn't know very much about the country or the people at all. This is a huge (in scope) story, spanning several decades and giving us the stories of Grandma Tran Dieu Lan and her granddaughter Huong. It is violent, brutal, shocking, moving and brave. At some points I wasn't sure I could keep reading as it was so sad, but I really wanted to see where the story would go. The two strong female characters are brave, and I was fully committed to their stories, even when I didn't always like their actions. I'm really glad my friend chose this for our book group to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Abandonment