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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
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:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
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
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
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:
No
The pace of the book sped up a lot toward the end, which was disappointing but the main story had been told. I just wasn’t ready to leave the characters!
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
sad
Weaves together multiple stories of a family torn apart by war and give a voice to the local women who witness first hand what impacts war has on a nation.
“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.” —THE MOUNTAINS SING.
This book is hard to read. I’m going to say that at the get-go. Please please please check out content warnings before picking this one up, because there are a lot of them. But if you feel like this book and the hard topics it addresses is something you would like to read, I definitely recommend it.
THE MOUNTAINS SING flips back and forth between a Vietnamese grandmother and her granddaughter living in Vietnam during the French occupation, the Japanese occupation, the Communist land wars, the Vietnam war, and its aftermath. Each of these periods of time come with new hardships and war and death and destruction.
And wow, did I learn a lot. I pretty much knew nothing about Vietnam’s history. It made my heart break for how this people group and this land has been shoved from war to war while facing so much devastation and loss of life along the way.
This book has been compared to HOMEGOING and PACHINKO, two of my favorites of all time. It didn’t quite hit me the same as those two—the writing sometimes felt a bit stiff, the change in perspectives not as distinct. However, when considering that this is the author’s first book in English, based on her and her family and friend’s experiences in Vietnam, this book is a feat.
This book is hard to read. I’m going to say that at the get-go. Please please please check out content warnings before picking this one up, because there are a lot of them. But if you feel like this book and the hard topics it addresses is something you would like to read, I definitely recommend it.
THE MOUNTAINS SING flips back and forth between a Vietnamese grandmother and her granddaughter living in Vietnam during the French occupation, the Japanese occupation, the Communist land wars, the Vietnam war, and its aftermath. Each of these periods of time come with new hardships and war and death and destruction.
And wow, did I learn a lot. I pretty much knew nothing about Vietnam’s history. It made my heart break for how this people group and this land has been shoved from war to war while facing so much devastation and loss of life along the way.
This book has been compared to HOMEGOING and PACHINKO, two of my favorites of all time. It didn’t quite hit me the same as those two—the writing sometimes felt a bit stiff, the change in perspectives not as distinct. However, when considering that this is the author’s first book in English, based on her and her family and friend’s experiences in Vietnam, this book is a feat.
