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mondovertigo's review
4.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Racism and Pregnancy
Minor: Racial slurs
okiecozyreader's review
4.25
“How could I become a mother if I never knew my own?” Vengeance
“I wanted to belong, I had to obey Má, which meant I had to abandon my own inner knowing.” Squid and Chives
“Don’t work so hard. We get to experience life on earth because of the heavens. When you live a life always resisting, life becomes a struggle,…” Packing
“I became so obsessed with the past that I kept everyone else frozen in time too. I became attached to old stories of how we’d hurt one another and didn’t allow my family to change even when they did.” Part 6, persimmons
“My name is Susan Liễu. I come from a line of courageous nail salon workers who are my heroes. Má was a manicurist, and Ba was a manicurist too. I am the manicurists’ daughter and, this is just the beginning.”
Graphic: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Grief
m_a_j's review
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Vomit
katiemcgregor's review against another edition
4.0
Lieu is a natural story teller. So natural that I had to look it up several times to confirm that this is, in fact, her debut book. Now I’m afraid that she’s set a standard so high that the next memoir I pick up will be disappointing by comparison.
The scenes Lieu crafts are vivid and we move through them in such a snappy and efficient way that there’s always something to think about. She does a phenomenal job of fleshing out events, emotions, and interactions and giving them space to exist without dwelling on them to the detriment of pacing.
Lieu is a person so extremely different from myself which, I think, made The Manicurist’s Daughter all the more interesting to read. I would very much recommend this to those who already love memoirs and those wanting to get into them.
Graphic: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, and Body shaming
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Fatphobia, Dysphoria, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Pregnancy
bibliomich's review against another edition
Susan Lieu is the self-proclaimed keeper of her family's story--the one who has tasked herself with preserving the memories of her siblings, her father, and in particular, her mother who passed away during cosmetic surgery due to medical malpractice when Susan was only 11 years old. The telling of this story proves to be a lofty task, as Susan runs into many roadblocks along the way, including reluctant family members who would prefer not to talk about any of it, in addition to facing her own trauma.
While there were many elements of this story that I found to be incredibly compelling, overall I found the memoir to be uneven, specifically when it came to pacing and tone. There were times when the author would spend whole paragraphs detailing a single meal, but then she would blow right past an event that seemed to me (as a reader) like it would hold much more significance. Of course, who am I to judge what an author finds significant in her own story?
Much of the story was heavy. It felt as though this book was a form of therapy for Susan, as she worked through the loss of her mother, as well as toxicity within her family. Susan also tried to inject moments of humor into her story. Many of these fell flat for me, either seeming overly cynical or dismissive. I would have loved to see Susan explore some of her themes a little more deeply: the generational body shaming within her family that haunted her well into adulthood (and may have contributed to her mother's decision to have surgery), her parents' early struggles as Vietnamese refugees and the impact this had on the way they raised her and her siblings, or her decision to use performance art as a way to heal. These were some of the strongest points in the book that were ultimately overshadowed by vignettes that felt less connected to her story.
Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced listener copy.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: War and Panic attacks/disorders
care__'s review
4.0
“Even on her death anniversary, when we huddled around her grave offering her foods, talking about her was off-limits.”
Moderate: Body shaming, War, Grief, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
caseythereader's review
4.5
- If you’re a lover of memoirs exploring intergenerational trauma, THE MANICURIST’S DAUGHTER is one you can’t miss.
- Lieu’s to-the-point writing brings all her pain to the surface as we follow her trying both to figure out who she is an who her family members are as well.
- As Lieu’s understanding of and empathy for her family members’ individual grief processes grows, we begin to see a portrait of a family doing its best to hold on to each other even as they’ve experienced the worst the world has to offer.
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Body shaming, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, War, and Grief
Minor: Suicide and Alcohol
boiler_bookworm's review
4.5
I pretty much am a fiction only girl. However, about once a year, a memoir finds me and takes hold. Susan Lieu's "The Manicurist's Daughter" is that 2024 memoir for me. I was immediately drawn into Lieu's story-like style of writing as she address her mother's tragic death after an elective plastic surgery and how this effected her for the rest of her life. Lieu's story of self discovery and strained relationship with her father, Ba, aunts and siblings struck a cord with me. Through the description of multiple phases of her life (including becoming a member in a cult) I enjoyed her explanation and learning about her personal growth. Although much of Susan's story is definitely on the serious side, I did love how she used humor to show another side of herself in the book. I laughed out loud in public when reading about how she forced her doctor to listen to Salt N Pepa's "Push It" on repeat during her labor!
I also fully admit that I knew nothing about Vietnamese culture and amazed at how easily Lieu was able to teach about her culture while sharing her life. I appreciated her use of Vietnamese language throughout the book and the translations provided. I also appreciated the inclusion of how Vietnamese culture factored into Ma's (Susan's mother) decision to have the deadly plastic surgery.
Overall, I really enjoyed this memoir and recommend it to others. 4.5 stars from me.
Graphic: Body shaming, Death of parent, and Medical trauma