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amberjackonski's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Miscarriage
brynpemery's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.5
A few too many characters and subplots for me, and not enough of the backstory. I don’t know that this will stick with me long term but it was fun and entertaining and heartwarming.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Racism
sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
finishing is book took me so much more time than expected but i want to believe it was manily because of uni, since i genuinely enjoyed reading it. i feel like i have a lot to talk about so let me just go little by little.
this story follows an intergenerational group of immigrant vietnamese women and a "curse" that has been creeping up on their family for several generations. one of their ancestors, many decades ago, decided to leave her husband and elope with the man she loved. that's when her mother-in-law decided to curse her and all of her future descendants to never give birth to sons (which is very important in vietnamese culture) and be unhappy in their marriages. however, in present times, duong women have learnt that this year they'll live through the death, the marriage and the pregnancy of someone in their family.
first things first, this book has a lot of characters. if i am not wrong, there are about 15 main characters. obviously not every single one has the same relevance or story telling time in the book because it has less than 300 pages. however, each one of them is mentioned throughout the story so the family tree at the beginning is super helpful to turn to until one gets used to the characters.
i think you'll really love this book too, specially if you're a poc immigrant child. i'm not even asian, i'm north african but, trust me, there will be so many scenes which will feel super relatable. actually, since this story tackles several important storylines and it has so many flawed characters i think you will be able to relate to, at least, one of them. some of these said themes are parental relationships and disapproval, different meanings and expectations for success, duties to familial ties, intergenerational trauma, loneliness, finding happiness and peace for yourself, the model minority role on asian women, their fetishization, identity and mental health issues, grief, the effects of war on people, failed marriages, being a second generation immigrant and wanting to blend with your second culture...
there are just so many different themes which may make you tear up. but, on the other hand, there are also some parts which will make you laugh or, at least, smile. specially the parts with some family drama. then there's also some parts which will make you laugh and feel some softness in your heart, for example the way the mothers brag about their daughters despite their relationship being so broken.
but i would say that maybe one of the main themes is motherhood, how it is never easy to make good choices and how hard a mother wants to avoid her daughter to end up with sad eyes in front of a life she does not deserve. i feel like these scenes are the core of the book. and i don't wanna be too repetitive but, fuck, all of these problems hit just so close. and maybe the second main theme is just trying to understand that, trying to see your family's struggles and meeting with them somewhere in the middle and maybe achieving to break the intergenerational trauma. i obviously teared up a lot while reading this book, btw. but, sometimes, to get to that point you need to find yourself first, work and believe for the good things you deserve in your life.
of course, there are some things i disliked.one of them was joyce. i felt like she was pretty queercoded every time people talked about her. i mean, she works at a museum, everyone clearly could tell she is depressed and they kept saying she was special. to my disappointment she is just a koreaboo, lmao. i mean i can get how she found comfort in kdramas when everything in her life fell apart and how she romanticized korean men because of them. however, i feel like maybe after her first 10 failed dates something should have clicked for her maybe the book could have been a little bit longer in order for the reader to have a better approach to all of the characters. and, ugh, i really disliked the ending. i'm not gonna spoil anything, i'm just gonna say that it shouldn't have finished with a literal ellipsis.
but there are a couple details i really loved. the first one is the title and its game play with jaded/jade (for context: jade is an important gemstone in the duong family.) the second one is the tangerine illustrations in every section of the book. i love how its sections kept growing until we had a whole tangerine, simbolizing how the family grew back together. <3
to sum up, i really enjoyed reading this book. and i would definitely love to re-read it in a future or even watch its adaption as a film. despite the tears it made me shed i feel like it has potential to become one of my new comfort reads.
this story follows an intergenerational group of immigrant vietnamese women and a "curse" that has been creeping up on their family for several generations. one of their ancestors, many decades ago, decided to leave her husband and elope with the man she loved. that's when her mother-in-law decided to curse her and all of her future descendants to never give birth to sons (which is very important in vietnamese culture) and be unhappy in their marriages. however, in present times, duong women have learnt that this year they'll live through the death, the marriage and the pregnancy of someone in their family.
first things first, this book has a lot of characters. if i am not wrong, there are about 15 main characters. obviously not every single one has the same relevance or story telling time in the book because it has less than 300 pages. however, each one of them is mentioned throughout the story so the family tree at the beginning is super helpful to turn to until one gets used to the characters.
i think you'll really love this book too, specially if you're a poc immigrant child. i'm not even asian, i'm north african but, trust me, there will be so many scenes which will feel super relatable. actually, since this story tackles several important storylines and it has so many flawed characters i think you will be able to relate to, at least, one of them. some of these said themes are parental relationships and disapproval, different meanings and expectations for success, duties to familial ties, intergenerational trauma, loneliness, finding happiness and peace for yourself, the model minority role on asian women, their fetishization, identity and mental health issues, grief, the effects of war on people, failed marriages, being a second generation immigrant and wanting to blend with your second culture...
there are just so many different themes which may make you tear up. but, on the other hand, there are also some parts which will make you laugh or, at least, smile. specially the parts with some family drama. then there's also some parts which will make you laugh and feel some softness in your heart, for example the way the mothers brag about their daughters despite their relationship being so broken.
but i would say that maybe one of the main themes is motherhood, how it is never easy to make good choices and how hard a mother wants to avoid her daughter to end up with sad eyes in front of a life she does not deserve. i feel like these scenes are the core of the book. and i don't wanna be too repetitive but, fuck, all of these problems hit just so close. and maybe the second main theme is just trying to understand that, trying to see your family's struggles and meeting with them somewhere in the middle and maybe achieving to break the intergenerational trauma. i obviously teared up a lot while reading this book, btw. but, sometimes, to get to that point you need to find yourself first, work and believe for the good things you deserve in your life.
of course, there are some things i disliked.
but there are a couple details i really loved. the first one is the title and its game play with jaded/jade (for context: jade is an important gemstone in the duong family.) the second one is the tangerine illustrations in every section of the book. i love how its sections kept growing until we had a whole tangerine, simbolizing how the family grew back together. <3
to sum up, i really enjoyed reading this book. and i would definitely love to re-read it in a future or even watch its adaption as a film. despite the tears it made me shed i feel like it has potential to become one of my new comfort reads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Racism, and Cursing
Minor: Miscarriage, Abandonment, Mental illness, Xenophobia, and War
spinesinaline's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Love the Practical Magic vibes of this one!
A funny and beautiful story about family. We follow many, many different women in this book, switching perspectives quite often, and while I was a bit lost at the beginning as I tried to remember who was whose daughter or sister, it became quite easy to distinguish their different personalities and lives as we get to know them better.
There are some really unfortunate fatphobic remarks directed at one character and her relationship with food, so a heads up for some severe body shaming. I was also uncomfortable with the way one of the character’s storylines was wrapped up as it felt like it veered towards coercion and abuse so a few moments that left a sour taste in my mouth.
A funny and beautiful story about family. We follow many, many different women in this book, switching perspectives quite often, and while I was a bit lost at the beginning as I tried to remember who was whose daughter or sister, it became quite easy to distinguish their different personalities and lives as we get to know them better.
There are some really unfortunate fatphobic remarks directed at one character and her relationship with food, so a heads up for some severe body shaming. I was also uncomfortable with the way one of the character’s storylines was wrapped up as it felt like it veered towards coercion and abuse so a few moments that left a sour taste in my mouth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, and Grief
Moderate: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body shaming, Racism, Cursing, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abandonment and Miscarriage
victoriaharris001's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Death, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia
cadieallen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
haleysversion's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Death, Infidelity, War, and Grief
starrysteph's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Fortunes of Jaded Women was a quick but powerful read.
We follow a large, complicated family of Vietnamese women who have been cursed for generations by a witch. Their ancestor Oanh left her marriage for true love – and so her descendants were cursed to never find love or happiness, and to only give birth to daughters.
Now skip ahead to present day, when current descendant Mai feels like her life is falling apart. She’s estranged from her two sisters and deeply worried about her three adult daughters. So she heads to her trusted psychic in Hawaii, who offers her an unusual prediction: this year, her family will witness a marriage, a funeral, and the birth of a son (!).
The story takes off at lightning speed from there. We alternate between a HUGE cast of characters from chapter to chapter, often hearing one side of the story and then the next. It was a little confusing to keep track at times, but the family tree at the front of the book was helpful. And as I got to know each character a little better, the threads became much clearer.
The storytelling is emotional and chaotic and raw – but also quite funny at times. These women are strong and STUBBORN.
The first half of the book focuses on the generation of mothers. All they want is to do better than their parents and to give their children happiness … but they don’t always know how. In the second portion of the book, we hear more from the daughters. They’re all desperately trying to distance themselves from their mothers in very different ways – but often unknowingly continue the cycles they hope to break.
Slowly but surely, the family is reunited. And all of this chaos culminates in one of the most jaw-droppingly awesome climaxes I’ve ever read. Everything comes together all at once, and I was cracking up at the delightful ridiculousness of it all.
This book covers SO much: navigating love in all of its stages, connecting with your roots and heritage in different ways, dealing with racism and harmful stereotypes, the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, generational trauma, the burden of being an eldest daughter, and so much more. It will make you laugh out loud and then punch you in the gut. It’s a celebration of Vietnamese women and of complicated families who may get into public food fights but ultimately will do anything for each other.
CW: death, grief, racism, toxic relationship, infidelity, body shaming, drug use, mental illness, misogyny, medical content, miscarriage, pregnancy, cultural appropriation, abandonment, colonization, classism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Pregnancy, Death, Grief, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Infidelity, Colonisation, Medical content, Miscarriage, Abandonment, and Classism
internationalreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Infidelity, Racism, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Death
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