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manaledi's review against another edition
3.0
I stopped reading this after the first chapter because it felt very crime thriller and I expected only half crime novel and half more personal interest/development. I picked it up again after seeing it on a number of "top" lists. I am glad I eventually finished it and appreciate the complexity of the immigration/ptsd/Vietnam war story underlying the pseudo-mystery.
pamseven's review against another edition
4.0
This book was hyped as a modern noir and it did start off that way. But then it turned into something more philosophical. The ending felt very anticlimatic as well.
emilybryk's review against another edition
4.0
The most Raymond Chandler book I've ever read from someone who is not Raymond Chandler. And that's a good thing.
sleightoffeet's review against another edition
5.0
First in full disclosure, I have to say that Vu is a friend of mine.
This is a wonderful book, mostly set in Vegas, part mystery, part thriller but in no way a simple light fluffy read. It's nice to read something that takes place in Vegas but doesn't "tourist" it up. It was also fun as there are certain landmarks that I really never looked at before, that now, after reading the book, I have begun to notice.
An ex husband, still in love with his former wife has been sucked in to her search after seeking revenge from her current husband. Mysteries from her previous life, immigrating to the US from Vietnam, are slowly revealed as Robert tries to understand what happened during his marriage and where she might have gone.
A heartbreaking story told in a wonderful way.
This is a wonderful book, mostly set in Vegas, part mystery, part thriller but in no way a simple light fluffy read. It's nice to read something that takes place in Vegas but doesn't "tourist" it up. It was also fun as there are certain landmarks that I really never looked at before, that now, after reading the book, I have begun to notice.
An ex husband, still in love with his former wife has been sucked in to her search after seeking revenge from her current husband. Mysteries from her previous life, immigrating to the US from Vietnam, are slowly revealed as Robert tries to understand what happened during his marriage and where she might have gone.
A heartbreaking story told in a wonderful way.
luvsvad's review against another edition
3.0
• nothing special, kinda meh, unlikable mc (intentional), but fun
• unexpected ending
• literary wise though, it's beautifully written and fairly poetic, so many quotable lines that can be analysed further and to be applied in life, the letters tho omg my heart breaks at the ending like i FELT the hollow
• unexpected ending
• literary wise though, it's beautifully written and fairly poetic, so many quotable lines that can be analysed further and to be applied in life, the letters tho omg my heart breaks at the ending like i FELT the hollow
tinmanreading's review against another edition
3.0
There’s nothing wrong this book but I just didn’t get it.
roshk99's review against another edition
2.0
Not that enjoyable. There wasn't really a single redeeming character, and I didn't really get invested in anyone's outcome. The only interesting part was the view of the Vietnamese underworld and the motivations of the people coming from Vietnam.
kimrosswrites's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
Vu Tran has written two compelling narratives, from the POV of two characters with completely different voices. They were married once and yet hardly know each other. Hong, or Suzy, as her husband calls her, is a Vietnamese immigrant, writing letters to the daughter she abandoned, hoping that telling her daughter her story, the daughter might understand and forgive her. Robert, her husband, is an LA cop who wants to find Suzy and save her, even though it means putting himself in increasingly dangerous situations, even though Suzy abandoned him, too.
readerrabbit23's review against another edition
4.0
When I first started reading, I didn't particularly care for Robert or the writing style. That didn't really change throughout the book, but what did change was me wanting to know what happened next, and feeling sucked in by trying to piece together the parts of Hong's life, and the ways that Hong and Sonny were intertwined. It's why I ultimately gave the book four stars, because the excerpts from Hong's letter really moved me, as did this larger exploration of the past, what it means to be a refugee and to love and long for a home you can't quite return to because it's not particularly welcoming, and the things that haunt you.
I think what I like a lot about this book, and why I think it's good - beyond it being a good thriller that hooks you - is that there's so much to unpack. To unpack, for example, way this white man Robert thinks he knows things about Vietnam because he married a Vietnamese wife who he called by an American name she used with nobody else but him. Or to look at how hard motherhood is and what having a child thrusts upon us. How war and being a refugee constrains people, and how we live with and are influenced by our traumas.
I think what I like a lot about this book, and why I think it's good - beyond it being a good thriller that hooks you - is that there's so much to unpack. To unpack, for example, way this white man Robert thinks he knows things about Vietnam because he married a Vietnamese wife who he called by an American name she used with nobody else but him. Or to look at how hard motherhood is and what having a child thrusts upon us. How war and being a refugee constrains people, and how we live with and are influenced by our traumas.