Reviews - My Vietnam, Your Vietnam

My Vietnam, Your Vietnam by Nghia M. Vo, Christina Vo

11 reviews for:

i feel like it would be kind of weird to rate a book that discusses someone’s personal experiences lol so i won’t. it was really interesting to see someone talk about their experience when mine is kind of similar, just pushed back around 20 or so years (my parents didn’t leave vietnam during the peak of the war). the stories were moving, and i’m glad that christina worked out her issues at the end. the style of the memoir was cool too but i wish they intersected more instead of being such different storylines. one of the things i was wishing for most was to see some type of mutual understanding and reconciliation, but that didn’t really appear which was a little sad. but i also understand that could be ongoing behind-the-scenes, so maybe sometime in the future!

justovereherereading's review against another edition

5.0

slow-paced

leeeeeds's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

bostieslovebooks's review against another edition

5.0

Thank you Three Rooms Press for the gifted ARC book.

MY VIETNAM, YOUR VIETNAM caught my attention for being a dual memoir – Nghia M. Vo fled post-war Vietnam for the US in 1975; his American-born daughter, Christina Vo traveled as an adult to Vietnam. Each has different perspectives of the homeland they share and though they have love for one another, their relationship is strained, which comes through in their writing and the format of the book. Insightful and poignant, MY VIETNAM, YOUR VIETNAM is a beautiful story of home and healing. I highly recommend this one.

quirky's review against another edition

5.0

Christina and Nghia Vo's My Vietnam, Your Vietnam is a father-daughter dual memoir about the father leaving Vietnam as a refugee and Christina returning in her adulthood. Christina writes about Vietnam with such wide-eye curiosity of her discoveries in Vietnam and a persistent longing for her dad’s approval that it is hard not to root for her. I also love that she presents a warm and contrasting perspective of both Hà Nội and Sài Gòn, especially in the context of not having any preconceived notions of either side before visiting. Her writing style is more conversational and down-to-earth, juxtaposed to her dad’s beautiful and lyrical memories.

Nghia (Christina’s father) writes with such elegance and love for Vietnam, especially Vũng Tàu and Sài Gòn that it makes me also long to visit. Both father and daughter are exemplary and intellectual writers and write with such keen observations of the themes of belonging and cultural identity. They also both travel quite a bit, so it was interesting to hear about their experiences with Vietnamese communities in different states across the US and cities in Vietnam.

As a note, I also had the privilege to attend an author talk with Christina and learned that the book cover is designed by a Vietnamese artist, with father and daughter wearing the same outfit but looking in opposite directions. This is a perfect parallel to show how their paths do not intersect but they change and inspire each other in an extraordinary way.

longbeachyreads's review against another edition

3.5

I really liked the idea of this book -- a father and daughter alternate chapters describing their experiences in Vietnam -- but I wasn't very engaged in it. Would try C. Vo's other work.