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rachel101's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Violence, and War
aquamarinecadet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
it hurt to read this.
do you feel like a rather gruesome, inspiringly hopeful but incredibly sad war torn intergenerational trauma family saga? then this book is for you 😀
"What my uncle said made me think. I had resented America, too.
do you feel like a rather gruesome, inspiringly hopeful but incredibly sad war torn intergenerational trauma family saga? then this book is for you 😀
"What my uncle said made me think. I had resented America, too.
But by reading their books, I saw the other side of them-their humanity. 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."
4.5 stars because there are things that distract from the story that i feel could have been better written: funky pacing at times, and the last letter declaration-nobody writes letters like that 😭 it was a not-at-all-subtle literary device, as were some of the characters!! who sometimes seemed to appear more as statements than full fledged characters.
4.5 stars because there are things that distract from the story that i feel could have been better written: funky pacing at times, and the last letter declaration-
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Physical abuse, and Violence
bessadams's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Excrement, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Cancer, Abortion, Bullying, Alcoholism, Child death, and Child abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Rape
tvnguyen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The perspective of the grandma and Huong (Guava) as they live through significant war-torn parts of Vietnamese history. I came into this book blind once again and did not expect the war crimes of the Vietnam War to hit me so hard. It was a really tough read but it is so well written. I got so emotional and entirely immersed in the fear, sadness, and lost of the family. I read one of the critic reviews of the book that mentions that this was the missing narrative of the war and I totally agree.
This historical fiction hits really close to home and to hear directly from a fictional family that has been affected represents so many families that actually experienced the aftermath of war. There is a lot going on in this book so please tread lightly and take breaks if needed. But I highly recommend this novel!
This historical fiction hits really close to home and to hear directly from a fictional family that has been affected represents so many families that actually experienced the aftermath of war. There is a lot going on in this book so please tread lightly and take breaks if needed. But I highly recommend this novel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Child abuse, War, Abandonment, Violence, Rape, and Death of parent
jacq92s's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of the most incredible books that I've ever read.
Que Mai's intuitive style of writing made me feel truly part of Huong, her grandmother's and their family's world of Viet Nam, as they experienced first-hand the exceptional trauma of the Great Hunger, Land Reform and the Vietnam war.
Everything from their visceral emotions and heartache arising from these cruel conflicts, to their moments of appreciation of nature, familial closeness and belonging - I truly felt like I journeyed along with them.
Que Mai also skilfully wove in how the family, sooner or later, had to wrestle with the realities of clashing ideologies, affiliations and temperaments, from where the conflicts had originated. The nuances of this played out through the novel, illustrating the complex, uphill battle towards reconciliation and the preciousness of peace, especially for families.
From a personal perspective, the novel both enriched my knowledge of Vietnamese culture and history (which was shamefully minimal before!), and caused me to consider some of the subtle maxims in my own culture, with its socialist undertones.
Quotes
"Squatting on the ground, I wrote for an uncle I'd been robbed of, who was leaf pushed away from its tree, but at its last moment still struggled to fall back to its roots. I wrote for Grandma, who'd hoped for the fire of war to be extinguished, only for its embers to keep burning her. I wrote for my uncles, my aunt, and my parents, who were helpless in the fight of brother against brother, and whose war went on, regardless of whether they were alive, or dead."
"I used to believe that blood will tell, but blood evolves and can change, too. Young people can't be blamed for what their ancestors did"
Que Mai's intuitive style of writing made me feel truly part of Huong, her grandmother's and their family's world of Viet Nam, as they experienced first-hand the exceptional trauma of the Great Hunger, Land Reform and the Vietnam war.
Everything from their visceral emotions and heartache arising from these cruel conflicts, to their moments of appreciation of nature, familial closeness and belonging - I truly felt like I journeyed along with them.
Que Mai also skilfully wove in how the family, sooner or later, had to wrestle with the realities of clashing ideologies, affiliations and temperaments, from where the conflicts had originated. The nuances of this played out through the novel, illustrating the complex, uphill battle towards reconciliation and the preciousness of peace, especially for families.
From a personal perspective, the novel both enriched my knowledge of Vietnamese culture and history (which was shamefully minimal before!), and caused me to consider some of the subtle maxims in my own culture, with its socialist undertones.
Quotes
"Squatting on the ground, I wrote for an uncle I'd been robbed of, who was leaf pushed away from its tree, but at its last moment still struggled to fall back to its roots. I wrote for Grandma, who'd hoped for the fire of war to be extinguished, only for its embers to keep burning her. I wrote for my uncles, my aunt, and my parents, who were helpless in the fight of brother against brother, and whose war went on, regardless of whether they were alive, or dead."
"I used to believe that blood will tell, but blood evolves and can change, too. Young people can't be blamed for what their ancestors did"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Physical abuse, and Grief
miabooksx3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Slavery, Murder, Cancer, Child death, and Physical abuse
moniipeters's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Abortion, Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Grief, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Abandonment, Child death, Gore, Kidnapping, and War
now_booking's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. I’ve known about this novel for ages not least of all because I have many friends on Bookstagram who’ve raved about it for years. The truth is they just might have undersold it. This is a truly brilliant, compellingly-told multigenerational family saga that is filled with so much life and tragedy but yet so much hope for healing and reconciliation even in the face of hardship.
First of all, I entered this book not knowing much about Vietnamese history beyond America’s interventionist role in it, the dispute in America around their own involvement, and the resultant mess left behind. To my knowledge, contemporary Vietnam is a gorgeous place that tourists visit and that is on my bucket list to go to. Yet outside of this perspective, I’d never really experienced Vietnam from its own perspective as the subject of its own story rather than through a Western lens. Knowing my own family’s experience of war and occupation in my own country, I know the story is never simple and not everyone will agree with this author’s approach to telling this story or perspectives on historical events as reflected through Huong and her grandmother, Diêu Lan. That said, from my perspective as an international reader, I think the author tells an eminently and universally human story where if we acknowledge the commonality of of our humanity, we will understand that there are no real winners in war.
Diêu Lan is clearly the star of this book even if Huang’s voice remains strong throughout. Sometimes with books about characters that are resilient in the face of incredible trauma and hardship, the inspiration they provide as strong characters can simultaneously feel a little dismissive of the magnitude and impact of the suffering of others- sort of like “if Diêu Lan can move on and keep going, why can’t you? If she can forgive, something must be wrong with you that you can’t.” I think this book approaches this sensibly. Diêu Lan has Pollyanna ways, but she also feels deeply her grief and processes it through her faith. And through that faith, she’s also able to accept people (her children, for example) at different stages of grief and anger and PTSD without judgement and without insisting on her own approach or perspective. I loved how pragmatic she was but also how loving and how emotional. For me, her story was a coming of age story that revealed a lot about how much her family and the way she was raised set her up to face some of the challenges she did in her life. Huang’s story was a parallel coming of age story but more reflective of our journey as readers being novices in Vietnamese history or in Diêu Lan’s life and maturing as we read to a state of of not quite full adulthood, greater understanding of the multiplicity of perspectives and experiences that can be true and the commonality of suffering of everyday people in a war.
The language in this book was absolutely gorgeous, the use of proverbs and stories and viewing the world through a rich lens of culture and traditions, lent authenticity to the history we were reading. This was absolutely tragic but it never felt like grief porn, your heart was broken but in Diêu Lan’s resilience, it was healed again. Even in difficult moments, I was drawn to this and could hardly put it down. This is absolutely my favourite read so far this year and a new all time fave that will stick with me for a long time. I can’t recommend this enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Classism, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Violence, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Colonisation, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infertility, and Child abuse
singout's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
5.0
Powerful story about three generations in North Vietnam: it goes back-and-forth between a young girl’s experience of the end of the Vietnam war, and her grandmother’s survival of the 1940s great hunger and harsh land reform, with the middle generation being portrayed either as children or soldiers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, War, Murder, Gore, Abandonment, and Body horror
beca's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, War, Colonisation, and Grief
Moderate: Genocide, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Addiction, Sexual harassment, and Murder
Minor: Torture and Rape