Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

3 reviews

marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Lyrical and enchanting, The Mountains Sing tells the history of a whole country through the tale of two generations of women. A must read! Quê' Mai details a large part of the atrocities committed during the Vietnam war with painstaking care, covering everything from PTSD to the devastating impact of chemical warfare. At the same time, this story is filled with love, hope and compassion. The language is just beautiful and you can really tell that the author also writes poetry. The only issue I had with the book was that the pacing was a little off at times. The resolution came too quick, which undermined the build up that the two different time lines were supposed to set up. I think the book could have benefited from a few extra chapters, especially in Diêu Lan's perspective. My rating would be 4.5 stars if possible but will round up because I still really enjoyed it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, War, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, and Rape

Minor: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

cerilouisereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Cursing, and Rape

Minor: Domestic abuse and Forced institutionalization

menomica's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

This book is so eye-opening. I learned a lot about the Vietnam War and Vietnam in general. The book is constant tension and tragedy; You see on the ground how people were affected by the events of the war. It’s definitely not for everyone, it’s very dense and at times it drags, and the writing can be a bit stilted, but if you can sit down and allow yourself to feel the emotions of the Tram family, it’s very much worth it

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Miscarriage, and Slavery