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georgiesutton's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked this up because I was interested in a story set in Vietnam and I enjoyed the descriptions and setting in Vietnam, and liked the ghost/spirit element but also that the Fortune Teller seemed to be a bit of a scam.
I normally like multiple time lines and characters but this was too much back and forth with too long in between timelines to follow and make the connections. Not having dates, just using time before and after, and the sheer number of characters made this quite confusing. I felt there wasn't enough plot or chronology to carry it and I felt that meant some of the connections didn't pack the punch they should have because I forgot who was who etc.
Most of the characters had no redeeming features although the female experience was centred which was interesting there were so many women I would have liked more of.
Some of the writing was beautiful but also sometimes dragged with several long drawn out descriptions of unpleasant men getting drunk and making women uncomfortable for no real purpose.
I'm also really frustrated that Winnie never realised that she met the two brothers .
Overall this was eerie and atmospheric but not enough plot for me with hugely dislikable characters.
I normally like multiple time lines and characters but this was too much back and forth with too long in between timelines to follow and make the connections. Not having dates, just using time before and after, and the sheer number of characters made this quite confusing. I felt there wasn't enough plot or chronology to carry it and I felt that meant some of the connections didn't pack the punch they should have because I forgot who was who etc.
Most of the characters had no redeeming features although the female experience was centred which was interesting there were so many women I would have liked more of.
Some of the writing was beautiful but also sometimes dragged with several long drawn out descriptions of unpleasant men getting drunk and making women uncomfortable for no real purpose.
I'm also really frustrated that
Overall this was eerie and atmospheric but not enough plot for me with hugely dislikable characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Self harm, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Blood, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Sexism, and Sexual content
maggies's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am more glad that I finished this book than that I read it at all. It is grotesque and disturbing, and I was almost constantly nauseated reading it. It wasn’t a positive experience, but it was an amazingly woven tapestry, spanning decades and dimensions, impressively coming together bit by bit. Heed my warning though: gross.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Vomit
Minor: Colonisation, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, and Excrement
dianahincureads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Set entirely in Vietnam, Build Your House Around My Body is a slow burn. It takes its time introducing the different timelines and developing the characters. It paints a vivid portrait of Vietnam, both rural and urban. Aside from the mysterious atmosphere of the novel, this was definitely my favourite aspect. Vietnamese cuisine and culture are described in detail, with entire pages dedicated to traditional food and customs.
The unifying threads of the novel are supernatural. Ghosts are real. They walk among us. Vietnamese folklore comes to life and trauma manifests itself in concrete, terrifying ways. However, as the author mentions in an interview, the real spook in the novel is colonialism. Bouncing back and forth from 1945 to 2011, Build Your House Around My Body covers many turning points in Vietnam’s history and the impact the war had on the people.
The plot revolves around 2 women. Both of them disappear in mysterious circumstances, years apart. Winnie, an American Vietnamese, arrives in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City since 1976) in 2010 to distance herself from her family and start over. However, she is not mentally stable and starts doing everything in her power to erase herself. Winnie is gliding through life like a ghost. She strives to become invisible. At work, on the street, and even in small groups of people. Violet Kupersmith does a fantastic job exploring mental health, identity, and belonging through Winnie’s slow descent into madness.
Binh, on the other hand, is full of life, determined to have her way regardless of the consequences. She grows up in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, unable (and unwilling) to leave her hometown as all the other young adults move to big cities to try their luck.
Winnie and Binh are opposites in character. They belong to different worlds and yet their destinies are linked.
Build Your House Around My Body is a haunting journey throughout time across Vietnam.
I recommend this, especially if you enjoy slow burns and fantasy/supernatural elements.
The unifying threads of the novel are supernatural. Ghosts are real. They walk among us. Vietnamese folklore comes to life and trauma manifests itself in concrete, terrifying ways. However, as the author mentions in an interview, the real spook in the novel is colonialism. Bouncing back and forth from 1945 to 2011, Build Your House Around My Body covers many turning points in Vietnam’s history and the impact the war had on the people.
The plot revolves around 2 women. Both of them disappear in mysterious circumstances, years apart. Winnie, an American Vietnamese, arrives in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City since 1976) in 2010 to distance herself from her family and start over. However, she is not mentally stable and starts doing everything in her power to erase herself. Winnie is gliding through life like a ghost. She strives to become invisible. At work, on the street, and even in small groups of people. Violet Kupersmith does a fantastic job exploring mental health, identity, and belonging through Winnie’s slow descent into madness.
Binh, on the other hand, is full of life, determined to have her way regardless of the consequences. She grows up in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, unable (and unwilling) to leave her hometown as all the other young adults move to big cities to try their luck.
Winnie and Binh are opposites in character. They belong to different worlds and yet their destinies are linked.
Build Your House Around My Body is a haunting journey throughout time across Vietnam.
I recommend this, especially if you enjoy slow burns and fantasy/supernatural elements.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Drug use, Addiction, and Death
Minor: Rape, Incest, Vomit, and Eating disorder
writingcaia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
What a trip this book was!
Using family trees and native Vietnamese myths and folklore, the author tells the story of several characters to encompass such a large part of Vietnam’s most recent history (going back more than 50 years), and it all starts with the disappearance of a Vietnamese American young woman with severe mental issues by the time it occurs, some of them are real some are hauntings.
Going back from there we will find the nature of the man she lives with, his brother, and most importantly the girl who was their everything when they were young. A wild girl who hunts snakes, and she’s the connection to a ghost hunter and exorcist, a man the forest chose to save from the war, to a mother without a daughter, to French occupation, to rape and serfdom.
It’s not the easiest read due to its complicated timeline, that keeps shifting, going back and forward with no great logic, but you get used to it after a while and when the dots all start connecting, when you understand that what matters are the different stories and the history, not the timeline or that one story it becomes addictive.
Not knowing Vietnam or its people I believe this is the closest I will ever get, as the book brilliantly woven a tale that encompasses so much of the culture, history, and people, also the present and how it is affected by its folklore and past.
Definitely a read I recommend, especially if you’re looking for a great read for API month.
Using family trees and native Vietnamese myths and folklore, the author tells the story of several characters to encompass such a large part of Vietnam’s most recent history (going back more than 50 years), and it all starts with the disappearance of a Vietnamese American young woman with severe mental issues by the time it occurs, some of them are real some are hauntings.
Going back from there we will find the nature of the man she lives with, his brother, and most importantly the girl who was their everything when they were young. A wild girl who hunts snakes, and she’s the connection to a ghost hunter and exorcist, a man the forest chose to save from the war, to a mother without a daughter, to French occupation, to rape and serfdom.
It’s not the easiest read due to its complicated timeline, that keeps shifting, going back and forward with no great logic, but you get used to it after a while and when the dots all start connecting, when you understand that what matters are the different stories and the history, not the timeline or that one story it becomes addictive.
Not knowing Vietnam or its people I believe this is the closest I will ever get, as the book brilliantly woven a tale that encompasses so much of the culture, history, and people, also the present and how it is affected by its folklore and past.
Definitely a read I recommend, especially if you’re looking for a great read for API month.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual harassment, War, Incest, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, and Rape
jussery's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed reading it, it was depressing but also extremely intriguing! I always wanted to keep reading to see what would be revealed to the reader next, and it was also just very well written. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars is because I like happy endings too much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
regal_leaves's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith is a a creepy, fever dream of a novel about two young women who go missing decades apart, both are fearless and lost. And they will both have their revenge.
Right off the bat – this book is like nothing I’ve read before and in all honestly I don’t know how to describe the experience of reading it. There’s magical realism, ghosts, two headed serpents and so much more that will have you on the edge of your seat while reading.
For the most part we’re trying to piece together Winnie’s story as we learn of her disappearance in the first chapter. There are a handful of intertwined timelines that all drop breadcrumbs of information, building to build a complex puzzle of anguish and horror set over several decades.
- READ FULL REVIEW AT https://wp.me/pbWTXv-74 -
- READ FULL REVIEW AT https://wp.me/pbWTXv-74 -
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, and Sexism
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