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A review by cpaul89
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
5.0
The Mountains Sing - by Nguyên Phan Qué Mai
This was a beautiful book. It was an intricate weaving of simplicity of the writing with the deeply impactful and complicated experiences of the characters.
Yet another story from a wartorn country, but at its core it is not a story we often encounter. That said, many of the themes are familiar -- utmost strength in the face of impossible situations, courage, guilt, shame, fear, trauma, and love.
This story absolutely broke my heart. At the same time I was positively uplifted.
"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."
After reading Little House in the Big Woods, the narrator, Hu'o'ng, believes she has a better understanding of the Americans who have been mercilessly bombing her home city of Hà Nôi.
The story weaves the experiences of her grandmother with her own and the ways this family has been affected by every catastrophic event that shook Vietnam from 1900-1980.
It is so important to encounter the experiences of others, especially those from other lands and other cultures.
"Each day is travel earns a basket full of wisdom." - Vietnamese proverb featured in The Mountains Sing
This was a beautiful book. It was an intricate weaving of simplicity of the writing with the deeply impactful and complicated experiences of the characters.
Yet another story from a wartorn country, but at its core it is not a story we often encounter. That said, many of the themes are familiar -- utmost strength in the face of impossible situations, courage, guilt, shame, fear, trauma, and love.
This story absolutely broke my heart. At the same time I was positively uplifted.
"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."
After reading Little House in the Big Woods, the narrator, Hu'o'ng, believes she has a better understanding of the Americans who have been mercilessly bombing her home city of Hà Nôi.
The story weaves the experiences of her grandmother with her own and the ways this family has been affected by every catastrophic event that shook Vietnam from 1900-1980.
It is so important to encounter the experiences of others, especially those from other lands and other cultures.
"Each day is travel earns a basket full of wisdom." - Vietnamese proverb featured in The Mountains Sing