A review by tkhongmaly
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

This took me almost a year to read mostly because I have been in the longest, most difficult reading block of my life but also because anlso aspects of this story had me on the defense. Truly, I was avoiding it because I didn’t want to be emotional the entire time lol

I’d like to thank Dr. Jane at ISU for having me in a class that watched A Village Called Versailles because, largely, that was my only real-life understanding to contextualize the characters into even though assuming that’s where the story was ultimately going.

The writing was beautiful and all of the characters felt incredibly nuanced, frustrating, yet understandable—so well-written. I agree with a lot of other reviews I’ve skimmed through that this book would be even more enjoyable if it were even longer. Even if it would have taken me longer to finish.