A review by abbie_
Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This book was absolutely gorgeous, I’m blown away that this is a debut novel! Wandering Souls is a simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting story of three Vietnamese siblings torn from their family in the cruelest way, following them as they try to forge a new life for themselves in 80s Britain.

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You know when the very first chapter of a novel devastates you that you’re in for a rollercoaster of emotion. Wandering Souls might have one of the most powerful opening chapters I’ve read in a long time. Pin moves skilfully between Vietnam, Hong Kong, rural England and London. Anh and her two younger brothers Minh and Thanh leave their family for Hong Kong, the intention being to meet up again later. But as the three siblings wait in the refugee camp in Hong Kong, it’s clear their family has been irrevocably cleaved in two.

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A lot of the novels I read focused on immigration are set in the US, so it was refreshing to read one set in my own country. I didn’t know much about the UK’s acceptance of 10,000 Vietnamese refugees, so I really appreciated this novel not only for its beautiful writing and moving plot, but the insight it provided. Anh’s struggle with survivor’s guilt was also so well done, sensitive and moving - my heart broke for her when she admitted to not feeling like she ‘deserved’ to see the iconic side of London until she’d made her parents proud.

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I loved the structure of it, as interspersed with Anh’s story we have what appears to be the notes of a PhD student or novelist, articles about the UK’s history with Vietnamese refugees, both older and more recent (spoiler alert, Thatcher was being the worst), and absolutely stunning passages from Anh’s youngest brother from the afterlife. These passages seriously made me want to cry every time they popped up, the perfect balance of childhood innocence and the sagacity of an ancestor.

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Just a beautiful novel and I cannot wait to see what Pin comes out with next!