ablotial's review against another edition
3.0
Another really interesting read. It is a grouping of stories told from different points of views, or many different characters of different ages who had something to do with the war in Vietnam, and in particular were impacted by Operation BabyLift - an effort to get many orphans out of Vietnam during the war and to places like the United States where they would (hopefully) be adopted.
The story follows some of the children who came to the USA - one who was in and out of foster homes her whole life and abused, two who had loving families but had different reactions to them, one who became a theif. It also follows a Vietnamese girl turned Catholic nun, a young vietnamese mother who had been raped by an American soldier and dropped her baby off at an orphanage, and an American volunteer in a Vietnamese orphanage... and I think I'm forgetting someone, but you get the idea.
All of their stories are intertwined, and sometimes it isn't until far later when you figure out the relationships. The story was great - I learned a lot about Vietnam and the problems there during the war, and operation BabyLift, and really felt like I could relate to the characters and understand them, even though I have obviously never been in such a situation.
Some of the writing annoyed me a bit, which is why I didn't give the book a 4 rating.
The story follows some of the children who came to the USA - one who was in and out of foster homes her whole life and abused, two who had loving families but had different reactions to them, one who became a theif. It also follows a Vietnamese girl turned Catholic nun, a young vietnamese mother who had been raped by an American soldier and dropped her baby off at an orphanage, and an American volunteer in a Vietnamese orphanage... and I think I'm forgetting someone, but you get the idea.
All of their stories are intertwined, and sometimes it isn't until far later when you figure out the relationships. The story was great - I learned a lot about Vietnam and the problems there during the war, and operation BabyLift, and really felt like I could relate to the characters and understand them, even though I have obviously never been in such a situation.
Some of the writing annoyed me a bit, which is why I didn't give the book a 4 rating.
elv0723's review
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
brilliantly flawed characters. perfectly woven stories. emotion mixed with new information. clean and precise prose. great!
k__cy's review
4.75
this was incredible. really thoughtful and elegantly crafted short story collection, with clear, beautiful, heartrending prose. it was a pleasure feeling each short story gradually unfold, exposing - as aimee phan does excellently - the tangled knots of human emotion. the deft cuts between past and present and/or different perspectives in each story, and aimee phan's on-point decision to forgo quotation marks in the dialogue - which hit hard multiple times during my read - make me want to study this book from a craft perspective.
leftleaning's review
3.75
Read aimeevhphan's novel of 8 stories linked from Operation Babylift, where thousands of orphans were evacuated out of Vietnam during the war. Has themes of unrest, humanitarianism, and the ripples of piecing life together.
rencordings's review against another edition
5.0
This touched my soul... Amazing characters, incredibly intriguing ambiguity, a graceful yet forceful push for us to reconsider the blurred lines between morality/altruism and selfishness. I'm so glad I read this!
lememories's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
it’s been a while since i’ve violenty sobbed over a book. hands down a book that’s never felt more personal and vulnerable. the interesting choice of not having speech marks around the conversation is just, so unique. some stories just punch you in the gut. one is definitely very violent. makes me rethink about just… my heritage and family’s history. i would have appreciated if the author had write the certain viet characters with their correct punctuation with tones; it would’ve definitely been more personal but i think that was also a choice purposely made for the reader. i sobbed so much at the last page. “They are young, born after the war. They only know Ho Chi Minh City, while Saigon is a memory that their parents and grandparents speak of. Their futures are pure.” (Phan 243).
marianatole's review against another edition
3.0
Nice weaving together of different narratives which are part of a larger story. The scope of the issue may have been beyond the ability of a few stories to tell, but its many different facets were explored, albeit in snapshot form. The book moves with grace, after the first couple of fumbling stories where it attempts to establish its purpose. Some stories are stronger than others. Phan does a good job of insinuating further narrative for the reader to imagine: each story tells more than it explicitly says.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
Aimee Phan is a pretty impressive writer. I really liked these stories—short (the whole book is only around 250 pages), but poignant. And the format of multiple narrators with intersecting stories, which is a tricky concept to execute well, was done marvelously.
eulrch's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
Moderate: War, Racism, and Racial slurs
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol