Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

60 reviews

jacq92s's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of the most incredible books that I've ever read. 

Que Mai's intuitive style of writing made me feel truly part of Huong, her grandmother's and their family's world of Viet Nam, as they experienced first-hand the exceptional trauma of the Great Hunger, Land Reform and the Vietnam war.

Everything from their visceral emotions and heartache arising from these cruel conflicts, to their moments of appreciation of nature, familial closeness and belonging - I truly felt like I journeyed along with them. 

Que Mai also skilfully wove in how the family, sooner or later, had to wrestle with the realities of clashing ideologies, affiliations and temperaments, from where the conflicts had originated. The nuances of this played out through the novel, illustrating the complex, uphill battle towards reconciliation and the preciousness of peace, especially for families.

From a personal perspective, the novel both enriched my knowledge of Vietnamese culture and history (which was shamefully minimal before!), and caused me to consider some of the subtle maxims in my own culture, with its socialist undertones.

Quotes
"Squatting on the ground, I wrote for an uncle I'd been robbed of, who was leaf pushed away from its tree, but at its last moment still struggled to fall back to its roots. I wrote for Grandma, who'd hoped for the fire of war to be extinguished, only for its embers to keep burning her. I wrote for my uncles, my aunt, and my parents, who were helpless in the fight of brother against brother, and whose war went on, regardless of whether they were alive, or dead."

"I used to believe that blood will tell, but blood evolves and can change, too. Young people can't be blamed for what their ancestors did"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

moniipeters's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a spectacular book. Its lyrical and breathtaking and sweeping in scope. It taught me I know nothing about the Viet Nam war. It's got all of the depth and sprawl of books like 'Pachinko' and 'Peach Blossom Spring' and the epic staying power of novels like 'Homegoing' and 'Infinite Country' and everything Khaled Hosseini has ever written. It was riveting and searing. 

It could also be frustrating; despite how much I loved the book, I often felt like the characters were almost too naïve deliberately so the author could use them as a mouthpiece for philosophical arguments; i.e. Huong being 15 and not understanding what rape is so that the book can make the argument that no one should be shamed for violence inflicted upon them. There were other instances of this that tested believability, but for me it didn't drag down the impact of the novel. I'd recommend this to anyone and it will have a permanent place on my bookshelf and rotation of revered books. 

I will say that I almost, almost knocked this down one star because I thought it was so unbelievably stupid that Tam's grandfather was Wicked Ghost. That was too much for me, too 'connected', and even though it resolved well, I hated it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

now_booking's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. I’ve known about this novel for ages not least of all because I have many friends on Bookstagram who’ve raved about it for years. The truth is they just might have undersold it. This is a truly brilliant, compellingly-told multigenerational family saga that is filled with so much life and tragedy but yet so much hope for healing and reconciliation even in the face of hardship. 

First of all, I entered this book not knowing much about Vietnamese history beyond America’s interventionist role in it, the dispute in America around their own involvement, and the resultant mess left behind. To my knowledge, contemporary Vietnam is a gorgeous place that tourists visit and that is on my bucket list to go to. Yet outside of this perspective, I’d never really experienced Vietnam from its own perspective as the subject of its own story rather than through a Western lens. Knowing my own family’s experience of war and occupation in my own country, I know the story is never simple and not everyone will agree with this author’s approach to telling this story or perspectives on historical events as reflected through Huong and her grandmother, Diêu Lan. That said, from my perspective as an international reader, I think the author tells an eminently and universally human story where if we acknowledge the commonality of of our humanity, we will understand that there are no real winners in war. 

Diêu Lan is clearly the star of this book even if Huang’s voice remains strong throughout. Sometimes with books about characters that are resilient in the face of incredible trauma and hardship, the inspiration they provide as strong characters can simultaneously feel a little dismissive of the magnitude and impact of the suffering of others- sort of like “if Diêu Lan can move on and keep going, why can’t you? If she can forgive, something must be wrong with you that you can’t.” I think this book approaches this sensibly. Diêu Lan has Pollyanna ways, but she also feels deeply her grief and processes it through her faith. And through that faith, she’s also able to accept people (her children, for example) at different stages of grief and anger and PTSD without judgement and without insisting on her own approach or perspective. I loved how pragmatic she was but also how loving and how emotional. For me, her story was a coming of age story that revealed a lot about how much her family and the way she was raised set her up to face some of the challenges she did in her life. Huang’s story was a parallel coming of age story but more reflective of our journey as readers being novices in Vietnamese history or in Diêu Lan’s life and maturing as we read to a state of of not quite full adulthood, greater understanding of the multiplicity of perspectives and experiences that can be true and the commonality of suffering of everyday people in a war.

The language in this book was absolutely gorgeous, the use of proverbs and stories and viewing the world through a rich lens of culture and traditions, lent authenticity to the history we were reading. This was absolutely tragic but it never felt like grief porn, your heart was broken but in Diêu Lan’s resilience, it was healed again. Even in difficult moments, I was drawn to this and could hardly put it down. This is absolutely my favourite read so far this year and a new all time fave that will stick with me for a long time. I can’t recommend this enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Infertility

annorabrady's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

I loved the look into the history of Vietnam through the generations. The characters and their stories were fully fleshed such that it reads more like a memoir than a historical fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Police brutality, and Abortion

singout's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Powerful story about three generations in North Vietnam: it goes back-and-forth between a young girl’s experience of the end of the Vietnam war, and her grandmother’s survival of the 1940s great hunger and harsh land reform, with the middle generation being portrayed either as children or soldiers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

franklola's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War

vincci's review

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is a moving book about intergenerational trauma as a result of events that happened in Vietnam between the French occupation, the Japanese occupation during WWII, the rise of communism, the Vietnam War and its aftermath. Nguyen Phan does not spare any details in sharing these stories and does a masterful job crafting the voices of the characters telling them. In interviews, Nguyen Phan has spoken about wanting to tell the stories that haven't been told in existing works. As someone who wasn't very familiar with Vietnamese history prior to reading this book, it has taught me about the resilience of the Vietnamese people, knowing that many today continue to carry these stories and trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Abortion, and Colonisation

Minor: Cancer

amyodell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, and Abortion

beca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Genocide, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape and Torture