Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Mountains Sing, by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

46 reviews

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

Moderate: Abortion, Rape, Colonisation, and Alcoholism

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: War, Violence, Abandonment, Grief, and Death

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

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Alcoholism, and Child death

tahsintries's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and War

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Genocide, Rape, Colonisation, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse 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: Death of parent, Abandonment, War, Colonisation, and Grief

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

Minor: Torture and Rape

lenaschrn's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Cancer, Murder, Alcoholism, Body horror, Terminal illness, War, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infertility and Toxic friendship

hrosel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Incredibly moving, particularly knowing that it's based on the author's life experience. I think it did an amazing job at covering some heavy and dark topics in a way that was engaging and didn't back away from the characters' flaws. Although her mother was clearly very damaged from the war, the author still allowed you to feel sympathy for the daughter, who wasn't getting what she needed from her mother. The invaders weren't wholly villainised. An excellent education in Vietnamese history and the ways in which wars damage everyone involved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Child death, Genocide, and Rape

carlafiorenzo's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Child death, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Racism, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Vomit, Abandonment, War, Body horror, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

lorenag5's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, Cancer, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, Abortion, War, Child death, and Blood

booksmacked's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Suicidal thoughts

marie's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abortion, Injury/injury detail, War, Rape, Abandonment, Deportation, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Colonisation, Alcoholism, Child death, Blood, and Cancer