Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Banyan Moon

Looks like I’m getting my fill of Vietnamese literature this year. This one was very good. A departure from the model minority story and an irreverence for purity culture. Minh’s perspective was my favorite, and I really loved that she was still narrating after she wouldn’t normally.

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malihareza_19's review against another edition

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emotional sad 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

4.5

This is a story I won’t forget. It will have a special place in my heart. As an Asian American, I know what they went through. Huong was my favorite character and I’m glad Ann didn’t end up with anyone at the end. Only her and kumquat 💘

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revolvingreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

4.5

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futuretreeman's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This book, man. Wrenched at my heart in every way possible. I am a sucker for complicated parental relationships! And does this book have that! The characters are maybe some of the most complex characters I've ever read. They are so full of flaws and can be quite awful to each other. I loved getting to read from each of their POVs. If the story was only written from the perspective of one, I would be inclined to think of the others as the villains of the story. But you just can't, each one makes mistakes and some of them horrible but . . .

I read this book as I am in the folds of moving on from my own broken relationships. We were horrible to each other, in many ways me more than them, just as these characters were horrible to each other. But it was wonderful to see that they could still love, care, and support each other anyway.

My critque?

Thai used a lot of metaphors in her writing and many were beautiful! But there were also many that did not make a whole lot of sense to me. And those little moments took me out of the book a little bit. They multiplied in a way that sometimes made it hard to see past their cliche and into the powerful thoughts they were supposed to be.

This next bit is not a critique to the author. Some of the chapters from Minh's POV also took me away from the story a bit. And I don't think it was because they were poorly written or nonvaluable. I think it was maybe my own afterlife beliefs. Everything in the story is so raw and real, but hearing from the ghost of somebody in that context was strange. I think that because I don't believe in an afterlife, it was hard for those chapters to feel as real to me as the others.

Though I am sure someone who does believe in the afterlife would not have the same qualms with the chapters as I did.

I did find those chapters illuminating to Minh's character though. And when she took us back to her past in Vietnam, how everything started, I was able to fall back into the story; those were wonderful moments.

Every chapter brought us a new twist. Some, granted, quite a lot bigger than others. Thai keeps you coming back from the moment meet our 3 badass women choking on red tide toxins.

Thank you Thao Thai.

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lilawsahar's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

A book about women who, unknowingly, keep repeating toxic cycles from their childhood with their own children. This tale is beautiful. I love how the author talks about the complexity of being an immigrant, single mother, and redemption.

I am surprised that Ann never brings up her mothers real father to her mom. I feel like she had a right to know who her dad was. It was wrong of her to burn the picture of him without telling her mom first. That’s my opinion though. I also can’t believe Hoang did not mention what happened to Ann’s dad. I feel like she also had a right to know about her dad. I guess they’re even then because they both know something the other doesn’t about their father.

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siobhanward's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

I love a multi-generational family drama and Thai created a beautiful narrative in this book. I really enjoyed the interactions between Ann and Huo'ng, and Minh's reflections. The book was definitely heartbreaking but I loved it anyway. None of the sadness was superfluous, but it felt honest. I definitely wish that Thai had leaned more into Banyan House as a setting, as it felt like more of a background piece than the Gothic setting it could have been, but it was still a solid read nonetheless.

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srjennings's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.5

A beautiful, though often painful, story of 3 generations of women that shows the ongoing impact of war, abuse, and other trauma. Despite secrets, brokenness, and dysfunction they find healing in themselves and in their relationships to one another.

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libraincarnate's review against another edition

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3.75

I think the characters were the weakest link in this book for me - it took a long time for the main characters to develop into being likeable for me, and honestly Ann never really did, and the side characters felt like characters instead of people? I LOVED the atmosphere of this book, you felt the muggy humidity and the magic of the Banyan House. The plot wasn't terribly unique, but it was a well done version of multiple generations living in a sprawling falling apart mansion. I found the three POVs weaved between each other quite beautifully, and the different perspectives really have a lot of insight into the characters behaviors. There were a couple of things I had lingering questions about, but overall it was a satisfying read.

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