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mad41's review
adventurous
reflective
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
3.5
hopeglow's review
4.0
4.25
Spoiler
the choice to write the timeline of the story the way the author did was so unique and deliberate (i love that choice but it also left me wanting/wishing we could revisit the characters we started out with too)sonder's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Would benefit from some more resolution; part ii feels in some ways too separate from part i
justmegger's review
2.0
Took a bit longer to get through this one cause I had some travel in the middle of the book. Really wanted to like this one and while I did finish it, I would say the first half is much stronger than the 2nd and I kept kind of waiting for it to pick back up again and it just never did.
edubs87's review
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jitzie's review
emotional
slow-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
tsoutham's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Unlike North Woods, a book I just finished that also traces back and forth over hundreds of years of time, this book left me often confused. Perhaps it is the unfamiliar to me names of the Trung sisters, Trac, Nhi and Trieu. However I was often confused about where we were in time and even how grandmothers and mothers were connected to external characters.
This is an interpretation of E.M. Tran of what her mother and grandmothers might have experienced. As she claims at the end she was unable to get them to speak of their past. The violence with which Tran interprets their reactions to the injustices of the past, especially for women, may seem redemptive but they also seem unlikely. Tran turned her ancestors into super heros. Super heroines are downplayed although it appears the Trung sister’s mother was both an herbalist and a lover of plants.
I might reread this book to give it another chance. I listened to it as audio and that may be where some of the confusion lies. Still, when it comes to colonialism I’m looking more to biography, autobiography, and nonfiction. I want to know what happened not what might have happened no matter the revenge that might serve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
loriluo's review
4.0
In "Daughters of the New Year", Tran gives us a multi-generational novel focusing on the women in a Vietnamese family. Unlike most novels, however, its told in a reverse timeline, starting with the present and working through the past.
The first half of the novel focuses on Tran, Nhi, and Trieu who are all daughters of Xuan. They've grown up as Vietnamese American in New Orleans, and each has dealt with the pressures and expectations put on them in different ways, much of which comes from their mother's belief in their astrology and the implications of their zodiac signs. Tran, the oldest, has long been the overachiever and is pursuing a prestigious law career, but is trying to claim her own independence from her parents and come to terms with her sexuality. Nhi, the middle child, has stepped into mainstream media as a participant in a Bachelor-esque program as the only minority - while it's being filmed in Vietnam. Trieu, the youngest, is the one full of unmet potential.
We get to see the ways that these characters interact with each other, and the events and experience that have shaped them over time. There's a lot of ground that Train covers in the novel, but she does an incredible job revealing the many layers of misunderstanding and built-up resentment that immigrant children can have for their parents, which are then countered by the perspectives and experiences their parents have undergone. She's also able to highlight and celebrate the Asian experience and Vietnamese culture, but also notes how jarring and difficult it is to grow up as a minority in a different country, where your appearance and upbringing is so different to everyone else. I also appreciated the strong sense of place and time the novel had, with events like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Vietnam War having an impact, and loved the number of poignant experiences that were detailed in this novel.
The writing is beautifully structured, and Tran is able to take on so many different female perspectives throughout the novel, and I especially loved the sections that focused on food and the cuisine and ingredients that are so integral to Vietnamese culture. Very much a recommended read to anyone!
Thank you Hanover Square Press for the advance copy of this novel!
The first half of the novel focuses on Tran, Nhi, and Trieu who are all daughters of Xuan. They've grown up as Vietnamese American in New Orleans, and each has dealt with the pressures and expectations put on them in different ways, much of which comes from their mother's belief in their astrology and the implications of their zodiac signs. Tran, the oldest, has long been the overachiever and is pursuing a prestigious law career, but is trying to claim her own independence from her parents and come to terms with her sexuality. Nhi, the middle child, has stepped into mainstream media as a participant in a Bachelor-esque program as the only minority - while it's being filmed in Vietnam. Trieu, the youngest, is the one full of unmet potential.
We get to see the ways that these characters interact with each other, and the events and experience that have shaped them over time. There's a lot of ground that Train covers in the novel, but she does an incredible job revealing the many layers of misunderstanding and built-up resentment that immigrant children can have for their parents, which are then countered by the perspectives and experiences their parents have undergone. She's also able to highlight and celebrate the Asian experience and Vietnamese culture, but also notes how jarring and difficult it is to grow up as a minority in a different country, where your appearance and upbringing is so different to everyone else. I also appreciated the strong sense of place and time the novel had, with events like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Vietnam War having an impact, and loved the number of poignant experiences that were detailed in this novel.
The writing is beautifully structured, and Tran is able to take on so many different female perspectives throughout the novel, and I especially loved the sections that focused on food and the cuisine and ingredients that are so integral to Vietnamese culture. Very much a recommended read to anyone!
Thank you Hanover Square Press for the advance copy of this novel!
leeeeeds's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
michelle_mcmurtray's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0