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maregred's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
spinesinaline's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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? Yes
4.25
Love the Practical Magic vibes of this one!
A funny and beautiful story about family. We follow many, many different women in this book, switching perspectives quite often, and while I was a bit lost at the beginning as I tried to remember who was whose daughter or sister, it became quite easy to distinguish their different personalities and lives as we get to know them better.
There are some really unfortunate fatphobic remarks directed at one character and her relationship with food, so a heads up for some severe body shaming. I was also uncomfortable with the way one of the character’s storylines was wrapped up as it felt like it veered towards coercion and abuse so a few moments that left a sour taste in my mouth.
A funny and beautiful story about family. We follow many, many different women in this book, switching perspectives quite often, and while I was a bit lost at the beginning as I tried to remember who was whose daughter or sister, it became quite easy to distinguish their different personalities and lives as we get to know them better.
There are some really unfortunate fatphobic remarks directed at one character and her relationship with food, so a heads up for some severe body shaming. I was also uncomfortable with the way one of the character’s storylines was wrapped up as it felt like it veered towards coercion and abuse so a few moments that left a sour taste in my mouth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Racism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage and Abandonment
konfx's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
- 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
TW: Grief, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Bullying, Miscarriage, Racism, Xenophobia
4.0 stars
-
The Fortunes of Jaded Women isn't the sort of book I'd normally pick up, but I'm really glad that I did. It certainly was eye opening to the Vietnamese American culture and the complications of a dysfunctional family dynamic. I love how the author focused on making Vietnamese American woman the main characters and focus of the plot as they're often used as secondary characters, or fillers to add in comedy.
This is a multi-generational tale, with a dash of magic. That being said, there was a lot of characters as we are introduced to a quite large family, and listening to the audiobook often had me lost. I had to really pay attention to the names and where they fell on the family tree, I really enjoyed the predictions given by the psychic on what the future held for the family. The family has been cursed for generations that all children will be born female, this is a huge ordeal in their culture as it means the family name won't be passed down.
This book is filled with so much family drama, the family brings so much conflict and the fights between siblings had me laughing out loud as they were intense (and often in public). This year is predicted to be different for the family, after a psychic prediction they know that there will be: a death, a marriage, and a birth of a boy. I love how each section was broken down, and it was clear what we were supposed to be looking for. Having the 3 different sections really allowed the reader to follow along and aided in clarity.
4.0 stars
-
The Fortunes of Jaded Women isn't the sort of book I'd normally pick up, but I'm really glad that I did. It certainly was eye opening to the Vietnamese American culture and the complications of a dysfunctional family dynamic. I love how the author focused on making Vietnamese American woman the main characters and focus of the plot as they're often used as secondary characters, or fillers to add in comedy.
This is a multi-generational tale, with a dash of magic. That being said, there was a lot of characters as we are introduced to a quite large family, and listening to the audiobook often had me lost. I had to really pay attention to the names and where they fell on the family tree, I really enjoyed the predictions given by the psychic on what the future held for the family. The family has been cursed for generations that all children will be born female, this is a huge ordeal in their culture as it means the family name won't be passed down.
This book is filled with so much family drama, the family brings so much conflict and the fights between siblings had me laughing out loud as they were intense (and often in public). This year is predicted to be different for the family, after a psychic prediction they know that there will be: a death, a marriage, and a birth of a boy. I love how each section was broken down, and it was clear what we were supposed to be looking for. Having the 3 different sections really allowed the reader to follow along and aided in clarity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
victoriaharris001's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
heatherjchin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, and War
The first half was triggering with the inter generational trauma and emotional abuse, while the latter third was uproariously funny. Stark contrast, but works out. A trigger warning would be helpful.kcbatts's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
starrysteph's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
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
4.25
The Fortunes of Jaded Women was a quick but powerful read.
We follow a large, complicated family of Vietnamese women who have been cursed for generations by a witch. Their ancestor Oanh left her marriage for true love – and so her descendants were cursed to never find love or happiness, and to only give birth to daughters.
Now skip ahead to present day, when current descendant Mai feels like her life is falling apart. She’s estranged from her two sisters and deeply worried about her three adult daughters. So she heads to her trusted psychic in Hawaii, who offers her an unusual prediction: this year, her family will witness a marriage, a funeral, and the birth of a son (!).
The story takes off at lightning speed from there. We alternate between a HUGE cast of characters from chapter to chapter, often hearing one side of the story and then the next. It was a little confusing to keep track at times, but the family tree at the front of the book was helpful. And as I got to know each character a little better, the threads became much clearer.
The storytelling is emotional and chaotic and raw – but also quite funny at times. These women are strong and STUBBORN.
The first half of the book focuses on the generation of mothers. All they want is to do better than their parents and to give their children happiness … but they don’t always know how. In the second portion of the book, we hear more from the daughters. They’re all desperately trying to distance themselves from their mothers in very different ways – but often unknowingly continue the cycles they hope to break.
Slowly but surely, the family is reunited. And all of this chaos culminates in one of the most jaw-droppingly awesome climaxes I’ve ever read. Everything comes together all at once, and I was cracking up at the delightful ridiculousness of it all.
This book covers SO much: navigating love in all of its stages, connecting with your roots and heritage in different ways, dealing with racism and harmful stereotypes, the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, generational trauma, the burden of being an eldest daughter, and so much more. It will make you laugh out loud and then punch you in the gut. It’s a celebration of Vietnamese women and of complicated families who may get into public food fights but ultimately will do anything for each other.
CW: death, grief, racism, toxic relationship, infidelity, body shaming, drug use, mental illness, misogyny, medical content, miscarriage, pregnancy, cultural appropriation, abandonment, colonization, classism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
internationalreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
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