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ittywitty's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
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
4.25
Well-written. Took a while to get into, but I’m really glad I read it! It’s kind of like a modern Joy Luck Club meets Crazy Rich Asians with a little bit of a Crazy, Stupid, Love twist. Think messy Vietnamese women all dealing with generational trauma and trying to survive the pressures of duty to family and society. All of which have been unlucky in love due to a family curse. Enjoyed hearing about these families and the culmination of hilarious drama that ensues! Also the portrayal of Vietnamese culture felt pretty accurate to me, which I always appreciate in AAPI authors, especially those also named Carolyn. ❤️ Would love to see this story made into a movie!!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, and Racism
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
Shoutout to Libro.fm for the ALC of this book. I've been waiting for when I needed a light and fun read to pick it up, since everyone I've seen review it has mentioned that it's a little over the top. I've really been in the mood for escapist reads lately, so lots of fantasy and romance, but then I remembered this contemporary book waiting on my TBR and decided to mix up the escapism a bit.
Generations ago, Oanh left her marriage for true love, and in the ensuing backlash, was cursed by a witch so that her descendants would give birth to only daughters...and would never find true love or happiness. In the present day, three mostly estranged sisters, descendents of Oanh, live in Little Saigon in Orange County, CA: Mai (the oldest and most know-it-all/in charge), Minh (the middle and the mediator of the siblings), and Khuyen (the youngest, who may or may not run Little Saigon's "underground"). Mai is not only estranged from her sisters (and mother), but also on rocky relationship footing with her three daughters as well, whose love lives she cannot seem to stay out of. There is also Minh's daughter and Khuyen's two daughters, all of whom have strained relationships with each other. Plus, there is a half-sister, whose reappearance with her own two daughters a decade ago was the catalyst for the family's current estrangement. When Mai consults a psychic about concerns for her daughters, she is told that this year may be her last chance to repair broken relationships, and thus begins the dramatic tale in these pages, a story of births and deaths and marriages and romances and maybe, just maybe, curse-breaking.
Well alright. This was some phenomenally entertaining full-force family drama storytelling. Like, this is an intergenerational family story of fifteen Vietnamese women, that could easily have been told in a serious and intense way, but instead Huynh gives readers a more lighthearted experience. She makes precision observations about the emotional manipulation and guilt and expectations stereotypical to Asian/immigrant parent child (mother daughter) relationships, but with a sharp and humorous eye. So, while these observations are genuine, the delivery is a darkly humorous tone that fantastically delivers. That tone felt, to me, reminiscent of Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians series, though this book has less of the "rich" and more of the "everyday" style of success and livelihood. There is also a distinct air of soap opera to the overall plot, as it were. With the reality of estrangement and small communities comes the coincidences of overlapping relationships that, when all the family comes together for the "finale" scenes, explodes with spectacle that, yes, is a bit absurd, but also, if you picked up this book with accurate expectations, exactly right in its hilarity.
These characters are all endearing in their dysfunction - there are parts of each of their stories that any reader can see themselves in. That universal, "I'm trying to be better but in reality not *really* learning from my mistakes" is something that everyone has experience with, if they're being honest. Similarly, the way people (in this case, mothers) fight to make things different (better) for future generations, but that overcorrecting can cause its own issues, is so relatable. And seeing all that addressed with such humor makes it easier, legitimately fun, to read about such recognizably human foibles. Plus, setting it within the context for learning about Vietnamese culture, in general and for immigrants to the US, gives lovely added depth and context.
I struggled just a bit with the pacing of the story - not within itself, as it was page-turning from start to finish, but as part of a greater context - as it felt unmoored from anything happening outside the family. There is a chance that was purposefully done, to keep the focus on these women and their lives separately and together, fighting for individuality and cohesion both. And I do understand that bringing in more outside context could have necessitated a more serious tone, versus the "keeping it lighter" vibe that the author was going for. So I tried to just kinda let myself get pulled along and not worry too much about that aspect. So, in the end, I finished listening to this having been fully entertained by these gorgeously messy women, and totally recommend this to anyone looking to simply have a great time reading a book.
“These two souls before them had never dreamt that romantic love could happen at their age, in their lifetime, within this cosmos. The type of love blossoming right now was the very thing that they'd been taught was unattainable. It wasn't pragmatic for people like them because they needed to worry about men with guns, picking a side in the war, putting food on the table, finding work, providing for children, and figuring out how to survive in a foreign country. These things came first.”
“Not like a woman of color, a quiet Asian woman, a dutiful daughter or a model minority. But a desired woman who just wanted a man to look at her the way he did.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: War, Miscarriage, and Medical content
siobhanward's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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 was a cute read. It was a fun mix of Amy Tan's multigenerational stories, mixed with Jessie Q. Sutano's Aunties books. Chaos, misunderstandings, family drama. I liked the characters and appreciated the family tree at the beginning - sometimes the characters barely knew how they were related, so it was nice to have something to reference. The plot was fun but at some points it felt like it was barely moving forward. I'm pretty sure every single character needs to learn to make better decisions, but I also know that was the point of the book.
I had fun with this book and definitely look forward to reading more from Huynh.
I had fun with this book and definitely look forward to reading more from Huynh.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
hailsbooknook'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: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Bullying, Miscarriage, and Racism
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: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Death, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia
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, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, and Child abuse
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.auudrey's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Colonisation, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse
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: Racism, Pregnancy, Death, Grief, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Infidelity, Colonisation, Medical content, Miscarriage, Abandonment, and Classism
lizsurber'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: Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Minor: Colonisation, Classism, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Body shaming, Abandonment, and War
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: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Infidelity, Racism, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Death
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