naddie_reads's review
4.0
"Chronicles of a Village" is exactly what it says on the tin: it's a novel that chronicles the significant ongoings within an unnamed Vietnamese village. Told through fragmentary chapters, this is a beautiful account of the gradual changes overtaking a village as progress creeps further into its horizon.
The anecdotes related within this slim volume are based on the author's personal circumstances, so it is a pseudo-memoir in a sense. Faced with corruption and persecution, the narrator attempts to reconcile these ugly facets of human existence in order to find closure to the events which affected his family. It is also an eco-fiction with a heart; descriptions of the beauty of nature and how humans have once co-existed alongside it are in abundance, along with the ominous foreknowledge that humans will soon overtake nature due to our greed.
The fluid narrative style harkens back to a time of oral storytelling as Hiên weaves in folklore and mythologies which have descended through his ancestors to produce something truly poetic and lyrical. The non-linear writing (described as an 'act of drifting' in the afterword) and the long paragraphs might not be to everyone's taste, but it does make for a poetic read.
Much as I would like to go on and on about the beauty of this novel, I think this is the kind of read that's best experienced for yourself. If you're a fan of poetic writing in your fiction, this will likely whet your appetite. This is also a recommended read if you're looking to expand your Southeast Asian reading experience!
Thank you to Times Reads for the review copy; all opinions are my own.
The anecdotes related within this slim volume are based on the author's personal circumstances, so it is a pseudo-memoir in a sense. Faced with corruption and persecution, the narrator attempts to reconcile these ugly facets of human existence in order to find closure to the events which affected his family. It is also an eco-fiction with a heart; descriptions of the beauty of nature and how humans have once co-existed alongside it are in abundance, along with the ominous foreknowledge that humans will soon overtake nature due to our greed.
The fluid narrative style harkens back to a time of oral storytelling as Hiên weaves in folklore and mythologies which have descended through his ancestors to produce something truly poetic and lyrical. The non-linear writing (described as an 'act of drifting' in the afterword) and the long paragraphs might not be to everyone's taste, but it does make for a poetic read.
Much as I would like to go on and on about the beauty of this novel, I think this is the kind of read that's best experienced for yourself. If you're a fan of poetic writing in your fiction, this will likely whet your appetite. This is also a recommended read if you're looking to expand your Southeast Asian reading experience!
Thank you to Times Reads for the review copy; all opinions are my own.
annnguyen13's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Wondrous book about the legacy of progress, how it led to the handicapped of the land, and of the marvellous rhythm of nature.
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