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secre's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
Wandering Souls is one of those novels that will stay with me for a long time after I turned that last page. It's a haunting and reflective piece of work about being displaced, of being a stranger in a new country with no family or friends to rely on. And yet it's also a heart-warming narrative, of making your own place to belong, through set-backs, grief and loss.
Told in three narrative threads, it feels a bit disjointed to begin with but quickly finds a pace and a rhythm that is impossible to put down. It's a short read, and yet encompasses something so much bigger that it felt far larger. You have Anh and her two siblings, displaced from their home in Vietnam due to the war. As they find their way to the resettlement camp, they are confronted with the fact that their parents and younger siblings are not just behind them. Orphaned and alone, they have to find their own way in the world and Anh has to take up the mantle her parent's left. She and her brothers grow up, find their own way and their own mantles to carry. But it's never going to be an easy journey.
Interspersing this narrative of three children finding a place in what to them is a foreign land, you have the perspective of one of the deceased brothers, Dao, and an omnipresent narrator. Dao's voice is jarring in a way, it forces you to confront the very real fact that this very young child died and is forever separate and distant from half of the family he loved. The narrator's voice is equally jarring, often bringing you to the present and forcing you to confront the people behind the policies. But it works and it works well. The jarring moments become part of the story, how things aren't as simple and tidy as we might like but involve real people, real families and very real heart-ache.
As said above, this is a novel that will stick with me. And make me think in very real terms about the people left behind in the wake of catastrophe.
Told in three narrative threads, it feels a bit disjointed to begin with but quickly finds a pace and a rhythm that is impossible to put down. It's a short read, and yet encompasses something so much bigger that it felt far larger. You have Anh and her two siblings, displaced from their home in Vietnam due to the war. As they find their way to the resettlement camp, they are confronted with the fact that their parents and younger siblings are not just behind them. Orphaned and alone, they have to find their own way in the world and Anh has to take up the mantle her parent's left. She and her brothers grow up, find their own way and their own mantles to carry. But it's never going to be an easy journey.
Interspersing this narrative of three children finding a place in what to them is a foreign land, you have the perspective of one of the deceased brothers, Dao, and an omnipresent narrator. Dao's voice is jarring in a way, it forces you to confront the very real fact that this very young child died and is forever separate and distant from half of the family he loved. The narrator's voice is equally jarring, often bringing you to the present and forcing you to confront the people behind the policies. But it works and it works well. The jarring moments become part of the story, how things aren't as simple and tidy as we might like but involve real people, real families and very real heart-ache.
As said above, this is a novel that will stick with me. And make me think in very real terms about the people left behind in the wake of catastrophe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism and War
eldane's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
3.0
This was a lyrical, poetic, and moving fictional account of three siblings as they are forced to leave home in order to survive the aftermath of the Vietnam War. It was deeply emotional and tragic, but the reader doesn't really get to know the characters. There's a lot of telling and not showing, which I get frustrated with. There are also several timeskips that can be annoying, especially since you can't sit with the characters long enough. It was a beautiful and moving story I just didn't really feel connected with the characters or felt like I truly knew them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
jankavdm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book is somewhat relatable, although i've not fled a war, as someone who left their country by blood and is faced with the challenges of integrating and creating a home in a new place, i relate on some levels. To be honest, at times I was hesitant to pick the book up and continue reading because the scene I had got to I knew was going to be hard to hear. I shed a couple of tears, in a couple of different places, but what struck me was how quickly I was invested at the beginning of the book, and because of that, how emotional I got at one of the tragedies that happened relatively early in the book. I don't think that can be said for very many books and stories. I thought the little bit of writing before a chapter was a really nice touch, I looked forward to those a lot! It sort of felt like I was reading them with someone else, and that this book wasn't just a story about x, y, and z, it was more like a discussion and analysis of the struggles and topics that come up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape and Police brutality
Minor: Racial slurs
burnourhistory's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Deportation
zara89's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Deportation
lols_cat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Racism, and War
lydia_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and War
slinkmalink's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.5
Was going to give it 4 stars but it earned an extra half in the last few chapters which nearly made me cry.
I bought this because I'd studied the Vietnam war and Thatcher's Britain at college/uni, and I found it really interesting because it was the in-between of those things I did know something about that connected to them, but I knew nothing really about this itself.
I loved the alternating chapters between the main storyline and Dao's perspective and the research, which all worked together to make it feel both informative and very personal, and the constant returning to the theme of 'wandering souls'.
I thought it was interesting and beautifully written and emotional and overall just a really great book.
I bought this because I'd studied the Vietnam war and Thatcher's Britain at college/uni, and I found it really interesting because it was the in-between of those things I did know something about that connected to them, but I knew nothing really about this itself.
I loved the alternating chapters between the main storyline and Dao's perspective and the research, which all worked together to make it feel both informative and very personal, and the constant returning to the theme of 'wandering souls'.
I thought it was interesting and beautifully written and emotional and overall just a really great book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and War
megangrace's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
katerina_l's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War