Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quáșż Mai

4 reviews

abbie_'s review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

The Mountains Sing is a tough act to follow, and unfortunately I don't think Dust Child is as strong as  Quáșż Mai's debut. I did also listen to The Mountains Sing on audio, which absolutely enhanced the experience for me because the narrator did an incredible job. 

Dust Child focuses on the devastating effect of the Vietnam war on a few different characters. We have Trang and her sister who become bar girls during the war to earn money to help out their parents' debt. Trange becomes involved with Dan, a white American GI, and one of the other POVs in the book. Then there's Phong, a half Black, half Vietnamese man who is trying to locate his father and possibly move to America. 

My main gripes with this book were mainly all to do with Dan. He is such a dick, and while I fully think we're meant to think he's a dick for most of the book, I didn't vibe with the redemption arc he got at the end. I didn't feel like picking up the book when I was in a Dan part. I also thought the writing was a little too on the nose at times. A bookish friend used the word 'didactic' which I think is perfect - this book was written to inform, and that took me out of the story. This makes sense, since the author used material from a real-life research project she did as inspiration. 

I found Phong's storyline to be the most compelling. I didn't know 'dust child' was a term used to refer to Amerasians born to Vietnamese women with Black American fathers, nor was I aware of the racism they faced in Vietnam because of their mixed heritage. 

I did also like Trang and her sister's storylines, although Trang was unbelievably naive at times. I liked how Quỳnh came back into the story later.

I've watched a few interviews with Quáșż Mai and she is a wonderful, genuine person. Nadia did an interview with her recently over on The StoryGraph's Instagram where she shares some of the importance of diacritics to the text (though in my edition, some of the diacritics would be randomly missing off characters' names??) and I always appreciate that sort of insight. 
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proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

1969 Äker systrarna Trang och Qunh till Saigon för att arbeta och hjÀlpa sina förÀldrar med skulderna. De fÄr jobb pÄ en bar dÀr de ska flirta med amerikanska soldater och fÄ dem att köpa drinkar. 

Dan, amerikansk helikopterpilot under Vietnam-kriget, bestÀmmer sig i nutid för att Äka tillbaka till Vietnam och konfrontera sitt förflutna. Samtidigt söker Phong efter sina förÀldrar efter att ha blivit lÀmnad pÄ barnhem som baby. 

Askans barn kallas de barn som har en vietnamesisk mamma och en amerikansk pappa. De flesta vĂ€xte upp under svĂ„ra förhĂ„llanden och bespottades av alla. TyvĂ€rr en tragisk verklighet dĂ€r man kan se att Vietnam-kriget (eller det amerikanska kriget, som vietnameserna kallar det) fortfarande har konsekvenser. Ännu en gĂ„ng har jag fĂ„tt lĂ€ra mig mer om effekterna av detta krig och det skĂ€r i hjĂ€rtat att tĂ€nka pĂ„ alla liv som förstörts. Tack och lov finns hĂ€r Ă€ven vĂ€rme och hopp, sĂ„ allt Ă€r inte tragiskt och nattsvart. 

Jag kan förstĂ„ att "DĂ€r askan blommar" Ă€r nominerad till Årets bok, men jag blir Ă€ndĂ„ inte lika övervĂ€ldigad som jag blev av författarens förra bok, "NĂ€r bergen sjunger". Kanske beror det bara pĂ„ att jag inte hade nĂ„gra speciella förvĂ€ntningar inför lĂ€sningen av den boken, medan jag nu visste vad jag kunde förvĂ€nta mig. Kanske beror det pĂ„ att jag hade ovanligt svĂ„rt att hĂ„lla isĂ€r de vietnamesiska namnen och blandade ihop karaktĂ€rerna mer Ă€n en gĂ„ng. Jag vet inte riktigt, men det hĂ€r Ă€r Ă€ndĂ„ en vĂ€ldigt bra bok och jag tycker att författarens bĂ„da böcker bör lĂ€sas av alla som tycker om att lĂ€ra sig saker medan de lĂ€ser, samtidigt som de uppskattar ett fint sprĂ„k och en bra berĂ€ttad historia.
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raineachreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-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

‘Dust Child’ is a novel that examines the trauma of the Vietnam War both in the immediate but also in the long lasting ripple effects of those directly involved as well as their families and wider communities. Divided into three main story lines of a young girl who finds herself working in a bar during the war where she falls in love with an American soldier, a boy growing up as an orphan who is outcast due to having an American father and Vietnamese mother and a veteran returning to the country decades after fighting there. While the subject matter is heavy and doesn’t shy away from the realities of trauma and the different ways this is experienced and lived out, the book remains highly readable and engaging. 

Without giving away spoilers I loved how the author led the reader to believe they had worked out the conclusion only to weave the strands together to reveal something different. While trauma is without a doubt the main theme (the author has an academic background in this subject connected to the Vietnam War so does this extremely sensitivity and authentically)there are many sub- themes going on too. I don’t think you can end this book without thinking about morality, the importance of family and the messy realities of truth. While lies may be told or facts left out to try not to cause someone harm, in the long term this can have more far reaching painful consequences. What this book also did really well was to combine languages together, bringing another dimension again to the story. 

This is a book that will stay with me and continue to make me think in the days to come. 
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bookedbymadeline's review

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-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

5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Oneworld for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was pulled in right away! I didn’t want to put it down but also wanted to slow down so could savor the story. Beautiful writing once again from the author (I read and loved her debut last year). I’m a sucker for multiple timelines and POVs so this did not disappoint!

I also really liked the complex characters and their relationships. I learned a lot about pieces of history during/following the Vietnam War, which I always enjoy learning something new!

If you read this, grab tissues for last 25% 😭 I sobbed and was a wreck for the rest of the night and following day. This was a very hopeful and emotional read.

Fantastic novel that I loved even more than her debut! Will 100% be my favorite for the month and Que Mai is officially an auto buy author 💗

If my last read, Cecily, didn’t already have me in a mini slump I’m definitely in one now 😳 WHAT BOOK CAN FOLLOW THIS?! (This will also be my next “book to push into everyone’s hands”/go to recommendation)

TW/CW: racism, war, infertility (brief mention), PTSD, sexual content, death, grief, sexual assault, infidelity, racial slurs, alcoholism, violence, emotional abuse, vomit (brief), abandonment, pregnancy, Alzheimer’s (brief), child death, self harm (brief)
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