Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

15 reviews

amyeicher's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Abandonment, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism, Self harm, Alcoholism, Rape, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy

lizmart88's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.5

I've read several books from the city Vietnamese perspective on the war. This one is set during the war and focuses on two sisters who become hostesses at a bar entertaining GIs in Saigon. It also follows in the present day Dan, a former helicopter pilot, and his wife, traveling to Vietnam.

Beautifully written. The author does an excellent job portraying the characters complex emotions and how they end up making such difficult decisions in the face of war and uncertainty. It also does a lovely job sharing Vietnamese language, culture, and identity and the many impacts of the war on Vietnamese people.

Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, War, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

madarzoe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

Informative, multi-faceted and thought-provoking. Explores themes of race, feminism, love, forgiveness, family and the ways people fight to maintain their humanity during unthinkable times. At some points the writing sounded a bit like a college paper on the Vietnam War, but I appreciated the history lesson and the range of perspectives. The story flips between two main points in time and multiple character POVs, which made it feel like a fairly quick read and kept me interested, and the story built nicely towards a bit of a climax towards the end. I enjoyed how the author was able to leave me feeling more hopeful than depressed by the end, despite some very heavy topics and material. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and War

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Infidelity, Pregnancy, War, Racism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Rape and Self harm

maidinnah's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.75

A thoughtful, nuanced, and empathetic account of the Vietnam war through the intertwining storylines of a Vietnamese prostitute, an American veteran, and an Amerasian “dust child”. This stirring tale explores the fallout — the broken families, the mutual resentments, the haunting secrets — and calls forth tremendous amounts of forgiveness from every side. Quê Mai Nguyễn reminds us that we may not be able to heal every wound when the dust settles, but peace can still be found when we move forward. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Murder, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Self harm

astridhawk's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.5

A very haunting book, which was less about Vietnamese culture than I expected, and more about the victims of war beyond those killed, and the atrocities that persist well beyond wartime.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Grief, War, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, and Racism

Minor: Abortion and Sexism

klutzykara's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow, this was so good! I definitely want to pick up The Mountains Sing asap to experience more from this author! I loved the writing and characters in this so much. All three point of views were engaging and interesting to read about, although I admit I was probably most invested in Trang's story. I did not want to put it down and really enjoyed all parts of the novel. It was paced well and I thought the ending was very good.

Very impactful and memorable read. I would highly recommend it - it's definitely one of the best historical fiction novels I've read over the years. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, War, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abortion

sophiekingo's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse

internationalreads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

3.0

This was.. fine? It felt like a book written to teach Americans about the Vietnam war rather than to tell a story set in that time. Disappointing after loving The Mountains Sing so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, War, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual content

mondovertigo's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Trafficking, Racism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Abandonment, Death, Racial slurs, Rape, and Classism

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Car accident, and Vomit