Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

4 reviews

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. 

---

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

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.

---

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

tahsintries's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Rape, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Hate crime, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Infidelity

raineachreads's review against another edition

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Infertility, and Alcohol