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A review by lightsleeper_heavydreamer
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was a wonderful family saga and I cried and learned a lot! The things I knew about Vietnamese history I mostly had from museums, this book brought history to life in all its tragedy, cruelty, all its sorrow and grief, all its persistence and kindness and love. At times this story is almost unbeatably sad and I felt so much for the family and everything they had to go through but it also managed to be hopeful throughout. The women here are so strong for their persistence and their unwillingness to give in or to lose their kindness.
Highly recommended the audio book, there's so many Vietnamese proverbs in this and hearing them spoken by a Vietnamese speaker and not just reading them wrongly in my head.
Highly recommended the audio book, there's so many Vietnamese proverbs in this and hearing them spoken by a Vietnamese speaker and not just reading them wrongly in my head.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, and War