A review by tsoutham
Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 Unlike North Woods, a book I just finished that also traces back and forth over hundreds of years of time, this book left me often confused. Perhaps it is the unfamiliar to me names of the Trung sisters, Trac, Nhi and Trieu. However I was often confused about where we were in time and even how grandmothers and mothers were connected to external characters. 
 
This is an interpretation of E.M. Tran of what her mother and grandmothers might have experienced. As she claims at the end she was unable to get them to speak of their past. The violence with which Tran interprets their reactions to the injustices of the past, especially for women, may seem redemptive but they also seem unlikely. Tran turned her ancestors into super heros. Super heroines are downplayed although it appears the Trung sister’s mother was both an herbalist and a lover of plants. 
 
I might reread this book to give it another chance. I listened to it as audio and that may be where some of the confusion lies. Still, when it comes to colonialism I’m looking more to biography, autobiography, and nonfiction. I want to know what happened not what might have happened no matter the revenge that might serve. 
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