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pineconek 's review for:
The Mountains Sing
by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Nothing grips me quite like an excellent family saga does.
The Mountains Sing follow a Vietnamese family over the course of the 20th century and it is nothing short of brutal. Each generation is faced with abject horror - starvation (and the calamity of agent orange), child separation, mutilation, murder... need I go on?
As such, this book was really painful to read and I had to take my time with it. There were scenes that I felt so viscerally and they were brilliantly presented: both written as a narrative that happened and as a relative explaining to the next generation: "this is what I went through. Do you understand?". And I think I understand more now, more than I did before.
Recommended if you're interested in family sagas/historical fiction, want to learn more about what Viet Nam has gone through over the past 100 years, and are ready to have your heart broken repeatedly. 4.5 stars rounded up.
The Mountains Sing follow a Vietnamese family over the course of the 20th century and it is nothing short of brutal. Each generation is faced with abject horror - starvation (and the calamity of agent orange), child separation, mutilation, murder... need I go on?
As such, this book was really painful to read and I had to take my time with it. There were scenes that I felt so viscerally and they were brilliantly presented: both written as a narrative that happened and as a relative explaining to the next generation: "this is what I went through. Do you understand?". And I think I understand more now, more than I did before.
Recommended if you're interested in family sagas/historical fiction, want to learn more about what Viet Nam has gone through over the past 100 years, and are ready to have your heart broken repeatedly. 4.5 stars rounded up.