Wow this book was absolutely stunning, if you have a minute, head over and read me ramble about how good it was. The more I think about it the more I love it. Check it out here. :)

Here's a review preview:

Breathtakingly beautiful, lyrical, stunning, devastating, important

I found Things We Lost to the Water a day before this book was published, through Loan Le on twitter. Considering A Pho Love Story was one of my favorite recent reads (you can read my review here, if you want!), I immediately requested to read it. I didn’t even look into it past the fact that it goes into the immigrant experience of a Vietnamese family. Let me tell you that it did not disappoint. This story was incredible. I soaked in every moment of it with deep emotion and appreciation that this book exists.

Things We Lost to the Water follows a mother and her two sons who escape from Vietnam and make it to New Orleans. It’s an epic family tale, spanning 26 years that tells of how the family grows, falls apart, and grapples with what it means to be Vietnamese in New Orleans.

It’s hard to put into words how great this book was. It’s full of so many small experiences and feelings that to mention every thing would be too much. The book dives into the deep complexities of being forced to leave Vietnam and start a new life for yourself in a new country. A country that doesn’t care about you, but that you find yourself, inevitably, assimilating into. It shows us the feeling of longing for a place and a people you’ve never been through the sons, and the repercussions of wanting to shield your children from your trauma from the mother. Continue reading...

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I received a free copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily