Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!

Unfortunately I waited too long to review this one so my memory has gone hazy, BUT I do remember thoroughly enjoying this one when I had time to read it! My sincerest apologies to all the books I tried to read while on holiday with 15 members of my family 😅

Brothers and Ghosts is told via a dual timeline/POV, one from Kiều, a young Vietnamese-German woman with little knowledge of her family history, and Son, her uncle who fought against the Vietcong during the war. Once estranged, the two families are drawn together across oceans once more, when Kiều and her mother & father receive a blunt message on Facebook that Kiều’s grandmother is dying.

I was drawn to this book because I just love a generational saga (although this one does only have two main POVs) and also it’s written by a German-Vietnamese author, translated from German. I’m so happy we’re getting more and more unique perspectives from other countries, as often immigrant stories take place in either the UK or US. Reading about the experiences of a Vietnamese family in Germany was a fresh perspective.

There’s a lot of interesting commentary on xenophobia and the sacrifices Kiều and her family make to fit in. They flatten their Vietnamese identity to be more palatable, with Kiều telling Germans to ‘just call her Kim’ as her real name is ‘too hard to pronounce’.

I wouldn’t say it’s a stand out read of the year, but it’s a definite must for your list if you’re interested in stories of identity, immigration, the Vietnamese war and family.