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A review by louiza_read2live
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
4.0
A historical fiction based on the stories the author has heard from her own family and others, which also includes her own experience growing up in Vietnam. The family story of four generations is told in alternate chronological chapters (from past to present) by the grandmother and her grandaughter. We hear how they try to survive during decades of war and division. People often are left with impossible decisions and dilemmas, human against human, not just against foreign powers, but countryman against countryman, neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother... We see the best and the worst of humanity. The characters are fictional, but the tragedy is all too real. Once again, we see the ruins left in the land and in the hearts of people by greed, envy, and fanaticism, the blind unquestioned support of one political ideology or another, when in fact, they are each side of the same coin and have one and the same goal: power, control, dividing people into groups to hate one another, and leaving them scared, destitute, or dead.
Heartbreaking and tragic, and yet in the midst of emptiness and unimaginable loss, hope and love always rise above. This was not an easy book to read. Emotionally, at times, it was devastating, but the grandmother's words felt like a balm in the heart soothing and healing the reader as she was trying to sooth and heal herself and her family.
Very sad, but beautifully written and hopeful. I especially loved reading the Vietnamese proverbs and about the Vietnamese traditional customs. The Vietnamese phrases given created the perfect atmoshere and the imbeded English translation was so well done that there was not disconnection felt at all; the two languages just flowed as one.
Notes:
1. After the end of the novel, it is worth reading the acknowledgments and the author's essay written at the very end because it gives insight into the author's mind while writing this novel.
2. The unvonventional presentation of the timeline in alternate chapters can possibly confuse a reader who might not be deeply familiar with the history of Vietnam's social and political climate during the decades that the novel covers more extensively 1930s - 1980s. Thus, it would benefit from a good historical introduction that will help acclimate the reader to the novel's historical context and background.
Heartbreaking and tragic, and yet in the midst of emptiness and unimaginable loss, hope and love always rise above. This was not an easy book to read. Emotionally, at times, it was devastating, but the grandmother's words felt like a balm in the heart soothing and healing the reader as she was trying to sooth and heal herself and her family.
Very sad, but beautifully written and hopeful. I especially loved reading the Vietnamese proverbs and about the Vietnamese traditional customs. The Vietnamese phrases given created the perfect atmoshere and the imbeded English translation was so well done that there was not disconnection felt at all; the two languages just flowed as one.
Notes:
1. After the end of the novel, it is worth reading the acknowledgments and the author's essay written at the very end because it gives insight into the author's mind while writing this novel.
2. The unvonventional presentation of the timeline in alternate chapters can possibly confuse a reader who might not be deeply familiar with the history of Vietnam's social and political climate during the decades that the novel covers more extensively 1930s - 1980s. Thus, it would benefit from a good historical introduction that will help acclimate the reader to the novel's historical context and background.