I liked this book a lot, but didn’t love it. The writing is beautiful, made all the more impressive by the fact that this is the author’s first book in English. It really puts into perspective just how much Vietnam has been through in a relatively short time. 

However, I felt like this book was somehow both too much and not enough. This family goes through so much over the course of this story, that I found myself asking how much more can they endure. I recognize that this level of trauma is probably very real for many families throughout Vietnam, but be warned that it is brutal. 

On the flip side, because there are so many characters who are affected in so many ways by these historical events, sometimes the resolutions come too quickly or happen off page. There’s only so much you can fit in a 340 page book, and it sometimes felt that the recovery was rushed to allow more space for the trauma. 

I think there’s great value in reading this book, and I’m glad I did. I initially started it in January but I was not in the headspace to read it, so I set it aside until April, which was the right choice. So if you pick it up, make sure you’re in a mood to handle it because it is a lot. 

CW: war, rape, murder, ostracism, family separation, MIA, stillbirth, abortion, loss of limb, cancer, physical violence, starvation