Starred review from March 1, 2023
Tran weaves a captivating tale spanning six generations of Vietnamese women in her complex debut. Xuan Trung, who fled Vietnam for the United States in 1975, uses the Vietnamese zodiac almanac to chart the futures of her daughters, Trac, Nhi, and Trieu. Vietnamese tradition, astrology, and superstition combine as a lens through which the characters view and make sense of their world. The book examines what it means to be a woman, a mother, and a daughter, as well as how history and memory shape the core of self-identity through the ages. All the women in this novel share uncommon strength, with beauty shining through their imperfections. The story exemplifies the resilience of a people whose country has experienced cultural erasure and physical destruction over the past several decades and illuminates their continued bravery in adaptation and survival. Narrator Lulu Lam brings the already vibrant prose to life, lending Vietnamese culture, accent, and mannerisms an authentic voice. VERDICT Lam's nuanced narration makes Tran's novel a must-purchase in audio format for all public libraries. Share with readers of Nguyen Phan Que Mai's The Mountains Sing or Lan Cao's The Lotus and the Storm.--Katy Duperry
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 2022
Falling backward through time, Tran's debut follows the women of the Trung family in New Orleans and Vietnam. At Lunar New Year, Xuan reads her three daughters' horoscopes in order to warn them of the risks particular to their zodiac signs in the coming year. Growing up, Trac, Nhi, and Trieu feel both too Americanized for the Vietnamese community, and not American enough for the white community. The gulf between Xuan and her daughters is further exacerbated by language barriers and unspoken family history. The daughters' relationships to their now-divorced parents is shaped by guilt and obligation. After introducing the Trung daughters as adults, the narrative traces back to Xuan's youth in Saigon as she enters a beauty pageant. Her mother, Ti�n, plans for her family's escape as the U.S. military is pulling out of South Vietnam. Ti�n's mother's and grandmother's chapters give additional depth to the Trungs' lost family history. Layered with magical realism, Tran's novel is a complex meditation on history, memory, and what each generation carries.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With a large print run and comparisons to Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing (2016) and Chloe Benjamin's The Immortalists (2018), expect lots of curiosity about (and demand for) this debut.
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