Rating: 
Summary: A great introduction to Vietnamese-American literature.
Review: This is the first book I've read by a Vietnamese author, and I enjoyed it. It gives you wonderful insight into the values and customs of American and Vietnamese characters. I thought it had bit too much poetic description mixed in with the story, but that's just my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: This novel is one of the best books I have read that combines culture, humor, and the shock that comes when one encounters the unknown. I highly suggest this book to anyone who loves to read about people discovering secrets about life and family. It is captivating in imagery and literary devices. You can almost touch the story as you venture curiously about Virginia with Mai, a young girl who escapes from Vietnam with her mother, and finds a whole new freedom she never expected.
Rating:
Summary: touching
Review: Where do I start? There are so many facets to this book that it is difficult to single them out. Both Mai, the teenage daughter, and Thanh, her mother, are the narrators. They left Saigon at the very last possible minute, and came to the US. Mai has adapted quite well to this country, but has a very hard time carrying the responsibility of being the umbilical cord between her mother and this new and strange world. As she grows older, she resents her mom's stagnation. Mai describes perfectly the very precise moment when their connection broke: they were watching TV, it is fall in Virginia, the apartment is chilly, and Thanh is still dressed like if she were in Vietnam. Her unwillingness or inability to adapt and move forth scares Mai, who as most young people has fears of her own and does not need to borrow them from anyone else, much less her mother. At the same time, Mai is torn by guilt. She is caught between her obligation to her mother and her survival instinct. Mai is a mature and smart young woman, and can see what is slowly happening between them. To make matters worse, Thanh suffers a stroke. While she is in the hospital, Mai discovers her diary, and learns some family secrets she had no way of knowing. One of the most interesting realizations for me was the fact that Mai's father was a very progressive thinker, except when it came to the role of her wife. Thanh wrote about this with bitterness, and I would have enjoyed finding out what Mai thought about that. I like the dichotomy that appears in the novel once there are two narrators. Thanh is far more articulate than you would think based on Mai's descriptions, and equally smart. She is certainly not as brave, hence the surprising ending.There are some interesting secondary plots, like the fate of Mai's grandfather (the big mystery of the novel), Mrs. Bay and the local Vietnamese community, and Uncle Michael. My biggest disappointment has to do with Mai and Michael when they met for the first time. He is a wounded soldier in the hospital, and Mai, who by then is only a little girl, has to listen to his account of the hazing ceremony he went through (didn't he have the sense not to explain certain crude things to such a little girl?). This is certainly worth checking out. The pain of war, exile, culture shock, loss of beloved family, the weight of time and ancestry are all beautifully portrayed.
Rating:
Summary: When love is not enough to save you
Review: Where do I start? There are so many facets to this book that it is difficult to single them out. Both Mai, the teenage daughter, and Thanh, her mother, are the narrators. They left Saigon at the very last possible minute, and came to the US. Mai has adapted quite well to this country, but has a very hard time carrying the responsibility of being the umbilical cord between her mother and this new and strange world. As she grows older, she resents her mom's stagnation. Mai describes perfectly the very precise moment when their connection broke: they were watching TV, it is fall in Virginia, the apartment is chilly, and Thanh is still dressed like if she were in Vietnam. Her unwillingness or inability to adapt and move forth scares Mai, who as most young people has fears of her own and does not need to borrow them from anyone else, much less her mother. At the same time, Mai is torn by guilt. She is caught between her obligation to her mother and her survival instinct. Mai is a mature and smart young woman, and can see what is slowly happening between them. To make matters worse, Thanh suffers a stroke. While she is in the hospital, Mai discovers her diary, and learns some family secrets she had no way of knowing. One of the most interesting realizations for me was the fact that Mai's father was a very progressive thinker, except when it came to the role of her wife. Thanh wrote about this with bitterness, and I would have enjoyed finding out what Mai thought about that. I like the dichotomy that appears in the novel once there are two narrators. Thanh is far more articulate than you would think based on Mai's descriptions, and equally smart. She is certainly not as brave, hence the surprising ending. There are some interesting secondary plots, like the fate of Mai's grandfather (the big mystery of the novel), Mrs. Bay and the local Vietnamese community, and Uncle Michael. My biggest disappointment has to do with Mai and Michael when they met for the first time. He is a wounded soldier in the hospital, and Mai, who by then is only a little girl, has to listen to his account of the hazing ceremony he went through (didn't he have the sense not to explain certain crude things to such a little girl?). This is certainly worth checking out. The pain of war, exile, culture shock, loss of beloved family, the weight of time and ancestry are all beautifully portrayed.
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