“…I have seen enough death and violence to know that there’s only one way we can talk about wars: honestly. Only through honesty can we learn about the truth.” (The Mountains Sing, pg 79)
In a time of social-distancing and anxiety, many of us are turning to fiction for transportive experiences and authentic human stories. The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, released today (March 17th, 2020) delivers both. Immersive and intimate, The Mountains Sing describes the multiple generations of the Trần family in Việt Nam. The story primarily alternates between a young girl named Hương , navigating her childhood and family history during the war in the 1970s, and her grandmother Diệu Lan, telling Hương about their family history in the decades prior. It is a poignant novel about survival, intergenerational traumas, and family dynamics.
The alternating stories of grandmother and granddaughter were wonderfully paced; I didn’t want to put the book down and was equally invested in both stories (and, ultimately, how they came together). This framing of the novel allowed readers to consider how family stories and fates reproduce and connect over time and the immense scope and horror of the violence in Việt Nam.
At the very beginning and end of the novel, there was a time jump into the 2010s which I wished had been longer and more nuanced; it seemed to neatly tie up the story, but the rest of the book underscored the reality that such complex histories and legacies of war can’t be so simple.
The writing was beautiful. I loved the incorporation of Vietnamese words and idioms (it was especially helpful listening to the audiobook to hear correct pronunciation!). The characterization of both Hương and her grandmother, as well as the large cast of other characters, was rich and unforced. I do wish there had been more differentiation between the physical settings in various towns the family moved through— while individual houses were described in great detail, I rarely had a sense of what the neighborhoods or towns looked like compared to one another.
Overall, I highly recommend this novel if you are interested in multigenerational family stories, accounts of how war affects families, the Việt Nam war, or harrowing, emotional historical fiction. You can find a copy in stores or online today! Let me know what you think 🙂
Disclaimer: I was gifted The Mountains Sing for review by the publisher and had ALC access to the audiobook on libro.fm. Thank you Algonquin books!
Content Warnings: sexual assault, murder, graphic violence, abortion, miscarriage
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