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I’m so glad that the 1001 list lead me to this book, since I was otherwise unaware of it.
The writing is wonderful. The author really drew me back to the sights, sounds and smells of Hanoi - I could at times powerfully recall my trip there.
This book covers not just the subject of the Vietnamese war and its aftermath, but also the export workers to Tussia, a subject I know little about. I think in the West we are so used to the narrative of immigration to the West, especially to the US, and we t ...more
The writing is wonderful. The author really drew me back to the sights, sounds and smells of Hanoi - I could at times powerfully recall my trip there.
This book covers not just the subject of the Vietnamese war and its aftermath, but also the export workers to Tussia, a subject I know little about. I think in the West we are so used to the narrative of immigration to the West, especially to the US, and we t ...more
The novel takes us to a time and place pretty much unknown to us- what we know about Vietnam is mostly about the time of the war, and for those in the southern half. Here we are with working-class and middle-class Vietnamese in the time after the war, and the protagonist's time as a guest worker in allied Russia. This is accompanied by some lovely, moving prose and depiction of the emotions of a young woman's struggles. Really well-done and recommended.
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This book, written by a Vietnamese Woman and translated to English by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPerson, is set in Vietnam and Russia after the Vietnam War with the U.S. and tells the story of Hang, her mother and her paternal aunt and through them tells the story of Vietnam after the war and the emergence of communism. This story starts in Russia where Hang is working as an exported worker in a textile plant and is told in a series of flashbacks in Hangs life. We see Hang as a young girl with he
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Growing up in Vietnam during the communist 70s and 80s, young Hang is used to hardships. Her cadre maternal uncle has her father's family classified as landlords (for owning a small paddy). Her father is sent away. Hang is raised alone, by her mother with her paternal aunt's help. Her paternal Aunt Tam can never forgive Hang's father for sending her brother away, most likely to his death. Tam can barely tolerate how Hang's mother continually helps her brother, despite the fact that he ruined her
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A coming of age story in Hanoi Vietnam. Hang is an only child who has never known her father. She receives a telegram from her Uncle Chinh that he is very ill, and he needs her to go to Moscow immediately. While she is on the train to Moscow, she looks back on her life with her mother. Through these memories, we begin to understand what her life was like under the communist regime.
I enjoyed Duong's writing, and I found the story compelling ...more
I enjoyed Duong's writing, and I found the story compelling ...more
Jan 16, 2016
Regina Lindsey
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Jan 25, 2016
Kyle Mahoney
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Dec 30, 2016
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Dec 05, 2017
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Jan 13, 2018
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Haaze
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Jun 01, 2019
Yvonne
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Dec 04, 2019
Kathy Jo
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May 28, 2020
Cecilia
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Jan 07, 2021
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Nov 05, 2022
Janet
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