Name: The Mountains Sing
ISBN: 9780861540136

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

An intimate, stirring portrait of a country at war and a family's battle to survive

The Mountains Sing

Jemima Scott

fira

Victoria Justice

If our stories survive, we will not die, even when our bodies are no longer here on this earth.

Eva Ströberg

I never thought much about Vietnam before, apart from knowing from the history books about the infamous Vietnam War. This book tells the story of a woman and her granddaughter, first hiding from American bombs in Hanoi, where she found chance to go back and tell her life story back during the French occupation, the Japanese invasion and relived the Land Reform nightmare during the communist era.

Again, without knowing much about the Vietnamese people or the society, I think this book managed to tell both side of the stories, that everyone (both North and South) had their reasons to fight but the war after war after war was too much to bear.

Hannah Yoon

Michaela Hudson

Giờ mà review thì chắc có lẽ sẽ không được chau chuốt cho lắm nên chắc phải để sau vậy 😔

Update: Tác giả đã comment nên phải review thôi ạ chứ không được để phí phạm một tác phẩm thế này :))

(English review below)
 ______


Khi thấy tựa sách này qua một bài báo, mình đã rất bất ngờ bởi nhà văn là người Việt Nam, lại còn dùng tên tác giả tiếng Việt đầy đủ dấu, nên đương nhiên là phải quăng vào chồng TBRs. Nhân dịp 2/9, mình quyết định lôi ra đọc thử và cảm nhận cá nhân của mình là truyện xuất sắc và cảm động thực sự. 

“The Mountains Sing” của Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, là câu chuyện tuổi thơ của Hương lớn lên thời hậu chiến tranh chống Mỹ, được đan xen với lời kể cuộc đời mình của người bà Diệp Lan. Truyện khắc họa sự tàn khốc của chiến tranh và hậu quả mà từng thành viên gia đình Trần hứng chịu về sau.

Thân là người Việt, nên mình rất vui khi được thấy những cái tên, cụm từ, những câu ca dao tục ngữ tiếng Việt được tác giả viết nguyên văn, kèm theo sau những lời giải thích bằng tiếng Anh rất dễ hiểu và chính xác, từ cái phản cây bàng hoa phượng. Nên khi đọc truyện tiếng Anh mà thấy những cụm từ như thế này, cảm giác gần gũi vô cùng ý. Ngoài ra cô Mai cũng nhắc đến nhiều nhà văn quen thuộc đi liền với năm tháng cấp 2 cấp 3 đi họ c, như Xuân Quỳnh, Đoàn Giỏi, Nguyễn Tuân, và “Dế Mèn Phiêu Lưu Ký” của Tô Hoài.

Vào được khoảng ¼ truyện, khi mình đã tưởng cuốn sách sẽ giống như bao tác phẩm mình vẫn thường thấy trong sách Ngữ Văn nhà trường, chỉ có điều được viết bằng tiếng Anh thì những chương sau lại đem đến những tình tiết không được “sách Ngữ Văn” cho lắm. Mình thấy lạ nhưng rốt cuộc cũng không quá tiêu cực về vấn đề này, mặc dù mình cũng phải nghĩ ngợi hơi lâu mới dám review. Mình muốn tin là câu chuyện muốn hướng đến tình người và tình gia đình chứ không phải chính trị. Những chủ đề nhạy cảm, mình nghĩ tác giả đã viết rất hay mà không quá gay gắt, và thường đều là quan điểm của người trong cuộc. Thay vì có góc nhìn tiêu cực, thì mình quyết định tôn trọng quan điểm, niềm tin cũng như những quyết định của họ (không phải mấy nhân vật phản diện đâu ạ), và biết thương những người chịu khổ vì chiến tranh. Mà ở đây, mình thương nhân vật Ngọc nhất, thương đến mức khóc tràn nước mắt nước mũi. Hoàn cảnh của Ngọc đối với mình, đau lòng và đáng sợ vô cùng. Nghĩ đến cái ngày xưa người thân của mình cũng có thể gặp phải cảnh này lại khiến mình rùng hết cả người ra. 

Nói chung là, truyện hay. 5/5 ⭐

_______

As a Vietnamese who currently lives in Vietnam, when I stumbled on this book while reading an article, I was surprised that the author used her pen name with full Vietnamese accents, so I was curious to read it. I was not disappointed. 

In “The Mountains Sing”, we followed Hương’s childhood story, living in Hà Nội with her Grandma, waiting for all the family members to return home from the war, interlaced with the story Diệp Lan told her granddaughter about her Grandma’s life. The story is about the atrocity of war and the people who suffer the aftermaths of it, especially those in the Trần family. 

Half of my compliments would be reserved for all the names, as well as the terms and the proverbs that were kept original in its native language, like “phản”, “bàng” tree, “phượng” flower. To me, it sounds incredibly endearing. I can tell this is the very daily Vietnamese culture, still applicable in the present day. Even though most of the conversations were written in English, I couldn’t help but imagine how they would say the words in Vietnamese, which was surprisingly easy. Mai also mentioned a lot of well-known authors in Vietnam, like Đoàn Giỏi, Xuân Quỳnh, Nguyễn Tuân and Tô Hoài’s “Adventure of a Cricket”, which is my childhood favorite. 

My other half was for the topics she discussed throughout the book. About ¼ in, I expected it to be another story with familiar themes I have studied in my high school years, but it took a different turn when she wrote about the supposed enemy, which was also the reason why I hesitated writing this review. After gathering my thoughts, I decided that the book is about humanity, family, and not politics. No matter which side you were on, there were the good and the bad of both. I appreciate that the characters had different reactions to the events happening upon them, making the story more realistic. I cried while reading about Ngọc, Hương’s Mother, because to me, her story hurt the most. I shuddered at the thought that my grandmothers, my aunts could have also suffered the same fate.

What I learned is that: We should respect people’s opinions, understand for those who had to make hard decisions, and empathize with those who had to go through the traumas of wars. Also, fuck the war. 

Thank you Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, the author, for liking and commenting <3

Que Mai Phan Nguyen

A Best Book of the Month/Season: The New York Times * The Washington Post * O, The Oprah Magazine * USA Today * Real Simple * Amazon * PopSugar * Book Riot * Paperback Paris * She Reads * We Are Bookish "[An] absorbing, stirring novel . . . that, in more than one sense, remedies history." —The New York Times Book Review “An epic account of Việt Nam’s painful 20th century history, both vast in scope and intimate in its telling . . . Moving and riveting.” —VIET THANH NGUYEN, author of The Sympathizer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore not just her beloved country, but her family apart. Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope. The Mountains Sing is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English.

"I was a beggar, begging for hope" sits on the same table as "each day makes me weary from hoping, but to live is to hope and to grow weary" 

It was a hard book to read, I cant imagine how it feels like to get your hope crushed again and again and again and your families literally torn apart. 

The story spans from the 1940s to the 1970s and we get a first person perspective on how the changes of the year affects a family; starting from life before the great hunger, the land reform, the vietnam war and the aftermath. The way it was told brought such a human side to wars—one you can never get from just reading history books. It is so very terrible and horrifying, and too heart-wrenchingly sad I can't even find the words to describe them. You'd think after the war things would get better but instead you're faced with another battle inside your mind; one that may be even harder to escape. 

I really like how the author incorporates so many different vietnamese proverbs, they add so much more depth to the story. It's very interesting how they are used in daily conversation (much like our own peribahasa perhaps). I also really like the different point of views offered by the author, both from the eye of the grandmother and the grandchild. All of the characters have their faults and that makes them all the more human (and all the more heart-breaking). 

I didn't like it as much as I had hoped I would (my expectations were probably too high and I was going through a reading slump as well). Although some of the depictions of war were quite gruesome, it still felt much like fiction (the fact that the characters never give up hope amidst all the pain and suffering; now when did I become such a pessimist?) but it was still a really nice read nonetheless. 

Trisa P

"I was a beggar, begging for hope" sits on the same table as "each day makes me weary from hoping, but to live is to hope and to grow weary" 

It was a hard book to read, I cant imagine how it feels like to get your hope crushed again and again and again and your families literally torn apart. 

The story spans from the 1940s to the 1970s and we get a first person perspective on how the changes of the year affects a family; starting from life before the great hunger, the land reform, the vietnam war and the aftermath. The way it was told brought such a human side to wars—one you can never get from just reading history books. It is so very terrible and horrifying, and too heart-wrenchingly sad I can't even find the words to describe them. You'd think after the war things would get better but instead you're faced with another battle inside your mind; one that may be even harder to escape. 

I really like how the author incorporates so many different vietnamese proverbs, they add so much more depth to the story. It's very interesting how they are used in daily conversation (much like our own peribahasa perhaps). I also really like the different point of views offered by the author, both from the eye of the grandmother and the grandchild. All of the characters have their faults and that makes them all the more human (and all the more heart-breaking). 

I didn't like it as much as I had hoped I would (my expectations were probably too high and I was going through a reading slump as well). Although some of the depictions of war were quite gruesome, it still felt much like fiction (the fact that the characters never give up hope amidst all the pain and suffering; now when did I become such a pessimist?) but it was still a really nice read nonetheless. 

Iman Kamil

Lamia Hajani

Well-written. Hard to read at times. The historical setting is fascinating and gripping.

This was a sad book about Vietnam. I guess I'm slowly making my way around the world and reading books about all the worst parts in history. I have a thing for stories that need to be heard. 

This book uses the dual viewpoints of Trần Diệu Lan in 1920 and her grown granddaughter Hương during the Vietnam War to tell a family story of loss. Trần Diệu Lan had 5 young kids and owned a farm during the land reform period of Vietnam's history. She was ousted from her house, beaten, separated from one of her kids, and the only reason she survived was because of the intervention of a friendly neighbor. Her land and belongings were divided up amongst her village, and she fled with no money and 5 kids to look after. Meanwhile, Hương lives with her grandma, after her uncles, father, and mother left to go fight in the war. Her family slowly comes back, but the war has changed everyone and everything, even her family.

This was a very sad story, written beautifully by the author. Very descriptive, very lyrical, it was easy to get swept up in the descriptions and feelings evoked here. I didn't particularly care for the dual viewpoints, however, because the two voices felt the same in terms of story told. But everything else about the book was fantastic. I learned a lot about Vietnam, especially about the land reform period. Good book.

altlovesbooks

"Cruelty dispensed, cruelty served."

This was a sad book about Vietnam. I guess I'm slowly making my way around the world and reading books about all the worst parts in history. I have a thing for stories that need to be heard. 

This book uses the dual viewpoints of Trần Diệu Lan in 1920 and her grown granddaughter Hương during the Vietnam War to tell a family story of loss. Trần Diệu Lan had 5 young kids and owned a farm during the land reform period of Vietnam's history. She was ousted from her house, beaten, separated from one of her kids, and the only reason she survived was because of the intervention of a friendly neighbor. Her land and belongings were divided up amongst her village, and she fled with no money and 5 kids to look after. Meanwhile, Hương lives with her grandma, after her uncles, father, and mother left to go fight in the war. Her family slowly comes back, but the war has changed everyone and everything, even her family.

This was a very sad story, written beautifully by the author. Very descriptive, very lyrical, it was easy to get swept up in the descriptions and feelings evoked here. I didn't particularly care for the dual viewpoints, however, because the two voices felt the same in terms of story told. But everything else about the book was fantastic. I learned a lot about Vietnam, especially about the land reform period. Good book.

I am still stunned after finishing this book. 

I studied the Vietnam War in school and was always aware of what a vast tragedy it was. However, reading about these multigenerational experiences of living in Vietnam during the 20th Century is genuinely heartbreaking. This book feels incredibly personal and raw, being told from the perspective of a young girl in some chapters and her grandma in others, this spans decades of pain, struggle and the reality of living through war. 

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai has written a beautiful landscape that has been touched by such pain and that pain seeps into every page. My heart ached for these characters and the constant struggle they had to go through and whilst this is fictional, you can see how real and lived these experiences are. I wanted to help these characters, I wanted to offer them kindness and to make sure they were okay. But amongst the brutality of this time, there is kindness and there is hope for these characters. The overriding theme of this book is the importance of family and the kindness of strangers and I think that is an incredibly powerful message. 

The Vietnamese culture is present everywhere in this book which is really beautiful to read about. There were Vietnamese sayings scattered throughout this story too which makes it feel even more special. I've spoken about the kindness shown in these pages, but there's also a great deal of respect and tribute to the character's heritage.      

I'm actually struggling to put into words my thoughts on this book because of how beautiful and breathtaking it was. If you're considering picking it up, do, you won't regret it.     

Beth Bartholomew

I am still stunned after finishing this book. 

I studied the Vietnam War in school and was always aware of what a vast tragedy it was. However, reading about these multigenerational experiences of living in Vietnam during the 20th Century is genuinely heartbreaking. This book feels incredibly personal and raw, being told from the perspective of a young girl in some chapters and her grandma in others, this spans decades of pain, struggle and the reality of living through war. 


Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai has written a beautiful landscape that has been touched by such pain and that pain seeps into every page. My heart ached for these characters and the constant struggle they had to go through and whilst this is fictional, you can see how real and lived these experiences are. I wanted to help these characters, I wanted to offer them kindness and to make sure they were okay. But amongst the brutality of this time, there is kindness and there is hope for these characters. The overriding theme of this book is the importance of family and the kindness of strangers and I think that is an incredibly powerful message. 

The Vietnamese culture is present everywhere in this book which is really beautiful to read about. There were Vietnamese sayings scattered throughout this story too which makes it feel even more special. I've spoken about the kindness shown in these pages, but there's also a great deal of respect and tribute to the character's heritage.      

I'm actually struggling to put into words my thoughts on this book because of how beautiful and breathtaking it was. If you're considering picking it up, do, you won't regret it.     

The Mountains Sing is a truly heartbreaking account of one Northern Vietnamese family and the horrors they faced as a result of war, told in the POV of grandmother and granddaughter.

I'm not going to lie, I struggled at times to read this book. The writing was so poetically beautiful, descriptive, and slow, which just highlighted all of the trauma and grief left inside these women from the horrors them and their loved ones faced. I found this hard and had to slow down my usual reading pace in order to absorb it all and process the heartbreak of each chapter before continuing.

The last twenty percent, watching this family pick themselves up, come together, and try to move past all their pain was truly inspiring. I flew through the final pages as we came to a bittersweet conclusion.

Steeped in Vietnamese culture and history, The Mountains Sing is a vivid story of resilience and love for Vietnam and its people.

The Mountains Sing is a truly heartbreaking account of one Northern Vietnamese family and the horrors they faced as a result of war, told in the POV of grandmother and granddaughter.

I'm not going to lie, I struggled at times to read this book. The writing was so poetically beautiful, descriptive, and slow, which just highlighted all of the trauma and grief left inside these women from the horrors them and their loved ones faced. I found this hard and had to slow down my usual reading pace in order to absorb it all and process the heartbreak of each chapter before continuing.

The last twenty percent, watching this family pick themselves up, come together, and try to move past all their pain was truly inspiring. I flew through the final pages as we came to a bittersweet conclusion.

Steeped in Vietnamese culture and history, The Mountains Sing is a vivid story of resilience and love for Vietnam and its people.

Amanda Jones

“Somehow I was sure that if people were willing to read each other, and see the light of other cultures, there would be no war on earth.” 

With the small knowledge that I know growing up as half Vietnamese as my mom is from southern Vietnam and escaped with her family when Saigon fell, I knew I was in for an emotional story. The Mountains Sing takes place 20th century all the way up to now and details in two alternating perspectives of a grandmother and her granddaughter growing up in the many hardship times Vietnam has faced. From the French occupation to all the events that lead up to the Vietnam War. This novel, ties in all of the tradition and culture within the Vietnamese people. 

I learned so much history within 339 pages, from the Great Hunger, to the Land Reform, to the Vietnam War with the vivid and beautiful writing I feel more connected to the Vietnamese culture and ultimately a part of who I am. 

Within the United States there is a certain understanding of the Vietnam War. Even when Vietnam is brought up it is with the context of the tragedy for Americans, but with The Mountains Sing it will introduce a whole new perspective of heartbreak and suffering of the Vietnamese people. Everyone should read The Mountains Sing, it is a glimpse into Vietnam and its people and a tale of decades worth of conflicts on the people actually living through it .

Vivian

I don't get the hype with this book. A Vietnamese family saga set throughout the 20th century, when the country was ravaged by the French, the Japanese, the American, and eventually civil war. I found the historical backdrop educational, but the storytelling was so bland and the character development so weak that at the end I didn't feel connected to nor particularly cared for any of the characters. The chapters alternate between the grandmother and the granddaughter, both using first-person narrative. The fact that they sound interchangeable made it difficult to differentiate them. It is a far cry from Pachinko and Homegoing.

a beautiful and harrowing book about the sorrows of war, family, perseverance, and forgiveness. it’ll crush your heart into fine, tiny pieces and then it’ll knit it back together. easily my favourite book this year so far and a new all-time favourite. 

Lauren 

URGH this book made me so SAD

I think it took like a hundred pages for me to get into it, but once I did I read the rest of it in one day. 

This is written so well, the characters and their relationships so mapped out and real I had to go back and keep on checking it wasn’t nonfiction

I think I cried continuously for the last third as well

If you enjoyed pachinko you will love this as its similar but I feel with this there feels like more emotion as all the characters know each other all the way through and when they don’t there still there in the form of story telling

Somya

4.75. Too much heartbreak for a single book. But beautifully written with elegant lyrical statements.

Emily S

Truly fantastic and poetic historical fiction told through multiple generation of a family suffering through the atrocities of the Vietnam war and yet clinging to family and kindness through it all. Would highly recommend to fans of Pachinko!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Mountains Sing

Author: Nguyen Phan Que Mai (I can’t do the accent marks to properly spell their name, so sorry!)

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Vietnamese Main Family!

Publication Date: March 17, 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

Recommended Age: 16+ (war, violence, slight gore, family conflict)

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Pages: 352

Amazon Link

Synopsis: With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore not just her beloved country, but her family apart.

Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope.

The Mountains Sing is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English.

Review: I thought this book was very well written and almost lyrical in how it was written. The book is a multi-generational book (kind of like Roots) where this family weaves their story together. It’s a wonderful tale that describes the absolute horrors, but absolute strength of people in war time.

However, I did feel like the characters didn’t connect with me. I’m not sure if it was because we were just forced into each character or if it was just the slow pacing that didn’t make me connect with the book, but I kind of want to reread it to try and connect with them again.

Verdict: Definitely recommend!

Ilse

“Do you understand why I’ve decided to tell you about our family? If our stories survive, we will not die, even when our bodies are no longer here on earth”

This truly was a heavy read and a brutal portrayal of war, hunger, and death. Nevertheless, it was a greatly written story about the heartbreaking hardships and history of the Vietnamese and I really enjoyed learning more about this subject. Despite all the hardships the characters we meet in this book go through, there is no shortage of love and hope, and I would really recommend it to people that would like to learn more about this part of history

Naomi Chapman

B. K.

The Mountains Sing follows a family as they live through dark, painful events in Vietnam's history, with alternating storylines in the 1950's and 1970's. Despite the tragedies the characters experience, the novel doesn't feel weighed down in darkness, but balances it with a focus on their compassion, resilience, and hope. Some things wrapped up a bit too neatly - a reunion with a long-lost relative, a long-lost possession returned after decades - but overall it's a beautiful story. 

I would recommend the audiobook to anyone who, like me, is unfamiliar with the Vietnamese language, as it let me experience the characters' names and certain passages with correct pronunciation.

Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Born in 1920, Tran Dieu Lan's family lost everything after the Communist government came to power in North Viet Nam. Forced to flee with her six children, she knows she must do whatever it takes to keep her family together. Many years later, her country is again at war, and her young granddaughter Huong watches her parents disappear down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to fight. Vivid, compelling and deeply moving, The Mountains Sing brings to life the true human cost of a devastating war, and the improbable power of hope to sustain us when all seems lost. With echoes of Homegoing and Pachinko, this is a standout new novel from a celebrated Vietnamese poet.

Incredibly moving - I thought this book was literary masterpiece📚

The International Bestseller A New York Times Editors’ Choice SelectionA Winner of the 2020 Lannan Literary Awards Fellowship "[An] absorbing, stirring novel . . . that, in more than one sense, remedies history." —The New York Times Book Review “A triumph, a novelistic rendition of one of the most difficult times in Vietnamese history . . . Vast in scope and intimate in its telling . . . Moving and riveting.” —VIET THANH NGUYEN, author of The Sympathizer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore apart not just her beloved country, but also her family. Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope. The Mountains Sing is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English.

Christine Liu

A powerful and memorable portrayal of a family torn apart by war, full of heartbreaking details that bring Vietnam's history to life from the perspective of Vietnamese people.

Mina Chan

Set against the backdrop of the Great Hunger, the Land Reform, and the Viet Nam War, The Mountains Sing brings readers on a journey through the stories of four generations of the Tran family. Switching narratives between the matriarch, Tran Dieu Lan, and her granddaughter, Huong Dieu Lan, this books will break your heart through the stories it tells of death, war, conflict, and survival - as well as what it means to live life with hope and seek healing. 

Too often referenced from the backdrop of American storytelling and pain, The Mountains Sing tells the stories of the ones who have been silenced and overshadowed, bringing you closer to the language and traditions of Viet Nam - and give the voice back to the men, women, and children affected by the war. 

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

Katie

Truly a wonderful read. It was lyrical, beautiful, and educational. I learned so much about the Vietnam War that I was never taught in school. It was a very heavy topic matter, but a very hopeful book. The only thing I would have liked to see? More! I can’t wait for what Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai will write in the future. Absolutely fantastic.
4.5~ stars

A New York Times Editors’ Choice Selection A Best Book of the Month/Season: The New York Times * The Washington Post * O, The Oprah Magazine * USA Today * Real Simple * Amazon * PopSugar * Book Riot * Paperback Paris * She Reads * We Are Bookish A Best New Historical Fiction Novel: BuzzFeed Books * Goodreads "[An] absorbing, stirring novel . . . that, in more than one sense, remedies history." —The New York Times Book Review “A triumph, a novelistic rendition of one of the most difficult times in Vietnamese history . . . Vast in scope and intimate in its telling . . . Moving and riveting.” —VIET THANH NGUYEN, author of The Sympathizer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize With the epic sweep of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing and the lyrical beauty of Vaddey Ratner’s In the Shadow of the Banyan, The Mountains Sing tells an enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Trần family, set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War. Trần Diệu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Nội, her young granddaughter, Hương, comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that tore not just her beloved country, but her family apart. Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, The Mountains Sing brings to life the human costs of this conflict from the point of view of the Vietnamese people themselves, while showing us the true power of kindness and hope. The Mountains Sing is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s first novel in English.

Ana Couto

This book left me absolutely speechless. THE MOUNTAINS SING by Nguyen Phan Que Mai is a multigenerational saga that follows the Tran family starting in 1920 during the Land Reform as the Communist government rose in the North, and decades later as the Vietnam War comes to a head. 

Having studied the Vietnam War in school, I was never exposed to the other side of the story — the extreme hardships faced by the Vietnamese people before, during, and after the war, and specifically those residing in the Communist North. This story alternates perspectives between a young girl and her grandmother, and both were equally captivating. Everything about this book is just absolutely poetic and heartbreakingly beautiful — the writing, the setting, the dynamic between the characters. There aren't enough words to express how much I love and admire this book, and how much I recommend everyone to read it. 

Thank you to Algonquin Books & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Mountains Sing

Reviews

Highlights