I read this book in a bit of a rush because I decided I wanted to participate in the first Avid Reader online bookclub. (If you would like to participate, you can register for the next one on 2 March. It will be about Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey). Thanks to Gold Coast Libraries I was able to find an e-version quickly.
This from Avid Reader's website:
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai was born in Việt Nam in 1973, and grew up witnessing the war's devastation of her country. She worked as a street seller and rice farmer before winning a scholarship to attend university in Australia. She is the author of eight books of poetry, short fiction and non-fiction in Vietnamese. Her writing has been translated and published in more than ten countries and has received many honors, including the Hà Nội Writers Association's Poetry of the Year 2010 Award. She currently divides her time between Indonesia and Việt Nam.
I had about five days to read The Mountains Sing. Let me tell you, I had no trouble reading it at all. It was very engaging from the get-go.
As a family historian, I was delighted to see the Tran Family Tree on the first page. And indeed, this is a family saga, told from two points of view, see-sawing between the grand-daughter's and then the grandmother's point of view.
My bookclub read Pachinko last year which was a real eye-opener to me in terms of history and this was much the same. I was transported immediately into the Vietnam war and its terror.
This is not a memoir, rather a fictitious story made from stories told to Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai combined with her own memories and experience.
What I loved about the book was that it was by-and-large a compelling read. I say by-and-large because there was one point in the book, about two-thirds of the way through, where I started to feel it getting "soapy" and I felt "outside" the story rather than being immersed in it. I almost felt that it was written by another author in bits.
The online bookclub discussion was very good and other readers offered insights into why I might have felt this way e.g. problems with translation; sometimes it is hard to capture subtleties in language. But not to worry, this was only for a short while and then I became engaged in the story again.
I also loved the lyrical quality of the language. There are some standout passages in this story. The one that resonated or touched me deeply was the following one:
My mother was like a tree uprooted. She would just sit there on the phan, her gaze distant and empty. Minh, Ngoc and Dat didn't leave her alone, though.They surrounded her, becoming the soil of her life, demanding that she grow new roots. "Grandma, play with us," they said, pulling her arms, leading her out of the house, and into their childhood games.
Just beautiful, no?
I gave this 4/5 stars in the end. It certainly stimulated me emotionally AND intellectually and I learned heaps e.g. I grew up thinking Hanoi and Saigon were just that but no, they are Ha Noi and Sai Gon. Just little things like that makes me realize how ignorant I am. As if I didn't need more reminders ;) The author describes the complexity of the Vietnam War from the families who didn't fit neatly into North and South, or indeed the soldiers. I had no idea about the Great Hunger and the description of Land Reform was truly shocking.
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai wrote this story as a plea for no more war. She didn't need to convince me but I hope her book is widely read and disabused anyone who thinks there might be glory or salvation in war.
If you would like to see the Avid Reader interview with Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai you can catch it on YouTube here.
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