2022 Book Review #30: The Mountains Sing

 

This book has pulled on my heartstrings. It's powerful. It's gripping. It's important.

It's one where it drives home the point even more for me, that Americans never should have entered the Vietnam War.  What a horrible time in history and although I was just a middle school student/pre-teen,  I remember not believing in war and not wanting to have our country in that war. This author is new to me. 

STORY SUMMARY

Four generations of the Tran family are seen through the voice/eyes of the matriarch, Tran Dieu Lan and her granddaughter Huong. Huong is the daughter of Grandma's daughter Ngoc. 

Dieu Lan had 6 children and they lived in the northern region of Viet Nam. Her children were called Minh, Ngoc who was married to Hoang, Dat, Thuan, Hanh who ended up living in Sai Gon, and Sang, the baby brother who ended up living in the southern region of Viet Nam.

Dieu Lan was forced by the Communists to flee the family's prosperous farm.  This was during the Land Reform in 1955.  So with 5 of her 6 children, she begins a perilous journey to keep them safe...her goal is to get to Ha Noi. Along the way, over the course of almost a year, she is forced to make extremely difficult decisions....some are most unthinkable. Years later, in Ha Noi, she survives the American bombardment with her young granddaughter Huong whose parents and uncles have left to fight in combat...the combat that continued to tear her family and her beloved country apart. 

As Huong comes of age....becomes a teenaged girl, she is waiting for word from her mother Ngoc and her father Hoang.  Meanwhile, her grandmother is slowly revealing the secrets of her own past and is teaching Huong invaluable lessons about what it takes to survive and what it means to live with courage, grace, and compassion. 

MY THOUGHTS

This novel greatly affected me. It's a very moving account of traditions of Viet Nam as well as the horrific turn of events during the war. 

The character development is strong and rich.  How I longed to sit with Huong as she grieved over her missing mother and father. I found myself shuddering at the description of just how vast the destruction of that beautiful country was in regards to American soldiers using Agent Orange. I always heard it was bad....but never thought about it in terms of just how devastating it was for the Vietnamese people, animals and flora. 

Some main themes in the book:  the power of courage and love; friendship and betrayal; compassion and trust; discrimination and child abandonment; poverty and hunger due to war; resilience and restoration; forgiveness and family. 

I like that the author has the chapters divided into either Dieu Lan's voice or Huong's voice and that she includes the dates of when the events were taking place. (typically either the 1950s or the late 1960s-1970s.).  I also loved the ending when it's the 21st century and Huong herself is now a mother thinking thoughts about her grandmother. The ending is poignant and powerful. 

The author shares that she based the historical fiction story on her own family's experiences during the war, as well as the stories from other Vietnamese families/friends.

The book contained several really good quotes.  Here are just some of my favorite ones:

"I don't believe in violence. None of us has the right to take away the life of another human being." (pg 14 The Mountains Sing by Nguyan Phan Que Mai, c.2020)

"...she had to appear strong, for only those who faced battles were entitled to trauma." (pg 73)

 "....you and 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." (pg 79)

    "Wars have the power to turn graceful and cultured people into monsters." (pg 79) 

     "Sometimes something is so terrible that you need to pretend it doesn't exist." (pg 207)

 

"Only through love can we drive away the darkness of evil from this earth." (pg 286) 

 

"Grandma once told me that the challenges faced by the Vietnamese people throughout history are as tall as the tallest mountain. I have stood far enough away to see the mountaintop, yet close enough to witness how Grandma became the tallest mountain herself: always there, always strong, always protecting us." (pg 339)

 

If you like historical fiction, this book is a good one. This story is going to be in my mind for quite some time. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.