The Mountains Sing

This family saga (352 pages) was published in March of 2020 by Algonquin Books. The book takes you to 20th-century Vietnam. Melissa read The Mountains Sing and loved it; it wouldn't be on our site if she didn't recommend it.

amazon
buy
bookshop.org
buy

Bookshop.org is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and give back to the book community.

rule

The Mountains Sing

Que Mai Phan Nguyen

This stirring family saga — tracing four generations of a Vietnamese family — is told through the voices of two unforgettable women: Trần Diệu Lan, a grandmother hardened to burnished steel by the events of the 20th century, and her beloved granddaughter Hương, who’s coming of age during the Vietnam War.

Grandma believes that her life has been cursed by a fortune-teller’s prediction. How else to explain the tragedies that befall her over and over again? The French occupation, the Japanese invasion, the Great Hunger, the Land Reform. Trần Diệu Lan experienced them all and has the emotional scars to prove it. But she survived. And as the Vietnam War rages, Huong realizes that her grandmother and her stories are keeping Huong alive.

It’s these stories — and their impact on Grandma’s family of six children — that slowly unfold for us throughout this riveting narrative. We see the family torn apart by circumstance and choice, suddenly banished from their home, moneyless and friendless, lost to each other, and on opposite sides of the war.

Despite the tragedies suffered by the family, this narrative is infused with hope and empathy. Huong and her grandmother are devoted to each other with a bond that can’t be broken, even by the challenges of wartime. To escape the bleakness of her everyday reality, Huong turns to books, losing herself in Vietnamese poetry and the adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, fueling a lifelong commitment to learning and to keeping her heart open.

Author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai skillfully, gently places her very personal family story against the backdrop of historical events. The war scenes are visceral, the losses keenly felt; conversations thrum with fear, regret, guilt, devotion. Because ultimately, this is a story of survival and love — a tribute to a woman, mother, grandmother who was determined to keep her family together, if not physically, then emotionally and spiritually.

That night and for the next many nights, to dry my tears, Grandma opened the door of her childhood to me. Her stories scooped me up and delivered me to the hilltop of Nghệ An where I could fill my lungs with the fragrance of rice fields, sink my eyes into the Lam River, and become a green dot on the Trường Sơn mountain range. In her stories, I tasted the sweetness of sim berries on my tongue, felt grasshoppers kicking in my hands, and slept in a hammock under a sky woven by shimmering stars. — Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

keep reading

We cannot resist an epic family saga: Secrets kept and revealed. Half-truths passed through the generations. Expectations and sacrifice. Tales of bravery, love, and loyalty that defy the odds. These books have it all.
Warning: This show is going to inspire you to book tickets to Vietnam as soon as possible. Who could resist its stunning natural beauty, vibrant street food, fascinating history, and warm, friendly people? No one.

sharing is caring!

Wanna help us spread the word? If you like this page, please share with your friends.

our mission

Strong Sense of Place is a website and podcast dedicated to literary travel and books we love. Reading good books increases empathy. Empathy is good for all of us and the amazing world we inhabit.

our patreon

Strong Sense of Place is a listener-supported podcast. If you like the work we do, you can help make it happen by joining our Patreon! That'll unlock bonus content for you, too — including Mel's secret book reviews and Dave's behind-the-scenes notes for the latest Two Truths and a Lie.

get our newsletter

Join our Substack to get our FREE newsletter with podcast updates and behind-the-scenes info — and join in fun chats about books and travel with other lovely readers.

no spoilers. ever.

We'll share enough detail to help you decide if a book is for you, but we'll never ruin plot twists or give away the ending.

super-cool reading fun
reading atlas

This 30-page Reading Atlas takes you around the world with dozens of excellent books and gorgeous travel photos. Get your free copy when you subscribe to our newsletter.

get our newsletter
Sign up for our free Substack!
follow us

Content on this site is ©2024 by Smudge Publishing, unless otherwise noted. Peace be with you, person who reads the small type.