The Mountains Sing: Nguyen Phan Que Mai
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- Create Date：2021-08-25 08:51:59
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
- ISBN：0861540131
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Summary
“An epic account of Viet 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 Tran family， set against the backdrop of the Viet Nam War。 Tran Dieu 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 Noi， her young granddaughter， Hương， comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Ho Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that will tear not just her beloved country but her family apart。
Vivid， gripping， and steeped in the language and traditions of Viet 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。 This is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s first novel in English。
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 Tran family， set against the backdrop of the Viet Nam War。 Tran Dieu 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 Noi， her young granddaughter， Hương， comes of age as her parents and uncles head off down the Ho Chí Minh Trail to fight in a conflict that will tear not just her beloved country but her family apart。
Vivid， gripping， and steeped in the language and traditions of Viet 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。 This is celebrated Vietnamese poet Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s first novel in English。
Reviews
Laura
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DNF。 I just couldn’t get involved enough to care about any character。
Cliff Dartnall
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This is a beautifully-written book and a remarkable achievement for someone who did not learn English until she was 13。Que Mai juxtaposes poetic descriptions of landscape and flora with chilling accounts of murder and desperation。 Through invasion， famine， bombings and oppression， the tenacity and positivity of her character Dieu Lan as she struggles to keep her family alive shine through this story and keep the reader gripped from beginning to end。Hats off to Que Mai - she uses Dieu Lan’s descr This is a beautifully-written book and a remarkable achievement for someone who did not learn English until she was 13。Que Mai juxtaposes poetic descriptions of landscape and flora with chilling accounts of murder and desperation。 Through invasion， famine， bombings and oppression， the tenacity and positivity of her character Dieu Lan as she struggles to keep her family alive shine through this story and keep the reader gripped from beginning to end。Hats off to Que Mai - she uses Dieu Lan’s descriptions to show the equality of terror meted out by foreign powers and domestic despots alike， while highlighting the crucial importance of kindness and love in this brave and enthralling work。 。。。more
Lucia | vivere in overBOOKing
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Ne parlo su https://www。vivereinoverbooking。com/q。。。Dico solo che è stata una delle letture più belle mai fatte！ ❤ Ne parlo su https://www。vivereinoverbooking。com/q。。。Dico solo che è stata una delle letture più belle mai fatte！ ❤ 。。。more
Maria Pomoni
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This is another very well-written book。 You can tell that the writer has done the research and gathered some real people's stories and put them all together。 I feel this book made me a better person and help me believe in peoples' kindness again。 Beautiful story！ This is another very well-written book。 You can tell that the writer has done the research and gathered some real people's stories and put them all together。 I feel this book made me a better person and help me believe in peoples' kindness again。 Beautiful story！ 。。。more
Jenny Cooper
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A multi-generational family saga set against the backdrop of a very tumultuous time in Vietnam， the mid 20th century。 The grandmother， Tran Dieu Lan， is the common denominator and this is basically the chronicle of her life， often told through stories to her granddaughter Huong。 The book jumps around between different time frames， covering Japanese Occupation， the Land Reform bills as communism took hold and then the Vietnam war and US intervention。I hesitate to say that this was an enjoyable re A multi-generational family saga set against the backdrop of a very tumultuous time in Vietnam， the mid 20th century。 The grandmother， Tran Dieu Lan， is the common denominator and this is basically the chronicle of her life， often told through stories to her granddaughter Huong。 The book jumps around between different time frames， covering Japanese Occupation， the Land Reform bills as communism took hold and then the Vietnam war and US intervention。I hesitate to say that this was an enjoyable read， but it is certainly quite gripping。 The scenes of poverty， aggression and fear which became part of everyday living， are described in graphic detail， leaving the reader in no doubt as to what life was like on a daily basis。 It is not an easy read but the suffering and death are， to some extent， counteracted by the love and hope of the people。 The descriptions of the geographical locations paint a vivid， and often beautiful picture。 On top of all that， it provides a potted history of Vietnam’s recent past and I learnt a huge amount about something that was previously a mystery to me。 Overall it is a good， compelling read。 On the downside， this is yet another book set over multiple time frames and I found that this confused， rather than clarified。 It seems to be a style of writing that is very popular at the moment and quite frankly， the sooner that phase ends， the better it will be for the reader as far as I am concerned。 Also， although Tran Dieu Lan and her granddaughter， are the main characters， they are supported by a huge cast list， almost too many to keep track of， especially in the first half of the book when we have not yet got to know them well。I would wholeheartedly recommend this book， with the caveat that it is brutally realistic， and not an uplifting holiday read。 。。。more
Eva Sieben
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Prachtig。
Hannah Yoon || yoon。reads
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This one will stay with me forever。
Dawn Scott
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Fabulous。 I appreciated the North Vietnam perspective on the Vietnam War。
Albana Hoxha
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Thw writing in this book was phenomenal。 I found it to be very straightforward in the choice of words which gave the reader a great impact。
Tom Clercq
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Beetje braaf
Brunella De Simone
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📚 Il romanzo è una saga familiare che racconta la storia di tre generazioni di donne che hanno lottato e sono sopravvissute all'invasione dei francesi prima e dei giapponesi poi， alla riforma agraria， alla seconda guerra mondiale ed alla guerra tra Vietnam del Nord e del Sud。Huong è una bambina che viene cresciuta dalla nonna Dieu Lan mentre entrambi i genitori combattono nella guerra del Vietnam negli anni '70 e， nel periodo in cui vivono insieme da sole， la nonna le racconta la storia della su 📚 Il romanzo è una saga familiare che racconta la storia di tre generazioni di donne che hanno lottato e sono sopravvissute all'invasione dei francesi prima e dei giapponesi poi， alla riforma agraria， alla seconda guerra mondiale ed alla guerra tra Vietnam del Nord e del Sud。Huong è una bambina che viene cresciuta dalla nonna Dieu Lan mentre entrambi i genitori combattono nella guerra del Vietnam negli anni '70 e， nel periodo in cui vivono insieme da sole， la nonna le racconta la storia della sua famiglia， a partire dagli anni '30 quando era una bambina che cresceva nell'agio come figlia di proprietari terrieri a quando negli anni '50 ha perso tutto ed è dovuta scappare dalla sua regione ad Ha Noi da sola con cinque figli per non essere uccisa。🌹 Nel libro si alternano capitoli in cui Dieu Lan racconta la storia della sua infanzia， della sua giovinezza e della sua fuga dalla provincia di Nghe An durante la riforma agraria， che le ha fatto perdere tutto， ad altri in cui Huong narra la sua vita ad Ha Noi durante la guerra del Vietnam a partire dal 1972， quando i suoi genitori ed i suoi zii erano andati a combattere e lei cresceva con la nonna。Ho trovato la narrazione anche delle situazioni più difficili e dolorose vissute da Huong e dai suoi familiari di una delicatezza estrema， assolutamente coinvolgente tanto da farmi empatizzare con tutti loro， nonostante i punti di vista fossero solo quelli di nonna e nipote。Ho letto giorni fa una recensione in cui una blogger lamentava che non sono stati approfonditi gli eventi che hanno caratterizzato le guerre in Vietnam， ma credo che l'autrice più che raccontare la situazione socio-politica del paese in quegli anni， abbia voluto porre l'accento sugli effetti che le invasioni di altri popoli， la guerra del Vietnam ed il radicamento di un regime comunista hanno avuto sulla popolazione。Attraverso gli occhi di una famiglia possiamo comprendere quanto gli interessi economici di chi governa abbiano impattato sulle famiglie di contadini， prima sempre più oppressi dalle tasse， e poi privati dei loro terreni smistati tra i braccianti， arrivando ad essere condannati a morte per il solo fatto di aver fatto fruttare i loro investimenti。Questa è la storia di una famiglia di donne forti， capaci di rialzarsi più e più volte nonostante abbiano cercato di schiacciarle in diverse occasioni e mostra come la perseveranza ed il duro lavoro abbiano consentito loro di avere sempre successo e di liberarsi dalla povertà e dall'oppressione。Ho amato moltissimo questo libro e non posso far altro che consigliarlo， soprattutto agli appassionati di saghe familiari e romanzi ad ambientazione storica come me。 。。。more
Leslie
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Read for book club， This is a heavy， heavy lift of a read。 From the perspective of a North Vietnamese family， this novel really takes you into the ravages of this country for centuries， from the French， to Japanese， to communists， and the Vietnam war， this country and its people have been torn apart not matter where one stands on the war。 Grandma and Huong outrun American bombers in Hai Noi while waiting for the rest of their family to return from the war。 Many Terrible recountings of mans inhum Read for book club， This is a heavy， heavy lift of a read。 From the perspective of a North Vietnamese family， this novel really takes you into the ravages of this country for centuries， from the French， to Japanese， to communists， and the Vietnam war， this country and its people have been torn apart not matter where one stands on the war。 Grandma and Huong outrun American bombers in Hai Noi while waiting for the rest of their family to return from the war。 Many Terrible recountings of mans inhumanity to man are described by Grandma as she tells Huong her family’s history。 Moving between grandmas past and Huong present， this novel depicts the strength， hope， and resilience of these people， mostly women， as they endure the horrific results of both occupation and then war in their country。 。。。more
ywanderingreads
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I honestly have no words。 I am usually a fast reader but I found myself reading this slowly and savouring every word。 Every chapter captivated me and broke my heart at the same time。 This is a multigenerational story of the Tran family that’s narrated by Grandmother Dieu Lan and her granddaughter Huong through the devastating years from the 1920s to the 1970s。 In the 1920s， the Tran family is successful and rich from farming。 Lan grew up in a loving family during the French and Japanese occupati I honestly have no words。 I am usually a fast reader but I found myself reading this slowly and savouring every word。 Every chapter captivated me and broke my heart at the same time。 This is a multigenerational story of the Tran family that’s narrated by Grandmother Dieu Lan and her granddaughter Huong through the devastating years from the 1920s to the 1970s。 In the 1920s， the Tran family is successful and rich from farming。 Lan grew up in a loving family during the French and Japanese occupation but that didn’t shelter her from the horrors of war。 Huong on the other hand grew up during the Vietnam-American war which tore her family apart。 Lan was constantly telling Huong about her family’s history and what happened to all of them during the war and Land Reform。 Lan didn’t spare any of the horrifying details from Huong because she wants Huong to understand how the war has affected her family and village。 Que Mai puts raw perspective onto these historical events which makes it hard not to feel for those affected。Que Mai’s writing is very beautiful even when describing the horrifying and devastating events in the story。 She introduced her readers to Vietnam’s culture and beliefs and also gives them a sense of what everyday life is in Vietnam。 What I love most is the proverbs she used in her story and she mentioned that proverbs were considered the essence of their ancestors’ wisdom so it was such a delight to read them throughout the book。Another thing I really admired was Lan’s hope and determination throughout her life。 She went through heartbreak after heartbreak。 Misfortune fell upon her time and time again but yet， she never lost hope and never gave up。 She met bad people along the way but she also met plenty of good people who spared her kindness during difficult times。 A little bit of kindness goes a long way in times of need and that helped her survive。 She stood as tall as the mountain she faced。 “The war will only end once all our loved ones come home” - Lan 。。。more
Bliss
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I've read books and seen movies about the Vietnam War， but always from an American perspective。 The Mountains Sing allows us to see Vietnamese history from the perspective of Vietnamese women， and I am grateful for the opportunity。 I recommend this book。 It was a moving story that will stay with me。 I've read books and seen movies about the Vietnam War， but always from an American perspective。 The Mountains Sing allows us to see Vietnamese history from the perspective of Vietnamese women， and I am grateful for the opportunity。 I recommend this book。 It was a moving story that will stay with me。 。。。more
AStitchTooFar
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The story of a Vietnamese family torn apart by revolution and war。 Their choices （or fate） in ever increasing difficulties， and how everything comes full circle after all。 Spanning three generations from the time of French colonial and Vietnamese royal rule， through the Vietminh revolution and the war with the USA， up into the 1980s。 Not enough for an in depth look into the history， but enough to get a sense of what Vietnamese families went through in the past century。 A true family love story。
Lauren Pybus
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URGH this book made me so SADI 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 nonfictionI think I cried continuously for the last third as wellIf 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 thr URGH this book made me so SADI 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 nonfictionI think I cried continuously for the last third as wellIf 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 。。。more
Katherine Burd
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This story is great （I read it in a day）。 I found that in terms of addressing the complications of Vietnamese 20th century history， this novel both does what hasn’t been done before and accomplishes a vital task; similarly to Bennett’s “The Vanishing Half，” I think it’s an important book。 Would recommend to all kinds of readers across age groups。The comparisons to “Pachinko” are misplaced and also somewhat problematic， I think - two intergenerational tales written by Asian women， yes， so there’s This story is great （I read it in a day）。 I found that in terms of addressing the complications of Vietnamese 20th century history， this novel both does what hasn’t been done before and accomplishes a vital task; similarly to Bennett’s “The Vanishing Half，” I think it’s an important book。 Would recommend to all kinds of readers across age groups。The comparisons to “Pachinko” are misplaced and also somewhat problematic， I think - two intergenerational tales written by Asian women， yes， so there’s overlap in content and authorship， but both the histories and the narrative styles are distinct and separate。 This novel has a straightforward， easy to follow plot， and it is extremely fast paced; that’s not my favorite style， and I prefer Lee’s writing （which is totally different， and since everyone seems to be inviting the comparison）。 。。。more
Navlene Singh
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4。5 🌟
Maria Grazia
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BellissimoAttraverso il racconto di tre generazioni di donne un libro sulla guerra， le guerre， del '900 in VietnamI francesi， i giapponesi， i Viet Minh， la riforma agraria， i Viet Cong， gli americani， l'ARVN， il nord il sud， i campi di rieducazione， 。。。Nguyen Phan Que Mai riesce a trasmettere le sfaccettature dell'atrocità della guerra， una sintesi del vissuto suo， della sua famiglia， del suo popolo， e dei suoi studi approfonditi sugli effetti della guerraAncora più coinvolgente per quello a cui BellissimoAttraverso il racconto di tre generazioni di donne un libro sulla guerra， le guerre， del '900 in VietnamI francesi， i giapponesi， i Viet Minh， la riforma agraria， i Viet Cong， gli americani， l'ARVN， il nord il sud， i campi di rieducazione， 。。。Nguyen Phan Que Mai riesce a trasmettere le sfaccettature dell'atrocità della guerra， una sintesi del vissuto suo， della sua famiglia， del suo popolo， e dei suoi studi approfonditi sugli effetti della guerraAncora più coinvolgente per quello a cui stiamo assistendo in questi giorni migrazioni， separazioni， paura， fame， distacchi， figli "ceduti" per una vita migliore， scelte， attesa dei reduci， indottrinamento， dispersi， ferite che ti cambiano per sempre， Le protagoniste dove trovano la forza， la volontà per andare avanti， per resistere credendo in un futuro？E ancora， rarissimi attimi di umanità nel campo di battaglia， quasi impossibile da cogliere mentre si "vive" la guerra。L'importanza della cultura libera e della letteratura nell'educazione dei popoli anche all'eguaglianza nella sofferenza e nei sentimenti oltre i confini geografici 。。。more
Yan
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I highly recommend this to anyone who has not read anything about Vietnamese history。 It is heartbreaking but compulsively readable。 The author has included a wide spectrum of characters and the effects of war -- from PTSD to paralysis， to political success， to death， to shifts in ideals。 I would read other works by the same author。
Yen Lyn
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Review to come next month~
Lydia
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So heartbreaking most of the time that I only managed to read it in small portions。 I often wondered， what horrible blow of fate will befall them next？ Still， I read on， because it is nicely written and provides a look into Vietnamese history through one family's struggles。 So heartbreaking most of the time that I only managed to read it in small portions。 I often wondered， what horrible blow of fate will befall them next？ Still， I read on， because it is nicely written and provides a look into Vietnamese history through one family's struggles。 。。。more
Wendy Jones
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Vietnam revealed This amazing book can be harsh to read at times， but it conveys the grit and spirit of people in a war that tore families apart。 It was obvious during my reading that many of the characters and scenes must have come from real life stories。 As always I am thankful for a book that opens my eyes to other cultures and histories while at the same time keeps me in the power of the story。
Teresa Austin
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How much horror and tragedy can one family survive？ The Vietnam war， told from the perspective of a north Vietnam family， is presented in a way that reveals the agonies of a war torn country。 The story tells of the personal struggles of the members of this admirable family to fight for even the barest subsistence， while enduring unspeakable cruelties。 It’s not a topic that I would normally choose to read about， this book was hard to put down， and came to a satisfying conclusion。
Akintunde
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If melancholia has a home， this book is it！ 'The Mountain Sings' is a book that weaves fiction and true life events together in a way that the dividing thin lines are blurred and the reader is ultimately pulled deep into the book。 The story takes place around the time Vietnam was witnessing a difficult and devastating governance， pulling the United States into one of the wars the nation will never forget。 Numerous Hollywood movies were made centred around this war。 Movies that eschewed the desol If melancholia has a home， this book is it！ 'The Mountain Sings' is a book that weaves fiction and true life events together in a way that the dividing thin lines are blurred and the reader is ultimately pulled deep into the book。 The story takes place around the time Vietnam was witnessing a difficult and devastating governance， pulling the United States into one of the wars the nation will never forget。 Numerous Hollywood movies were made centred around this war。 Movies that eschewed the desolation and suffering of the Vietnamese but instead， embraced the superhuman powers of American soldiers and commandos， who were on a machine gun toting killing spree and being heroes and saviours of the day。This book is a story of loss， misplaced guilt， forgiveness， determination， belief， inner strength， patience， love and family。This is a story of a woman who stood up against adversity and forced her stars to change。With an immense spotlight cast on the Vietnamese culture， I give this book a solid 5 out of 5。 。。。more
Kyle
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I listened to it and really enjoyed it， despite the sometimes difficult subject matter （war）。
Sukanya Gogoi
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As a student of History， I’ve read about the Vietnam War extensively。 But the Mountains Sing is the first literary piece I stumbled on and I am so happy to have read this one。 It’s hard to believe that ‘The Mountains Sing’ is Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s debut novel。 It’s such a beautifully structured book， that it not only lets one experience a family’s battle to survive the war but also provides a broad and clear picture of the War。 Anyone who hasn’t read about the war in academic texts may look up t As a student of History， I’ve read about the Vietnam War extensively。 But the Mountains Sing is the first literary piece I stumbled on and I am so happy to have read this one。 It’s hard to believe that ‘The Mountains Sing’ is Nguyen Phan Que Mai’s debut novel。 It’s such a beautifully structured book， that it not only lets one experience a family’s battle to survive the war but also provides a broad and clear picture of the War。 Anyone who hasn’t read about the war in academic texts may look up to this book for a general understanding of the forces at play。 The author successfully manages to switch in between the early days of the war to the 1950s when the nature of the war changes and takes a different turn with the conflict becoming an internal issue triggered by ideological differences i。e。 Communism vs。 non-communism。 The shift in timeline flows easily through two parallel narratives; one narrated by Huong aka Guava and the other by her Grandmother。 Huong opens the story in the year 1972 when a bombing campaign was launched against the North Vietnamese。Grandma’s narrative opens in the year 1930， taking us back to witness the power tussle in between the French and the Japanese （the former being the preceding rulers of Vietnam before the Japanese aggression） and the activities of the Viet Minh （the organization that led the struggle for Vietnamese independence） during the Japanese occupation。 Both the narratives helps one understand the impact of war on commoners。 It was extremely difficult for me to keep on reading about the struggle of Huoung’s grandmother to keep herself alive along with her children， after the merciless killings of her Uncle Cong， her mother， her husband， her father who was slaughtered to pieces in front of her eyes。 She lived like a mendicant for quite some time waiting for the Land Reform laws to subside。 “Land reform in North Vietnam was accomplished from 1954 to 1956 by confiscating and redistributing land owned by landlords to poor and landless peasants。”The story covers the helplessness of Guava， waiting for her father to return from the War， her mother who went after him and came back with a deranged state of mind。 But what I liked reading about were anecdotes of Guava’s family members。 Uncle Dat， Aunt Hanh， each had different stories to tell which definitely developed courage and a positive attitude in me。 Uncle Minh’s story takes us through the plight of people divided by the war， driven apart from their dear ones。 The ending of the book simply left me overwhelmed by mixed emotions。 I highly recommend this book。 。。。more
Deep
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The story of Diệu Lan can be summarised in one quote from the book“If you bear grudges， you’re the one who’ll have to bear the burden of sorrow。”Wonderful read。。
Macclesfield Library
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I really enjoyed this book – it really opened my eyes to the appalling things which happened during the Vietnam war and immediately before。 It’s not a period I knew very much about and what I did know I learnt from the perspective of American authors and American media so it was nice to see a different viewpoint。 A brilliant history lesson！
Amy Eimer
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