BOOK REVIEW: The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Our book group’s next pick is The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai. It’s a multi-generational historical saga set in Vietnam from WWII thru the Vietnam war. The two protagonists are Huong and her grandmother, Tran Dieu Lan. During the course of the novel they live in and near Ha Noi, in North Vietnam. Huong is being cared for by her grandmother after her father went to war and then her mother went off to find her father. As Huong struggles with the horrors of living in a war zone and fearing for her family, her grandmother relates her own life story, which includes seeing her parents brutally murdered and her husband poisoned for his more liberal political beliefs. During the widespread “Land Reform,” her home is violently appropriated and she must flee with her five children and make a new start.

The novel is interesting in that it shows what life was like for the North Vietnamese: the violence, the famine, the political upheaval and displacement. Families were torn apart by war, poverty, and politics. As in all war stories, there are examples of kindness and extraordinary generosity interspersed with sadistic cruelty and greed. 

In one way, this book reminded me of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about the Nigerian-Biafran War of the late 1960s. Both books use fiction to illustrate the nightmare of far-away wars that I didn’t (and still don’t) know enough about.

The book had a rather slow start, but became more interesting as I grew immersed in the grandmother’s story. It shows the enduring power of familial love, despite political dissent and warfare. I’m looking forward to our book group’s discussion.