Readers who appreciate character-driven novels with strong women characters will want to read Banyan Moon, the debut novel by Thao Thai. It has five primary characters - three women and two objects. The women: Mihn the grandmother, Huong the daughter, and Ann the daughter. The objects: a huge, decaying manor house and the majestic banyan tree that grows near it.
Told with a nonlinear structure, Banyan Moon begins with the death of Mihn and shares the generational trauma, family secrets, losses, and loves of three generations of a Vietnamese American family. A common theme is the strife between mothers and daughters and the formational relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter.
The plot traces Mihn's early life in Vietnam, her immigration to the United States to provide a better life for her young children, and her later years living in the large crumbling home. Along the way, insights about Huong's and Ann's lives and relationships are also revealed.
Thank you to Mariner Books, NetGalley, and Cindy Burnett/Thoughts From a Page podcast for the review copy.
Told with a nonlinear structure, Banyan Moon begins with the death of Mihn and shares the generational trauma, family secrets, losses, and loves of three generations of a Vietnamese American family. A common theme is the strife between mothers and daughters and the formational relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter.
The plot traces Mihn's early life in Vietnam, her immigration to the United States to provide a better life for her young children, and her later years living in the large crumbling home. Along the way, insights about Huong's and Ann's lives and relationships are also revealed.
Thank you to Mariner Books, NetGalley, and Cindy Burnett/Thoughts From a Page podcast for the review copy.
