Book Reviews

Review: Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh

I don’t read much adult fiction, but if you could guarantee that all of it was as good as Fortunes of Jaded Women, I would. This debut is a complex story of family and love. It’s full of heart with a touch of comedy! Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.

Summary

Everyone in Orange County’s Little Saigon knew that the Duong sisters were cursed.

It started with their ancestor Oanh who dared to leave her marriage for true love—so a fearsome Vietnamese witch cursed Oanh and her descendants so that they would never find love or happiness, and the Duong women would give birth to daughters, never sons.​

Oanh’s current descendant Mai Nguyen knows this curse well. She’s divorced, and after an explosive disagreement a decade ago, she’s estranged from her younger sisters, Minh Pham (the middle and the mediator) and Khuyen Lam (the youngest who swears she just runs humble coffee shops and nail salons, not Little Saigon’s underground). Though Mai’s three adult daughters, Priscilla, Thuy, and Thao, are successful in their careers (one of them is John Cho’s dermatologist!), the same can’t be said for their love life. Mai is convinced they might drive her to an early grave.

Desperate for guidance, she consults Auntie Hua, her trusted psychic in Hawaii, who delivers an unexpected prediction: this year, her family will witness a marriage, a funeral, and the birth of a son. This prophecy will reunite estranged mothers, daughters, aunts, and cousins—for better or for worse.

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Fortunes of Jaded Women is multi-generational story about family. Deeply rooted in immigrant experiences, it’s a story about how the world treats daughters and mothers. How there are only fights family can get into. With siblings and generations all stacked on top of each other, there are memories and ghosts of the past. Can they put it to rest at last? From the beginning I was already obsessed with their drama – and love. If you love complicated mother daughter relationships you have to read Fortunes of Jaded Women.

It’s about how we don’t understand our parents until we are adult or until we become parents ourselves. About families who have nothing to pass down because they are forced to start over. Families who have to teach survival with tight lipped sacrifices and sharp words. Who only have disapproval in a world that works against them. Fortunes of Jaded Women also gets a tinge of the supernatural with fortunes, prophecies, and destiny. Fortunes of Jaded Women is one of those books I recommend to read with your parents.

Overall,

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To wonder if we’re too hard on our family. It’s full of all the things we wish we said. The times we almost say something, when it’s on the tip of our tongue, one second from reconciliation. Within Fortunes of Jaded Women, lives will crumble as they turn unrecognizable. As our flaws and mistakes are brought into the light of day. There’s a hint of comedic errors, of interwoven threads and people, but all in all it’s nuanced, compelling, and emotional. Find Fortunes of Jaded Women on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.

Discussion

Do you have a favorite multi-generational family story?


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