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The Buddha Never Turns His Head and Other Novellas
Not yet published
Expected 23 Sep 26149 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication September 23, 2026
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Review of advance copy
The Buddha Never Turns His Head consists of two novellas, and they affected me in very different ways. The first drowned me in thoughts; the second broke my heart.
The Buddha Never Turns His Head follows a man who left his hometown as a child and eventually returns carrying years of emotional baggage, memories, and unanswered questions. He is exhausted, lonely, and morally conflicted, constantly wondering whether his choices made him a coward or simply a human being. When he meets Hong, a child who asks questions far more difficult than he expects, he finds himself trying to answer her while struggling with his own answers.
I’m not usually drawn to spiritual journey stories, but Thanh Dinh somehow made this one work for me. It left me thinking about suffering, acceptance, choice, guilt, and whether accepting what has happened to us is the same as making peace with it. I found myself angry, frustrated, and strangely resigned all at once. Those feelings may sound contradictory, but somehow that was exactly what the novella made me feel.
And then came Full Moon in October.
This one felt much more personal. So personal and raw that I struggled to find the right words for it. Leia loves someone wholeheartedly. For years, she waits, accepts, endures, and keeps giving pieces of herself away, slowly shaping herself into someone she hopes he can love.
What hurt me most wasn't simply that she didn't get the love she wanted. It was how long she kept putting herself second, believing that if she loved a little harder, waited a little longer, understood a little more, maybe things would finally fall into place.
And sometimes they don't.
Maybe that's why Leia's story stayed with me so much. It felt painfully familiar, not because our stories are exactly the same, but because I understood that particular hope: the belief that if you love someone enough, surely it has to mean something in the end.
I also loved seeing Thanh Dinh's versatility once again. I've read very different kinds of stories from her, yet she always manages to bring that same poetic, lyrical quality to her writing. These two novellas are very different in subject and tone, but both carry the emotional depth and beautiful prose that have made me love her work.
The Buddha Never Turns His Head follows a man who left his hometown as a child and eventually returns carrying years of emotional baggage, memories, and unanswered questions. He is exhausted, lonely, and morally conflicted, constantly wondering whether his choices made him a coward or simply a human being. When he meets Hong, a child who asks questions far more difficult than he expects, he finds himself trying to answer her while struggling with his own answers.
I’m not usually drawn to spiritual journey stories, but Thanh Dinh somehow made this one work for me. It left me thinking about suffering, acceptance, choice, guilt, and whether accepting what has happened to us is the same as making peace with it. I found myself angry, frustrated, and strangely resigned all at once. Those feelings may sound contradictory, but somehow that was exactly what the novella made me feel.
And then came Full Moon in October.
This one felt much more personal. So personal and raw that I struggled to find the right words for it. Leia loves someone wholeheartedly. For years, she waits, accepts, endures, and keeps giving pieces of herself away, slowly shaping herself into someone she hopes he can love.
What hurt me most wasn't simply that she didn't get the love she wanted. It was how long she kept putting herself second, believing that if she loved a little harder, waited a little longer, understood a little more, maybe things would finally fall into place.
And sometimes they don't.
Maybe that's why Leia's story stayed with me so much. It felt painfully familiar, not because our stories are exactly the same, but because I understood that particular hope: the belief that if you love someone enough, surely it has to mean something in the end.
I also loved seeing Thanh Dinh's versatility once again. I've read very different kinds of stories from her, yet she always manages to bring that same poetic, lyrical quality to her writing. These two novellas are very different in subject and tone, but both carry the emotional depth and beautiful prose that have made me love her work.
Displaying 1 of 1 review