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Daughters of the New Year
Combining the powerful scope of Homegoing with the mystical touch of The Immortalists, Daughters of the New Year is a captivating debut novel about five generations of Vietnamese mothers and daughters, drawing on Vietnamese zodiac astrology to chart the fateful events of their lives
What does the future hold for those born in the years of the Dragon, Tiger, and Goat?
In present day New Orleans, Xuan Trung, former beauty queen–turned-refugee after the Fall of Saigon, is obsessed with divining her daughters' fates through their Vietnamese zodiac signs. But Trac, Nhi, and Trieu diverge completely from their immigrant parents' expectations. Successful lawyer Trac hides her sexuality from her family; Nhi competes as the only woman of color on a Bachelor-esque reality TV show; and Trieu, a budding writer, is determined to learn more about her familial and cultural past.
As the three sisters each begin to encounter strange glimpses of long-buried secrets from their ancestors, the story of the Trung women unfurls to reveal the dramatic events that brought them to America. Moving backwards in time, E.M. Tran takes us into the high school classrooms of New Orleans to Saigon beauty pageants to twentieth century rubber plantations, traversing a century as the Trungs are both estranged and united by the ghosts of their tumultuous history.
A “haunted story of resilience and survival” (Meng Jin, Little Gods), Daughters of the New Year is an addictive, high-wire act of storytelling and mythmaking, illuminating an entire lineage of extraordinary women fighting to reclaim the power they’ve been stripped of for centuries.
What does the future hold for those born in the years of the Dragon, Tiger, and Goat?
In present day New Orleans, Xuan Trung, former beauty queen–turned-refugee after the Fall of Saigon, is obsessed with divining her daughters' fates through their Vietnamese zodiac signs. But Trac, Nhi, and Trieu diverge completely from their immigrant parents' expectations. Successful lawyer Trac hides her sexuality from her family; Nhi competes as the only woman of color on a Bachelor-esque reality TV show; and Trieu, a budding writer, is determined to learn more about her familial and cultural past.
As the three sisters each begin to encounter strange glimpses of long-buried secrets from their ancestors, the story of the Trung women unfurls to reveal the dramatic events that brought them to America. Moving backwards in time, E.M. Tran takes us into the high school classrooms of New Orleans to Saigon beauty pageants to twentieth century rubber plantations, traversing a century as the Trungs are both estranged and united by the ghosts of their tumultuous history.
A “haunted story of resilience and survival” (Meng Jin, Little Gods), Daughters of the New Year is an addictive, high-wire act of storytelling and mythmaking, illuminating an entire lineage of extraordinary women fighting to reclaim the power they’ve been stripped of for centuries.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 11, 2022
198 people are currently reading
13478 people want to read
About the author
E.M. Tran
1 book123 followersE.M. Tran writes fiction and creative nonfiction. Her debut novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE NEW YEAR, is forthcoming from Hanover Square Press/HarperCollins. Her stories, essays, and reviews can be found in such places as Joyland Magazine, Prairie Schooner, Harvard Review Online, and more. She has an MFA from University of Mississippi and a PhD from Ohio University, where she studied English and Creative Writing. She is from and currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana with her husband and two dogs.
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January 27, 2023
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2 ½ stars (rounded up to 3)
Xuan and her children never talked about this dance. They did it over and over again, playing their parts faithfully and acting as though the other had not transgressed.
While I appreciate the conceit of Daughters of the New Year, its execution did not win me over. The summary may be somewhat at fault, as it gave me an impression that Daughters of the New Year would be something along the lines of Butter Honey Pig Bread, A Kind of Freedom, and
Things We Lost to the Water, or even something along the lines of family sagas like The Arsonists’ City,
The Vanishing Half, or most books penned by Elif Shafak. I thought that as each chapter switches between the sisters’ and mother's povs, we would be given glimpses, either in self-contained chapters or in the form of flashbacks, into the experiences of their female relatives and ancestors. The line that the sisters would “encounter strange glimpses of long-buried secrets” made me even think that there would be some interplay between past and present. What we get in actuality is something closer to Homegoing and Commonwealth, but not quite as effective. That is, each chapter reads like a vignette that doesn’t necessarily add up to create a bigger picture. Maybe if the chapters had given us an overview of the characters’ lives, as Gyasi does in Homegoing, these characters would have felt more fully realized than they were. I am not against books that are heavy on telling and light on showing, especially if the author’s storytelling is engaging and vivid enough…but here I found myself bored by the narration. The scenes and dialogues that do interrupt the otherwise heavy-on-the-telling narrative were far less interesting and poignant that the moments that are glossed over or barely alluded to. Additionally, as I said, the sections from the present-day characters and the ‘past’ ones do not coalesce together. Maybe if the past sections had been interspersed throughout the more 'recent' chapters, maybe then I would have felt differently. As it is, each chapter takes us back in time. Like counting backwards if you will. Or a forwarding back. This is a pity because I found the sisters’ and their mother’s present-day dynamics and circumstances much more interesting than, say, reading overlong chapters detailing their experiences at school (where they are bullied and ignored by their white and vietnamese-american peers). I found these chapters focusing on their childhood and adolescence to be predictable and I was frustrated by the way the narrative would give super-detailed descriptions of humiliating situations. That is not to say that scenes that make you squirm serve no function or cannot build tension, after all, one of my favorite authors is a champion when it comes to very awkward or straight-up uncomfortable scenes (often rooted in everyday scenarios or a result of a seemingly casual/ordinary interaction). But here the author offers few compelling insights into these characters and their motivations, focusing instead on giving us a rather dry blow-by-blow account of what happened. There was something repetitive in the way these chapters would unfold, something static even about the scenes and events that are being recounted. The sisters, their mother, and their other relatives serve the role of narrative vehicles through which their chapter can explore a certain scenario (so it is not so much about them but the situation). Their names and their Vietnamese zodiac signs are their main distinguishers, but these did not convey the kind of people they were. It was really frustrating that we never get to read chapters following their present-day circumstances.
I wanted to read Nhi’s experiences in the Bachelor-esque reality TV show or to see Trac try to reconcile herself with her sexuality. I was even interested in seeing how the recently divorced Xuan would cope if her youngest daughter also left home. I was even interested in her ex-husband, the girls’ father. Did ageing really wear down his temper?
I would have loved to see more interactions, especially between the sisters. But they have very few scenes together and they don’t think about one another that much. It would have been nice to see how their bond, or their lack of one, changed from childhood to adulthood. But instead, we get these vignettes showing us how the sisters are excluded by everyone, and that they had no friends growing up (even if sometimes the narrative will mention them being friends with white affluent girls who lead idyllic lives). We are shown that Xuan looks down on the Vietnamese community and that this causes her daughters to be bullied by Vietnamese-American children, but I wondered how the husband felt about it or whether the girls eventually try to befriend other children. The narrative does render how hyper-visible yet invisible the sisters feel. Some of their white peers ‘forget’ that they are not in fact white. At one point one of the sisters finds herself contributing to anti-Blackness as a way of fitting in with her white sorority. The story definitely made many incisive observations around race, whiteness, and internalized racism, as well as depicting the realities of feeling alienated by a culture or a language. Alas, the narrative often prioritized boring details, such as a character putting clothes on, over more complex ones.
While reading this I was bored and frustrated. The characters struck me as thinly drawn and the prose monotonous. A more cohesive narrative arc would have could have made these chapters feel more in sync with one another, but as things stand, I found the forwarding back blunt. Just over the halfway mark, the chapters take us back to Xuan's youth and her experiences before America. Here the tone felt quite different to the previous chapters, which may have been intentional except that even theme-wise these chapters seem to share little in common with the preceding chapters. Some of these chapters pack a lot and the impact of what happens is stunted by the chapters' length and by the narrative's tendency to summarise and recount (as opposed to show).
The only thing that felt purposeful, between these past and present chapters, was learning about Xuan's trophy. I think I would have preferred this novel if it had either gone for a more traditional family saga structure, or gone for a more linked narratives/multiple voices type of thing like in Calling for a Blanket Dance,
and in The Travelers. But instead Daughters of the New Year reads like something that doesn't know what it wants to be...
All in all, this book was not what I was hoping it would be. Do not however let my unenthusiastic take on this book dissuade you from giving it a chance as YMMV.
If you do read it I recommend you don't opt for the audiobook which likely contributed to the frustration I felt towards this book. Even in the chapters set in Vietnam, where we follow Vietnamese characters and see them interact, the narrator's character voices for Xuan, and her mother & co, is the same exaggerated 'broken' English voice she uses in the American chapters...why? The characters are fluent in Vietnamese, why make them sound as they do when they are speaking a foreign language ?!
2 ½ stars (rounded up to 3)
Xuan and her children never talked about this dance. They did it over and over again, playing their parts faithfully and acting as though the other had not transgressed.
While I appreciate the conceit of Daughters of the New Year, its execution did not win me over. The summary may be somewhat at fault, as it gave me an impression that Daughters of the New Year would be something along the lines of Butter Honey Pig Bread, A Kind of Freedom, and
Things We Lost to the Water, or even something along the lines of family sagas like The Arsonists’ City,
The Vanishing Half, or most books penned by Elif Shafak. I thought that as each chapter switches between the sisters’ and mother's povs, we would be given glimpses, either in self-contained chapters or in the form of flashbacks, into the experiences of their female relatives and ancestors. The line that the sisters would “encounter strange glimpses of long-buried secrets” made me even think that there would be some interplay between past and present. What we get in actuality is something closer to Homegoing and Commonwealth, but not quite as effective. That is, each chapter reads like a vignette that doesn’t necessarily add up to create a bigger picture. Maybe if the chapters had given us an overview of the characters’ lives, as Gyasi does in Homegoing, these characters would have felt more fully realized than they were. I am not against books that are heavy on telling and light on showing, especially if the author’s storytelling is engaging and vivid enough…but here I found myself bored by the narration. The scenes and dialogues that do interrupt the otherwise heavy-on-the-telling narrative were far less interesting and poignant that the moments that are glossed over or barely alluded to. Additionally, as I said, the sections from the present-day characters and the ‘past’ ones do not coalesce together. Maybe if the past sections had been interspersed throughout the more 'recent' chapters, maybe then I would have felt differently. As it is, each chapter takes us back in time. Like counting backwards if you will. Or a forwarding back. This is a pity because I found the sisters’ and their mother’s present-day dynamics and circumstances much more interesting than, say, reading overlong chapters detailing their experiences at school (where they are bullied and ignored by their white and vietnamese-american peers). I found these chapters focusing on their childhood and adolescence to be predictable and I was frustrated by the way the narrative would give super-detailed descriptions of humiliating situations. That is not to say that scenes that make you squirm serve no function or cannot build tension, after all, one of my favorite authors is a champion when it comes to very awkward or straight-up uncomfortable scenes (often rooted in everyday scenarios or a result of a seemingly casual/ordinary interaction). But here the author offers few compelling insights into these characters and their motivations, focusing instead on giving us a rather dry blow-by-blow account of what happened. There was something repetitive in the way these chapters would unfold, something static even about the scenes and events that are being recounted. The sisters, their mother, and their other relatives serve the role of narrative vehicles through which their chapter can explore a certain scenario (so it is not so much about them but the situation). Their names and their Vietnamese zodiac signs are their main distinguishers, but these did not convey the kind of people they were. It was really frustrating that we never get to read chapters following their present-day circumstances.
I wanted to read Nhi’s experiences in the Bachelor-esque reality TV show or to see Trac try to reconcile herself with her sexuality. I was even interested in seeing how the recently divorced Xuan would cope if her youngest daughter also left home. I was even interested in her ex-husband, the girls’ father. Did ageing really wear down his temper?
I would have loved to see more interactions, especially between the sisters. But they have very few scenes together and they don’t think about one another that much. It would have been nice to see how their bond, or their lack of one, changed from childhood to adulthood. But instead, we get these vignettes showing us how the sisters are excluded by everyone, and that they had no friends growing up (even if sometimes the narrative will mention them being friends with white affluent girls who lead idyllic lives). We are shown that Xuan looks down on the Vietnamese community and that this causes her daughters to be bullied by Vietnamese-American children, but I wondered how the husband felt about it or whether the girls eventually try to befriend other children. The narrative does render how hyper-visible yet invisible the sisters feel. Some of their white peers ‘forget’ that they are not in fact white. At one point one of the sisters finds herself contributing to anti-Blackness as a way of fitting in with her white sorority. The story definitely made many incisive observations around race, whiteness, and internalized racism, as well as depicting the realities of feeling alienated by a culture or a language. Alas, the narrative often prioritized boring details, such as a character putting clothes on, over more complex ones.
While reading this I was bored and frustrated. The characters struck me as thinly drawn and the prose monotonous. A more cohesive narrative arc would have could have made these chapters feel more in sync with one another, but as things stand, I found the forwarding back blunt. Just over the halfway mark, the chapters take us back to Xuan's youth and her experiences before America. Here the tone felt quite different to the previous chapters, which may have been intentional except that even theme-wise these chapters seem to share little in common with the preceding chapters. Some of these chapters pack a lot and the impact of what happens is stunted by the chapters' length and by the narrative's tendency to summarise and recount (as opposed to show).
The only thing that felt purposeful, between these past and present chapters, was learning about Xuan's trophy. I think I would have preferred this novel if it had either gone for a more traditional family saga structure, or gone for a more linked narratives/multiple voices type of thing like in Calling for a Blanket Dance,
and in The Travelers. But instead Daughters of the New Year reads like something that doesn't know what it wants to be...
All in all, this book was not what I was hoping it would be. Do not however let my unenthusiastic take on this book dissuade you from giving it a chance as YMMV.
If you do read it I recommend you don't opt for the audiobook which likely contributed to the frustration I felt towards this book. Even in the chapters set in Vietnam, where we follow Vietnamese characters and see them interact, the narrator's character voices for Xuan, and her mother & co, is the same exaggerated 'broken' English voice she uses in the American chapters...why? The characters are fluent in Vietnamese, why make them sound as they do when they are speaking a foreign language ?!
November 5, 2022
About the book: “A captivating debut novel that moves backwards in time to trace five generations of Vietnamese mothers and daughters, drawing on Vietnamese zodiac astrology to chart the fateful events of their lives.” “A “haunted story of resilience and survival” (Meng Jin, Little Gods), Daughters of the New Year is an addictive, high-wire act of storytelling that illuminates an entire lineage of extraordinary women fighting to reclaim the power they’ve been stripped of for centuries.”
As you can tell by the synopsis, this is a powerful and complex story of Vietnamese women. The first part of the story is focused on Tran, Trieu, and Nhi, the daughters of Xuan, a Vietnamese immigrant living in the US with her family. The author captures the dynamic between children and their immigrant parents. She also addresses the immigrant experience in a fully fleshed out way with all vulnerabilities laid bare.
The story then dives deeper into Xuan’s history, which helps to understand her better. I’ll never forget the story behind her beauty pageant trophy.
Last, the story addresses the ancestors of the family living under French colonial rule. Daughters of the New Year is very much a story within a story within a story. It’s a thoughtful exploration of intergenerational trauma (I love seeing this featured in books more and more because it is so important). E.M. Tran has weaved a complex, dynamic story of strong women, and I cannot wait to read what’s next from her.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
As you can tell by the synopsis, this is a powerful and complex story of Vietnamese women. The first part of the story is focused on Tran, Trieu, and Nhi, the daughters of Xuan, a Vietnamese immigrant living in the US with her family. The author captures the dynamic between children and their immigrant parents. She also addresses the immigrant experience in a fully fleshed out way with all vulnerabilities laid bare.
The story then dives deeper into Xuan’s history, which helps to understand her better. I’ll never forget the story behind her beauty pageant trophy.
Last, the story addresses the ancestors of the family living under French colonial rule. Daughters of the New Year is very much a story within a story within a story. It’s a thoughtful exploration of intergenerational trauma (I love seeing this featured in books more and more because it is so important). E.M. Tran has weaved a complex, dynamic story of strong women, and I cannot wait to read what’s next from her.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
October 11, 2022
happy publication day to this gem!!! 🤍
if you love generation stories of women youll love this one!
I can't wait to support more Viet authors, I don't even need to know anything about this book to know it's going to be important to me 😭💕but it literally has all the elements I know I love. I really can't wait
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
if you love generation stories of women youll love this one!
I can't wait to support more Viet authors, I don't even need to know anything about this book to know it's going to be important to me 😭💕but it literally has all the elements I know I love. I really can't wait
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
May 30, 2022
I was excited to read this story about a Vietnamese-American family in my quest to read more books by diverse authors and about diverse families this year. This story was told in a reverse format - starting with the recent timeline and then traveling backward into the history of the Trung family's ancestors.
The beginning of the book explored the relationships between Xuan and her three daughters, Trieu, Nhi and Trac. The glimpse inside the family dynamics was so different from my upbringing. I found Xuan's reliance on the zodiac to be so interesting. She found comfort in being able to reference the zodiac and plan accordingly. I felt like the girls could not really ever change her perceptions of them. They almost seemed to meld themselves into the person that their mother thought they should be. The oldest, Trac, had the highest expectations put on her. She was quite aware of this, but accepted this as the job of the oldest. Nhi on the other hand, was able to explore herself and her interests a little more. Trieu, as the youngest, looked to her older sisters with respect. She and Nhi shared much more of their life together based on their ages. Just when I felt that I was getting to know them better though, the story abruptly changed to Xuan's story with her own mother.
The history of Xuan was essential to understand her attitude toward moving to the US and to her treatment of her husband and her daughters. I wouldn't call her a cold mother, but I would definitely consider her emotionally absent with her daughters. I don't think they could go to their mother for advice or a shoulder to cry on. Her history of fleeing with her own parents and her unhappy move to the states, though, provided backstory to that. She grew up always trying to impress her own mother. Trying to find a way to stand out, and prove to her mother that she was worthy. Her beauty pageant trophy being her most prized possession was quite telling. The story behind the pageant was so impactful.
The final part of the story explores the families ancestors and how they came to own a rubber plantation during the final years of French colonial rule in Vietnam. I had no knowledge of this history, so I found it very interesting. The strength and resiliance of the Trung women was immense, and that strength was passed down through the generations. All the mothers in this book were very direct and had almost unattainable expectations of their children. I could see how this trait was also passed down from generation to generation and being illustrated by Xuan in the beginning of this book.
There were many things I liked about this story, but the book felt like it was 2 separate books to me. The exploration of Xuan and her daughters in the beginning felt like it was left unfinished and I wanted to know so much more about them. There didn't seem to be a transition between the time frames - they just became a different one. On the other hand, I loved finding out more about the generational history of this family the importance of knowing our own histories and the difficulty of assimilation into another culture.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance copy to read and review.
The beginning of the book explored the relationships between Xuan and her three daughters, Trieu, Nhi and Trac. The glimpse inside the family dynamics was so different from my upbringing. I found Xuan's reliance on the zodiac to be so interesting. She found comfort in being able to reference the zodiac and plan accordingly. I felt like the girls could not really ever change her perceptions of them. They almost seemed to meld themselves into the person that their mother thought they should be. The oldest, Trac, had the highest expectations put on her. She was quite aware of this, but accepted this as the job of the oldest. Nhi on the other hand, was able to explore herself and her interests a little more. Trieu, as the youngest, looked to her older sisters with respect. She and Nhi shared much more of their life together based on their ages. Just when I felt that I was getting to know them better though, the story abruptly changed to Xuan's story with her own mother.
The history of Xuan was essential to understand her attitude toward moving to the US and to her treatment of her husband and her daughters. I wouldn't call her a cold mother, but I would definitely consider her emotionally absent with her daughters. I don't think they could go to their mother for advice or a shoulder to cry on. Her history of fleeing with her own parents and her unhappy move to the states, though, provided backstory to that. She grew up always trying to impress her own mother. Trying to find a way to stand out, and prove to her mother that she was worthy. Her beauty pageant trophy being her most prized possession was quite telling. The story behind the pageant was so impactful.
The final part of the story explores the families ancestors and how they came to own a rubber plantation during the final years of French colonial rule in Vietnam. I had no knowledge of this history, so I found it very interesting. The strength and resiliance of the Trung women was immense, and that strength was passed down through the generations. All the mothers in this book were very direct and had almost unattainable expectations of their children. I could see how this trait was also passed down from generation to generation and being illustrated by Xuan in the beginning of this book.
There were many things I liked about this story, but the book felt like it was 2 separate books to me. The exploration of Xuan and her daughters in the beginning felt like it was left unfinished and I wanted to know so much more about them. There didn't seem to be a transition between the time frames - they just became a different one. On the other hand, I loved finding out more about the generational history of this family the importance of knowing our own histories and the difficulty of assimilation into another culture.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance copy to read and review.
May 15, 2022
In "Daughters of the New Year", Tran gives us a multi-generational novel focusing on the women in a Vietnamese family. Unlike most novels, however, its told in a reverse timeline, starting with the present and working through the past.
The first half of the novel focuses on Tran, Nhi, and Trieu who are all daughters of Xuan. They've grown up as Vietnamese American in New Orleans, and each has dealt with the pressures and expectations put on them in different ways, much of which comes from their mother's belief in their astrology and the implications of their zodiac signs. Tran, the oldest, has long been the overachiever and is pursuing a prestigious law career, but is trying to claim her own independence from her parents and come to terms with her sexuality. Nhi, the middle child, has stepped into mainstream media as a participant in a Bachelor-esque program as the only minority - while it's being filmed in Vietnam. Trieu, the youngest, is the one full of unmet potential.
We get to see the ways that these characters interact with each other, and the events and experience that have shaped them over time. There's a lot of ground that Train covers in the novel, but she does an incredible job revealing the many layers of misunderstanding and built-up resentment that immigrant children can have for their parents, which are then countered by the perspectives and experiences their parents have undergone. She's also able to highlight and celebrate the Asian experience and Vietnamese culture, but also notes how jarring and difficult it is to grow up as a minority in a different country, where your appearance and upbringing is so different to everyone else. I also appreciated the strong sense of place and time the novel had, with events like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Vietnam War having an impact, and loved the number of poignant experiences that were detailed in this novel.
The writing is beautifully structured, and Tran is able to take on so many different female perspectives throughout the novel, and I especially loved the sections that focused on food and the cuisine and ingredients that are so integral to Vietnamese culture. Very much a recommended read to anyone!
Thank you Hanover Square Press for the advance copy of this novel!
The first half of the novel focuses on Tran, Nhi, and Trieu who are all daughters of Xuan. They've grown up as Vietnamese American in New Orleans, and each has dealt with the pressures and expectations put on them in different ways, much of which comes from their mother's belief in their astrology and the implications of their zodiac signs. Tran, the oldest, has long been the overachiever and is pursuing a prestigious law career, but is trying to claim her own independence from her parents and come to terms with her sexuality. Nhi, the middle child, has stepped into mainstream media as a participant in a Bachelor-esque program as the only minority - while it's being filmed in Vietnam. Trieu, the youngest, is the one full of unmet potential.
We get to see the ways that these characters interact with each other, and the events and experience that have shaped them over time. There's a lot of ground that Train covers in the novel, but she does an incredible job revealing the many layers of misunderstanding and built-up resentment that immigrant children can have for their parents, which are then countered by the perspectives and experiences their parents have undergone. She's also able to highlight and celebrate the Asian experience and Vietnamese culture, but also notes how jarring and difficult it is to grow up as a minority in a different country, where your appearance and upbringing is so different to everyone else. I also appreciated the strong sense of place and time the novel had, with events like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Vietnam War having an impact, and loved the number of poignant experiences that were detailed in this novel.
The writing is beautifully structured, and Tran is able to take on so many different female perspectives throughout the novel, and I especially loved the sections that focused on food and the cuisine and ingredients that are so integral to Vietnamese culture. Very much a recommended read to anyone!
Thank you Hanover Square Press for the advance copy of this novel!
January 20, 2024
A wide-reaching novel of five generations of Vietnamese women and the Zodiac that links them. Going backwards in time and exploring the nuanced relationships between mothers ans daughters, this novel takes a look at the things in life that tear us apart, and the moments that bring us together. It acknowledges the struggle to choose between who we are and who we are told we ought to be; the ways in which sisterhood and motherhood illuminate both our finest and darkest traits, our pride and our shame, the coils of love and exasperation braiding patterns for years to come. Daughters of the New Year is a layout of the messy, wonderful, inexplicable things that make up a family, and an assurance that there is always a path to a new beginning.
November 1, 2022
rep: Vietnamese & Vietnamese American cast, Vietnamese American sapphic mc, sapphic li, Vietnamese sapphic mc
tw: racism, bullying, blood, murder, immolation, sexual abuse
it feels more like a collection of short stories than it does a novel.
the author over-explains everything, like i don’t need you to tell me how the characters feel about every single thing that happens to them, i can figure it out myself! and definitely don’t need you to tell me how i should be feeling. and sometimes the pov suddenly switches for like two sentences to turn to the random side character bc clearly the author doesn’t know how to let us know about something.
and the mystical magical elements? why did they only show up so randomly and for such short moments?
tw: racism, bullying, blood, murder, immolation, sexual abuse
it feels more like a collection of short stories than it does a novel.
the author over-explains everything, like i don’t need you to tell me how the characters feel about every single thing that happens to them, i can figure it out myself! and definitely don’t need you to tell me how i should be feeling. and sometimes the pov suddenly switches for like two sentences to turn to the random side character bc clearly the author doesn’t know how to let us know about something.
and the mystical magical elements? why did they only show up so randomly and for such short moments?
January 7, 2023
This book features intergenerational trauma. The device of lunar horoscopes is clever but quickly takes on a flat quality because (1) the trauma is so pervasive that it becomes a baseline and (2) those traumatized can only cling to horoscopes to make sense of the world. Oh, yes, the intergenerational trauma is very much further transmitted or enhanced, intentionally or not, via mother-daughter conflicts (a tired and tiresome trope).
The writing here is technically solid but emotionally lukewarm at best (see #1 above). My main complaint however is about the structure. The book goes backwards in time, which is fine and does convey some intended message. But for a reader here, it does not provide the needed scaffolding to move a story forward (or make an impact that satisfies). Part 1 is fine given this structure. Part 2 however is a mess of a jumble. It feels disjointed. (One more word about Part 1, I felt cheated that after investing in these characters, their stories seemed to dribble into a kind of nothingness.)
Lastly, the men do not fair well in this book. It's obvious and it raises a question.
One quote:
"She would always be defined by it or against it, but never without it." (The 'it' here is being Asian.)
The writing here is technically solid but emotionally lukewarm at best (see #1 above). My main complaint however is about the structure. The book goes backwards in time, which is fine and does convey some intended message. But for a reader here, it does not provide the needed scaffolding to move a story forward (or make an impact that satisfies). Part 1 is fine given this structure. Part 2 however is a mess of a jumble. It feels disjointed. (One more word about Part 1, I felt cheated that after investing in these characters, their stories seemed to dribble into a kind of nothingness.)
Lastly, the men do not fair well in this book. It's obvious and it raises a question.
One quote:
"She would always be defined by it or against it, but never without it." (The 'it' here is being Asian.)
April 21, 2022
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! “Daughters of the New Year” will be published October 11, 2022.
I had a hard time reviewing this book because there were so many things I LOVED, and then so many things I definitely didn’t.
Tran is a great writer and has an exquisite way with language - the way her writing is able to marry sweeping and beautiful imagery with witty and quick dialogue in the modern day is incredible. I loved learning about the sisters and their different dynamics, and I wish that more time was spent because I felt like their character arcs weren’t fully fleshed out.
I was also a little let down with the premise of the book - there were some seemingly supernatural magical things set up to take place, and then all of the sudden they weren’t…ever mentioned again? I really thought this book would have a bit more magical realism, but these big plot points (characters, even!) that were introduced only to be never seen from again made me a little bummed, and definitely had nothing magical about it. In fact I kind of felt like they were oversight, because weird things happen to the characters and then are never explained, making it more confusing than anything. We barely touch upon Trac’s sexuality (which, in the blurb, is her main plot point), and the zodiac isn’t really involved in the story unless it’s the sisters complaining about the mom talking about it, or the mom actually talking about it. I felt like so much more could’ve been done with the zodiac standpoint. The blurb of this book was described as similar to The Immortalists in regards to mysticism, I didn’t really find the connection besides a multiple POV story about a family.
And speaking of family…I know that the book was focusing on the female generations in this family, but being split up into two different parts, it felt like two different books. The first half of the book I really liked and I was chomping at the bit to find out what came next, but by the time the second part came along…it just seemed a bit convoluted and confusing. Too many short chapters involving characters we only spend two chapters with. We’re also left to wonder who certain characters are and how they made their way into the story.
I will say, however, that Tran’s writing makes me excited to read more of her work. Unfortunately I just think the plot and characters weren’t as fleshed out as they should have been/needed to be, but her imagery was wonderful and I hope to read more from her in the future!
I had a hard time reviewing this book because there were so many things I LOVED, and then so many things I definitely didn’t.
Tran is a great writer and has an exquisite way with language - the way her writing is able to marry sweeping and beautiful imagery with witty and quick dialogue in the modern day is incredible. I loved learning about the sisters and their different dynamics, and I wish that more time was spent because I felt like their character arcs weren’t fully fleshed out.
I was also a little let down with the premise of the book - there were some seemingly supernatural magical things set up to take place, and then all of the sudden they weren’t…ever mentioned again? I really thought this book would have a bit more magical realism, but these big plot points (characters, even!) that were introduced only to be never seen from again made me a little bummed, and definitely had nothing magical about it. In fact I kind of felt like they were oversight, because weird things happen to the characters and then are never explained, making it more confusing than anything. We barely touch upon Trac’s sexuality (which, in the blurb, is her main plot point), and the zodiac isn’t really involved in the story unless it’s the sisters complaining about the mom talking about it, or the mom actually talking about it. I felt like so much more could’ve been done with the zodiac standpoint. The blurb of this book was described as similar to The Immortalists in regards to mysticism, I didn’t really find the connection besides a multiple POV story about a family.
And speaking of family…I know that the book was focusing on the female generations in this family, but being split up into two different parts, it felt like two different books. The first half of the book I really liked and I was chomping at the bit to find out what came next, but by the time the second part came along…it just seemed a bit convoluted and confusing. Too many short chapters involving characters we only spend two chapters with. We’re also left to wonder who certain characters are and how they made their way into the story.
I will say, however, that Tran’s writing makes me excited to read more of her work. Unfortunately I just think the plot and characters weren’t as fleshed out as they should have been/needed to be, but her imagery was wonderful and I hope to read more from her in the future!
November 12, 2022
*spoilers*
Exited at 81% when a teen girl gets taken advantage of at a beauty pageant.
Book jumped the shark prior to that when a woman kills male pirates. With a knife. Sure, they're drunk. And she's in momma bear mode. But still 🙄
Book purports to reveal racism against Asian immigrants. But is racist against African Americans and Northwestern European Americans. Often talks about "being white" when really meaning American or Western.
I'm done 🪂
Exited at 81% when a teen girl gets taken advantage of at a beauty pageant.
Book jumped the shark prior to that when a woman kills male pirates. With a knife. Sure, they're drunk. And she's in momma bear mode. But still 🙄
Book purports to reveal racism against Asian immigrants. But is racist against African Americans and Northwestern European Americans. Often talks about "being white" when really meaning American or Western.
I'm done 🪂
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2022
3/5 stars
Daughters of the New Year is the own-voices literary debut novel author E.M. Tran, in which we follow five generations of Vietnamese mothers and daughters throughout their journey of migration and integration into America. Our story begins in present day New Orleans, with family matriarch Xuan Trung and her obsession with divining her family’s fortune through Vietnamese astrology. Her three daughters, Tran, Nhi, and Trieu, have little need for divinations, already feeling the pressure of balancing 2 cultures and parental expectations.
Throughout the novel we make our way back through the generations, past Xuan’s history of beauty pageants, all the way to the 20th century rubber plantations, where their original American Dream began.
You need only to read the backflap text to see the huge scope and brilliant set up this novel had, interweaving a generational tale with elements of Vietnamese history and mythology. Add the authors pleasant prose and a fantastic start in which these elements were introduced and set in position, and after the first few chapters I was convinced I had a 5-star read on my hands. Unfortunately, the book shows its “debut-ness” more and more the further along we get, by not quite managing to chew everything it bit off. The first half, in which we follow the three contemporary sisters and their interactions with their elderly mother, is by far the strongest part of the novel. The way the author portrayed their individual lives, as well as the cultural clashes and feelings of resentment within their family was very well done, and will resonate with many readers
Yet the further we become removed from present day (and therefore perhaps the authors own experiences), the more detached I felt the narrative become. Characters began to lack depth and feel more like stereotypes than real people the further back we got. There are clear themes of generational resent and misunderstandings within the story, but at times I felt they were almost present in the authors portrayal of the characters as well. The younger generations felt written with more understanding, compassion and depth than the older ones, which was a shame.
Another disappointment in the second half was that not everything that was set up at the start was followed through on. Even some things mentioned on the backflap as if they’re key plot points become lost along the way. For example: Trac’s struggle with her sexuality is prominently features in the synopsis, but gets very little mention on page.
In the end, the novel as a whole was fine, but considering it had such clear potential for great I can’t deny I was left a little disappointed. Another few edits, either giving the older generations more page-time for development, or cutting them out completely for a tighter scope would’ve made for a more balanced novel.
Daughters of the New Year is the own-voices literary debut novel author E.M. Tran, in which we follow five generations of Vietnamese mothers and daughters throughout their journey of migration and integration into America. Our story begins in present day New Orleans, with family matriarch Xuan Trung and her obsession with divining her family’s fortune through Vietnamese astrology. Her three daughters, Tran, Nhi, and Trieu, have little need for divinations, already feeling the pressure of balancing 2 cultures and parental expectations.
Throughout the novel we make our way back through the generations, past Xuan’s history of beauty pageants, all the way to the 20th century rubber plantations, where their original American Dream began.
You need only to read the backflap text to see the huge scope and brilliant set up this novel had, interweaving a generational tale with elements of Vietnamese history and mythology. Add the authors pleasant prose and a fantastic start in which these elements were introduced and set in position, and after the first few chapters I was convinced I had a 5-star read on my hands. Unfortunately, the book shows its “debut-ness” more and more the further along we get, by not quite managing to chew everything it bit off. The first half, in which we follow the three contemporary sisters and their interactions with their elderly mother, is by far the strongest part of the novel. The way the author portrayed their individual lives, as well as the cultural clashes and feelings of resentment within their family was very well done, and will resonate with many readers
Yet the further we become removed from present day (and therefore perhaps the authors own experiences), the more detached I felt the narrative become. Characters began to lack depth and feel more like stereotypes than real people the further back we got. There are clear themes of generational resent and misunderstandings within the story, but at times I felt they were almost present in the authors portrayal of the characters as well. The younger generations felt written with more understanding, compassion and depth than the older ones, which was a shame.
Another disappointment in the second half was that not everything that was set up at the start was followed through on. Even some things mentioned on the backflap as if they’re key plot points become lost along the way. For example: Trac’s struggle with her sexuality is prominently features in the synopsis, but gets very little mention on page.
In the end, the novel as a whole was fine, but considering it had such clear potential for great I can’t deny I was left a little disappointed. Another few edits, either giving the older generations more page-time for development, or cutting them out completely for a tighter scope would’ve made for a more balanced novel.
March 7, 2023
As many of my English teachers have told me, the ideas were there, but the way this story was organized made it a bit messy and confusing. It was kind of dual time line, but not every other chapter it was like part 1 was the present and part 2 was the generational history. I expected the book to focus more on the present 3 sisters and mom with their family’s history interwoven but it was not that. Not bad, but not life changing.
November 19, 2022
Daughters of the New Year is a stunning debut about the lives and stories of five generations of a Vietnamese family, particularly the women of the family. Using the culture and history of Vietnam, E. M. Tran has painted a complex, rich portrait of the way our past and generational trauma impacts our lives and our decisions. It was a mesmerizing, immersive read about identity and family, and the only thing I wished for was getting more closure and resolution with certain characters - something that fans of open endings definitely won’t mind. I loved that the author decided to switch the usual order of telling a story - this one starts with the youngest generation, and works its way backwards to their ancestors. I was also impressed by how Tran managed to give all of her main characters (and there’s a lot of them!) unique, individual voices and personalities. Overall, it’s a fantastic novel and a must read for anyone who loves stories about the immigrant experience, history, and family dynamics.
August 18, 2022
An incredibly personal and moving debut about a multigenerational Vietnamese American family. I really enjoyed this story about mothers and daughters, sisterhood and immigrant life. Told from multiple POVs and across different timelines, this book is perfect for fans of stories like Peach blossom spring by Melissa Fu or authors like Kim Thuy. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I also really enjoyed the audiobook narration for this one too.
October 28, 2022
The narrative is based on five-generational Vietnamese family, mainly focused on daughters and mothers. The first part follows the lives of three Trung sisters as second-generation immigrants living in America. The chapters serve as a revelation of the hardships they face, living with austere parents and facing identity crisis in their respective lives.
The book sheds light on ostracism and disassociation from the world they live in. Upon reading, we gain a better insight on the discernments and the myriads of internal conflicts of immigrants; which I think is an important takeaway from this novel.
The book sheds light on ostracism and disassociation from the world they live in. Upon reading, we gain a better insight on the discernments and the myriads of internal conflicts of immigrants; which I think is an important takeaway from this novel.
November 5, 2022
Impressive debut. I wish the book was twice as long so I could read more stories about the individual characters.
July 30, 2022
Is there any relationship more complicated then the mother daughter one? Here, Xuan, an immigrant, settled in NOLA, navigates life differently then her three American born daughters. Using zodiac symbols to make decisions, the daughters, eye roll. Moving backward in time, through generations, the matriarchal family lineage emerges and patterns become clearer. This riveting and engrossing read also illustrates the lingering effects of colonialism and forced migration.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
November 21, 2022
Surreal, compelling and captivating debut novel by E.M. Tran. it's about the lives of five generations of a Vietnamese family. Tran creates a complex portrait of how generational trauma affects the choices we make and our lives. This audiobook/book will spark a discussion on multicultural and multigenerational identity.
December 23, 2022
It would be a lot easier to support this Viet author if this book had a plot.
December 24, 2023
A collection of the memories of Vietnamese mothers and daughters that teach us about generational strength and resilience
February 27, 2023
I knew immediately I would be drawn to this book. The book feels like a story within a story and I grew to love the author's approach by the end, especially with the author's note (def don't skip this!).
The story starts with Xuan—a Vietnamese refugee who is extremely into Vietnamese zodiac signs—and her three daughters and former husband resettled in New Orleans. Each chapter in the first section flips between Xuan and her daughters' perspective, with the daughters holding forms resentment as they struggle under the weight of their immigrant parents' expectations and assumptions based on their zodiac signs. You really only get snippets into the daughters lives but it made me angry to read how selfish they came across, forgetting their parents had lives and struggles before them. In the same way, I can also relate to the daughters in that there are ways I have contributed to the erasure of my family, being ashamed of not being white and even the complete opposite, not being Cambodian enough. In the first section, you really see the different ways isolation and same show up between cultures and communities.
The last section explores the roots of Xuan's family before 1975 who lived in Vietnam under French colonial rule. I was a bit confused once I got here but going back to the timeline at the start of the book helped. This section helped give context to other parts of the book and I liked how it was told not in chronological order.
Overall, this books feels exactly the way I imagine the author intended to tell the story, from the perspective of a second-gen migrant daughter acknowledging the shame in failing to acknowledge their parents' former lives.
The story starts with Xuan—a Vietnamese refugee who is extremely into Vietnamese zodiac signs—and her three daughters and former husband resettled in New Orleans. Each chapter in the first section flips between Xuan and her daughters' perspective, with the daughters holding forms resentment as they struggle under the weight of their immigrant parents' expectations and assumptions based on their zodiac signs. You really only get snippets into the daughters lives but it made me angry to read how selfish they came across, forgetting their parents had lives and struggles before them. In the same way, I can also relate to the daughters in that there are ways I have contributed to the erasure of my family, being ashamed of not being white and even the complete opposite, not being Cambodian enough. In the first section, you really see the different ways isolation and same show up between cultures and communities.
The last section explores the roots of Xuan's family before 1975 who lived in Vietnam under French colonial rule. I was a bit confused once I got here but going back to the timeline at the start of the book helped. This section helped give context to other parts of the book and I liked how it was told not in chronological order.
Overall, this books feels exactly the way I imagine the author intended to tell the story, from the perspective of a second-gen migrant daughter acknowledging the shame in failing to acknowledge their parents' former lives.
October 17, 2022
"𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩, 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮."
rating: 3.75/5 stars
thank you, @hanoversquarepress, for this ARC! this refreshing debut is out tomorrow (oct 11th), so get yourself a copy if you’re interested!
this book was a compelling and meaningful story of a string of Vietnamese women and how they live in present-day New Orleans and early 19th century Vietnam.
Daughters of the New Year follows the Trung sisters, Trac, Nhi, and Trieu, along with their mother, Xuan. A mom who will stop at nothing to give her children the best life she can, after being displaced from home due to the fall of Saigon. Xuan, against all judgment she receives from her family, holds her belief in Vietnamese zodiac astrology. Told from 2016-1975 and on, ancestor through ancestor, Tran tells the unrelenting stories of many powerful Vietnamese women.
This debut was such an impactful read. I learned so much reading this book as a white, privileged American. Tran does not shy away from the harsh racism and misogyny that Vietnamese people, specifically women, face daily. I saw bits of myself in Trac, a queer woman hiding her sexuality from her family. I enjoyed both Nhi and Trieu’s points of view and the experiences they got to tell as a strong duo.
I’d take this with a grain of salt because it is a debut, but there were a few details I wish were explored more and one or two plot holes. I wanted more out of the Trung sisters. An original aspect of this novel I enjoyed was how it was told essentially in reverse. But I found myself wanting so much more out of these characters that just weren’t fully a part of their pasts.
rating: 3.75/5 stars
thank you, @hanoversquarepress, for this ARC! this refreshing debut is out tomorrow (oct 11th), so get yourself a copy if you’re interested!
this book was a compelling and meaningful story of a string of Vietnamese women and how they live in present-day New Orleans and early 19th century Vietnam.
Daughters of the New Year follows the Trung sisters, Trac, Nhi, and Trieu, along with their mother, Xuan. A mom who will stop at nothing to give her children the best life she can, after being displaced from home due to the fall of Saigon. Xuan, against all judgment she receives from her family, holds her belief in Vietnamese zodiac astrology. Told from 2016-1975 and on, ancestor through ancestor, Tran tells the unrelenting stories of many powerful Vietnamese women.
This debut was such an impactful read. I learned so much reading this book as a white, privileged American. Tran does not shy away from the harsh racism and misogyny that Vietnamese people, specifically women, face daily. I saw bits of myself in Trac, a queer woman hiding her sexuality from her family. I enjoyed both Nhi and Trieu’s points of view and the experiences they got to tell as a strong duo.
I’d take this with a grain of salt because it is a debut, but there were a few details I wish were explored more and one or two plot holes. I wanted more out of the Trung sisters. An original aspect of this novel I enjoyed was how it was told essentially in reverse. But I found myself wanting so much more out of these characters that just weren’t fully a part of their pasts.
October 17, 2022
This is a stunning family saga of generations of Vietnamese women. It revolves around the mother and the relationship between her three daughters. Xuan Trung is the mother who won a beauty pageant in Vietnam and is an immigrant who believes in astrology and the fate of the stars. Her daughters Trac, Nhi, and Trieu only want to escape their immigrant heritage and legacy. The trophy is a symbol of beauty, loss, and spectacle. This book talks about immigrants, the importance of lineage, and the relationships between women- what stays the same and what doesn't.
I love how the author writes backward and tells the narrative through the voices of the different characters, whose voices range from older to younger. As the narrative moves backward, the reader learns more and more about Xuan's stories and how she came to America. I love how the author writes, "What happens when we can go back, uncover a truth that is, in reality, forever obscured? What would we discover? How often does history repeat itself without our knowing, the same pain and joy experienced again and again?" That passage, in particular, gave me goosebumps. The idea is that you think you're charting your own path, but some of the currents of our past run through our blood no matter how hard we try to keep them out.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://www.momsdonthavetimetoreadboo...
I love how the author writes backward and tells the narrative through the voices of the different characters, whose voices range from older to younger. As the narrative moves backward, the reader learns more and more about Xuan's stories and how she came to America. I love how the author writes, "What happens when we can go back, uncover a truth that is, in reality, forever obscured? What would we discover? How often does history repeat itself without our knowing, the same pain and joy experienced again and again?" That passage, in particular, gave me goosebumps. The idea is that you think you're charting your own path, but some of the currents of our past run through our blood no matter how hard we try to keep them out.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://www.momsdonthavetimetoreadboo...
August 29, 2022
It took me all of 0.2 seconds into the first sentence to pre-order a copy of this book for my mom.
Daughters of the New Year from E.M Tran is a story of mothers and daughters, starting with Xuan and her three American-born Vietnamese daughters in New Orleans, moving backward in time, from the present day, to Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, the Vietnam War, to the fall of Saigon, to Xuan's youth and to her ancestors before her. It's an interesting way to write a book and I quite enjoyed it....knowing what would happen to the future woman.
Some of the stories were familiar to me in ways they might be to others. The community parties and the ratty jeans and Better than Ezra shirt, and being stuck at a table with other kids. Not knowing Vietnamese and that feeling of never being good enough. Always being the other. Then there were the stories that I'm waiting to discuss with my mom, once she reads this....the beauty pageant and Bambi. The two burial ceremonies at the same time.
It's a powerful story about women, about Vietnamese women, about me and who my people are and where I come from. Thank you E.M. Tran for writing this.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Daughters of the New Year from E.M Tran is a story of mothers and daughters, starting with Xuan and her three American-born Vietnamese daughters in New Orleans, moving backward in time, from the present day, to Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, the Vietnam War, to the fall of Saigon, to Xuan's youth and to her ancestors before her. It's an interesting way to write a book and I quite enjoyed it....knowing what would happen to the future woman.
Some of the stories were familiar to me in ways they might be to others. The community parties and the ratty jeans and Better than Ezra shirt, and being stuck at a table with other kids. Not knowing Vietnamese and that feeling of never being good enough. Always being the other. Then there were the stories that I'm waiting to discuss with my mom, once she reads this....the beauty pageant and Bambi. The two burial ceremonies at the same time.
It's a powerful story about women, about Vietnamese women, about me and who my people are and where I come from. Thank you E.M. Tran for writing this.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
October 18, 2022
This one didn't work for me. I struggled staying with the story. I liked the way this one started...Vietnamese sisters living in the US with their immigrant parents and they are all trying to get somewhere. I wanted that story.
But then as more and more characters appeared, it started feeling like a character parade. It felt like too much. It was a struggle to care about them. I will say though, that the audio was well done. I loved the way the narrator tried to separate the characters. That is always appreciated. But everything else was just okay for me. So 2 stars.
But then as more and more characters appeared, it started feeling like a character parade. It felt like too much. It was a struggle to care about them. I will say though, that the audio was well done. I loved the way the narrator tried to separate the characters. That is always appreciated. But everything else was just okay for me. So 2 stars.
August 9, 2022
Another book that I thought would be a strong 4 from the beginning but turned into a different (but not bad) book in the second half. I felt disconnected from the older generation's stories (especially after reading Fortunes of Jaded Women) and found the constant time jumps distracting. This book taught me a lot, and I'm glad to have read it.
June 14, 2025
Heartbreaking. A matriarchy traced in reverse chronology, like Mr. Mani.
October 11, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for allowing me to read this ARC!
Content Warning: death, violence, racism, misogyny, emotional abuse, sexual harassment, rape, colonization.
The Trung family lives in modern-day New Orleans, Louisiana. The three daughters are all completely different, but each is striving for her own kind of peace and freedom in her life: Trac, the eldest, a respected lawyer who is coming to terms with her sexuality; Nhi, who has joined a dating show in the hopes of making it big as an actress; and the baby of the family, Trieu, who is finding it difficult to find her place in life at all. Their mother, Xuan, the former Saigon beauty queen of 1973, tries desperately to determine her daughters' fates through the usage of the Vietnamese Zodiac, but in her attempts, ends up pushing them further away from her. As they all try to come to terms with both their pasts and their inevitable futures, E.M. Tran traces the lineage of the Trung women through history, asking questions about the value of learned histories, and what it means to be a daughter and a mother.
The concept of tracing a female line of ancestors back through time is what sold this book to me. As someone who absolutely loves generational stories that deal with the history of a singular family, I had a feeling that E.M. Tran's Daughters of the New Year would be something that would offer both something new to me, and something familiar that I already adore. Even in my quest to read more diverse books, I've actually read few novels by Vietnamese authors, and I was so excited to pick this up and delve into a story that deals with some of Vietnam's complicated past while never forgetting to center the powerful female characters that make this so compulsively readable.
The story starts with Xuan Trung, the Metal Tiger mother of the three Trung girls, as she tries to divine their fate for the coming New Year. We quickly get the feeling that the girls feel both drawn to their mother's stories, even as they struggle with their mixed disdain and love for their mother's forceful belief in the Zodiac and astrology. All of the characters in this book are equally strong, and although it's usually a given that I'll have a favorite when reading something with multiple POV characters, this time, I felt entranced by every single woman that Tran puts on the page. Although this story deals with themes of racism, being an outsider, and most especially the complicated relationships unique to immigrant families, any daughter or mother reading this -- no matter where she's from, who she is, or the particular circumstances that make up her life -- will instantly see themselves in the Trung women.
Tran's exploration of generational pain and trauma is powerful. She asks the important question that has plagued families since the dawn of time: how important are learned histories, and when and how should they be relayed to children? There's no real "right" answer, but even painful histories are important, particularly, I think, to the children of immigrants. The desire to know where your family comes from, what has shaped them into who they are, is something all of us yearn for.
My only complaints with this book are mainly selfish: the timeline goes backwards, and so we have only our own imagination when it comes to what happens to Tran, Nhi, Trieu and their mother! I would have loved to see a bit of closure, but honestly, I think that's another element of what Tran is talking about here -- for many families, there is no "closure." Perhaps Xuan will never be able to talk about the fall of Saigon, or her life before Vietnam was torn in two. Perhaps the girls will never quite find the answers they're looking for. It's a meditation on the sometimes unspeakable past. There were moments where Tran's writing could be a bit simplistic, losing me a little, but the story itself is so powerful that it didn't alter my rating by much.
Highly recommended!
Content Warning: death, violence, racism, misogyny, emotional abuse, sexual harassment, rape, colonization.
The Trung family lives in modern-day New Orleans, Louisiana. The three daughters are all completely different, but each is striving for her own kind of peace and freedom in her life: Trac, the eldest, a respected lawyer who is coming to terms with her sexuality; Nhi, who has joined a dating show in the hopes of making it big as an actress; and the baby of the family, Trieu, who is finding it difficult to find her place in life at all. Their mother, Xuan, the former Saigon beauty queen of 1973, tries desperately to determine her daughters' fates through the usage of the Vietnamese Zodiac, but in her attempts, ends up pushing them further away from her. As they all try to come to terms with both their pasts and their inevitable futures, E.M. Tran traces the lineage of the Trung women through history, asking questions about the value of learned histories, and what it means to be a daughter and a mother.
The concept of tracing a female line of ancestors back through time is what sold this book to me. As someone who absolutely loves generational stories that deal with the history of a singular family, I had a feeling that E.M. Tran's Daughters of the New Year would be something that would offer both something new to me, and something familiar that I already adore. Even in my quest to read more diverse books, I've actually read few novels by Vietnamese authors, and I was so excited to pick this up and delve into a story that deals with some of Vietnam's complicated past while never forgetting to center the powerful female characters that make this so compulsively readable.
The story starts with Xuan Trung, the Metal Tiger mother of the three Trung girls, as she tries to divine their fate for the coming New Year. We quickly get the feeling that the girls feel both drawn to their mother's stories, even as they struggle with their mixed disdain and love for their mother's forceful belief in the Zodiac and astrology. All of the characters in this book are equally strong, and although it's usually a given that I'll have a favorite when reading something with multiple POV characters, this time, I felt entranced by every single woman that Tran puts on the page. Although this story deals with themes of racism, being an outsider, and most especially the complicated relationships unique to immigrant families, any daughter or mother reading this -- no matter where she's from, who she is, or the particular circumstances that make up her life -- will instantly see themselves in the Trung women.
Tran's exploration of generational pain and trauma is powerful. She asks the important question that has plagued families since the dawn of time: how important are learned histories, and when and how should they be relayed to children? There's no real "right" answer, but even painful histories are important, particularly, I think, to the children of immigrants. The desire to know where your family comes from, what has shaped them into who they are, is something all of us yearn for.
My only complaints with this book are mainly selfish: the timeline goes backwards, and so we have only our own imagination when it comes to what happens to Tran, Nhi, Trieu and their mother! I would have loved to see a bit of closure, but honestly, I think that's another element of what Tran is talking about here -- for many families, there is no "closure." Perhaps Xuan will never be able to talk about the fall of Saigon, or her life before Vietnam was torn in two. Perhaps the girls will never quite find the answers they're looking for. It's a meditation on the sometimes unspeakable past. There were moments where Tran's writing could be a bit simplistic, losing me a little, but the story itself is so powerful that it didn't alter my rating by much.
Highly recommended!
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