Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao is a semi-autobiographical novel that follows the story of Mai and her mother Thanh, Vietnamese immigrants adjusting to life in America after the Vietnam War. The book delves into themes of immigration, coming of age, mother-daughter relationships, and the struggle to balance Vietnamese heritage with American culture. Through flashbacks and real-time storytelling, the novel explores the trauma of war, generational differences, and the immigrant experience in the United States.

The plot revolves around Mai's journey to bring her grandfather, Baba Quan, from Vietnam to America to comfort her ailing mother. The narrative alternates between Mai and Thanh's perspectives, highlighting their struggles to assimilate into American society while holding onto their Vietnamese roots. The writing style blends ancient Vietnamese mythology with American pop culture, creating a poignant and evocative portrayal of the immigrant experience and the complexities of familial relationships.

Characters:

The characters are richly drawn, representing the complexities of the immigrant experience, particularly through the generational gap between Mai and her mother.

Writing/Prose:

The writing is described as beautiful and poetic, effectively merging cultural elements, though it occasionally suffers from an uneven execution.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative intricately weaves the struggles of Vietnamese immigrants, particularly through the relationship between a daughter and her mother, addressing trauma and the pursuit of identity in a new culture.

Setting:

Set in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the story unfolds primarily in Virginia's Little Saigon, exploring how the characters cope with their heritage in a new environment.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, with some sections feeling rushed and the buildup to the conclusion lacking satisfaction.

The smell of blood, warm and wet, rose from the floor and settled into the solemn stillness of the hospital air. I could feel it like an unhurried chill in my joints, a slow-moving red that smoldered ...

Notes:

The novel explores the effects of war without graphic battle scenes.

It addresses postwar dispossession and the immigrant experience.

Cao highlights the generational culture gap between Vietnamese immigrant parents and their American-born children.

The protagonist's mother tries to recreate her past in America while struggling with trauma.

Mai, the main character, navigates her Vietnamese roots while adapting to American life in the 1970s.

The book presents a unique perspective on the unpopular Vietnam War and its aftermath for Vietnamese refugees.

Mai's journey is metaphorically represented by a monkey bridge, symbolizing balancing two cultures.

The mother communicates her story through letters, revealing deeper emotional layers.

The mother-daughter relationship is central to the story, showcasing love and tension.

The narrative contrasts the assimilation experience of Mai with her mother's challenges.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The book addresses themes of PTSD, trauma from war, and mentions of suicide.

From The Publisher:

Hailed by critics and writers as powerful, important fiction, Monkey Bridge charts the unmapped territory of the Vietnamese American experience in the aftermath of war.

Like navigating a monkey bridge-a bridge, built of spindly bamboo, used by peasants for centuries-the narrative traverses perilously between worlds past and present, East and West, in telling two interlocking stories: one, the Vietnamese version of the classic immigrant experience in America, told by a young girl; and the second, a dark tale of betrayal, political intrigue, family secrets, and revenge-her mother's tale. The haunting and beautiful terrain of Monkey Bridge is the "luminous motion," as it is called in Vietnamese myth and legend, between generations, encompassing Vietnamese lore, history, and dreams of the past as well as of the future.

"With incredible lightness, balance and elegance," writes Isabel Allende, "Lan Cao crosses over an abyss of pain, loss, separation and exile, connecting on one level the opposite realities of Vietnam and North America, and on a deeper level the realities of the material world and the world of the spirits."

A Kiriyama Pacific Rim Award Book Prize nominee

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About the Author:

Lan Cao is the author of Monkey Bridge and The Lotus and the Storm, and most recently of the scholarly work Culture in Law and Development: Nurturing Positive Change. She is a professor of law at the Chapman University School of Law, and an internationally…

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Monkey Bridge

Lan Cao