The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh is a multi-generational tale that follows the lives of Vietnamese women from Vietnam to Little Saigon in Orange County, California, exploring themes of family curses, mother-daughter relationships, and Vietnamese culture. The book delves into the complexities of family dynamics, intergenerational trauma, and the struggles of balancing traditions with modern values, all while maintaining a whimsical and wickedly funny writing style that brings the setting of Little Saigon to life.

Characters:

The characters are well-developed and diverse, representing complex relationships among women in the family.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style features engaging dialogue with humor and touches of magical realism, often bringing characters to the forefront.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around a Vietnamese American family facing intergenerational trauma and a curse foretelling death, marriage, and birth.

Setting:

The setting is vivid, spanning various cities and deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture.

Pacing:

The pacing is dynamic, but the large cast can make it a little hard to follow at times.

Notes:

The book features a multigenerational Vietnamese American family.

It spans multiple cities including Little Saigon, Seattle, New York, and Ho Chi Minh City.

A psychic predicts one death, one marriage, and one birth for the cursed family within a year.

The story explores contemporary themes of intergenerational trauma and complex female relationships.

The characters are described as 'messy' and relatable, reflecting real-life struggles.

It's a blend of humor, drama, and magical realism.

There are about 14 characters, making it a bit challenging to keep track of them all.

The book includes a family tree to help readers navigate the relationships.

The narrative includes multiple perspectives, adding dynamics to the storytelling.

The dialogue is noted to be funny and engaging throughout the book.

Many readers found the exploration of mother-daughter relationships to be compelling.

The setting of Little Saigon serves as an important character in its own right.

The author, Carolyn Huynh, wrote this as a love letter to Vietnamese American women.

Audiobook narration by VyVy Nguyen was particularly praised for capturing distinct character voices.

The book has been compared to other works like 'Joy Luck Club' and 'Crazy Rich Asians.'

Readers reported laughter, reflection, and emotional responses while reading the story.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The book may include themes of family conflict, mental health struggles, and discussions of cultural pressure, which may serve as content warnings for some readers.

From The Publisher:

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

A WASHINGTON POST BEST FEEL-GOOD BOOK OF 2022

For fans of Amy Tan, KJ Dell'Antonia, and Kevin Kwan, this "sharp, smart, and gloriously extra" (Nancy Jooyoun Kim, The Last Story of Mina Lee ) debut celebrates a family of estranged Vietnamese women who experiences mishaps and unexpected joy after a psychic makes a startling prediction about their lives.

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 lives. 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.

A multi-narrative novel brimming with levity and candor, The Fortunes of Jaded Women is about mourning, meddling, celebrating, and healing together as a family. It shows how Vietnamese women emerge victorious, even if the world is against them.

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