Historical Fiction Favorite
THE MOUNTAINS SING
by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai Vietnam, mid 1900s, 351 pages
Why did I wait so long to press the PLAY button on my Audible version for this powerful and moving story? Mountains tells the story of Hương, a young girl and her grandmother’s and mother’s stories surviving the horrific history and political struggles in war-torn Vietnam throughout most of the 20th century. As a child of the 60s and 70s, I knew about the Vietnam War from a U.S. perspective. Reading and learning about this time and place in history from a Vietnamese perspective, however, was invaluable. Family divided like the country. Anguish and loss of life and home. Finding a song in your heart to lift your head to the mountains to discover beauty amidst the rubble.
