The Fortunes of Jaded Women
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3.9 • 9 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
For fans of Amy Tan and Kevin Kwan, this sharp and tender debut follows a family of estranged Vietnamese women – cursed to never know love or happiness – as they reunite when a psychic makes a startling prediction.
Everyone in Orange County’s Little Saigon knew that the Duong sisters were cursed. Their ancestor Oanh dared to leave her marriage for true love – and was cursed for it: her descendants are doomed never to find love or happiness, and to give birth only 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). Mai’s three adult daughters, Priscilla, Thuy and Thao, are successful in their careers, but the same can’t be said for their love life.
Desperate for guidance, she consults Auntie Hua, her trusted psychic, 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.
Filled with joy and humour, The Fortunes of Jaded Women is about mourning, meddling, celebrating and healing together as a family.
‘Written with crackling humour and a shrewd, intimate understanding of Vietnamese American family life … A funny, sharp, and insightful look at family bonds and the effects of tradition on modern life.’ Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Huynh debuts with an engaging if overwrought saga of a Vietnamese family curse in Orange County's Little Saigon. After Ly Minh Duong gives the family home to her long-lost eldest daughter, Kim, a rift ensues between Ly Minh and her other daughters, Khuyen, Minh, and Mai. A decade later, middle-aged Mai sees a psychic who predicts a death, a pregnancy, and a grandson, who will finally put an end to the Duong curse that prevented the Duong women from having sons, which was placed on an ancestor who married for love. The news spurs Mai to reconcile with her family before it's too late. Meanwhile, Mai, who was forced by Ly Minh to marry for practicality and not love, pressures her middle daughter, Thuy, to leave her good-guy boyfriend, Andy, since he works for a nonprofit. Mai's college-educated daughters also look down on their cousins Elaine and Christine, who help their mother, Khuyen, run a sleazy "coffee shop," where young bikini-clad women serve drinks. A sudden change in tone derails the final third of the novel, littering what was an otherwise strong, character-driven narrative with implausible slapstick and convenient coincidences. Still, as the Duong sisters reunite and reckon with their family's outmoded beliefs, Huynh pulls off an admirable portrait of well-meaning mothers and their children. Despite the bumps, it's worth checking out.
