Banyan Moon - Thao Thai

 

Described by some as a “mother – daughter” story there’s more to this debut novel than meets the eye. It does, in fact, chronicle three generations of the Tran women from grandmother Minh, whose voice endures throughout the story in one way or another - if that sounds a little cryptic I am unapologetic, read the book and you’ll understand what I mean, through to mother, Huong, and daughter Ann. The relationships between all three are as complex and protracted as familial relationships often are but this story is shaped in part by the history of their country and the Vietnamese war. The Tran women move to Florida or more precisely Minh does. 

The novel explores the past, present and potential futures of the women, each being given a voice in the arrangement of the different chapters. This gave a real sense of all of them discovering themselves as well as the secrets of others. With a measured and balanced pace the past is revealed, secrets unfold and the truth emerges from its chrysalis closet, and all the women are forced to confront their own selves.

Underpinning, the whole story is love and how it is affects lives and decisions running through all three generations. Some of those decisions are questionable and throw up some moral considerations.

But it is not a novel that seeks to offer any judgements. It tells a story rich in Vietnamese heritage and culture, and offers us a glimpse of what it is to leave your homeland and re-assimilate yourself somewhere else where you strive to hang on to your origins, but also to embrace the culture into which you’ve entered.

It’s a very compelling story. You sense from the start that matters are not really straightforward. The narrative unfolds its secrets, slowly and thoroughly, drawing the reader along with them.

I found all three women very real. There were times when I didn’t agree with what they did, or said, but I never found myself disliking them. Life and love, don’t come with instruction books, we’re all flawed in some way, and this book deals with that very realistically. I also thought the sense of time passing through the decades was achieved, very subtly and seamlessly. As attitudes and society changed there was a subtle shift in the shapes of the women’s’ lives.

I loved the sustained metaphor of the banyan tree. Notable in Hindu culture because of its ability to live for centuries and is seen as a symbol of immortality, the irony of that, alongside the lives of these women was quite powerful. And the naming of the house, the Banyan House takes on a whole other dynamic.

The prose is delightful, intelligent and well structured, which elevates the book beyond a mere family saga. There is a depth to the writing that evokes a tangible atmosphere. It’s a most impressive debut.

My thanks to Patrice Nelson at Quercus Books for a gifted copy.