This Kept Me Interested From the First to the Last Page
I highly recommend this book- and memoirs are not always a genre that I find compelling. There have been a few best sellers that did not ring true to me; however, The Manicurist's Daughter was not a disappointment. The author is brutally honest about family flaws and relationship difficulties,, as well as her own weaknesses (falling prey to a cultish organization with suburban/strip mall "workout" studios promise harmony and bliss - always after just one more level of expensive workshops and "training" classes.). At the same time there are interesting references to cultural requirements, superstitions, and interesting Vietnamese foods some, like creamy purple taro soup with shrimp and scallions, sound delicious sound delicious while other foods are an interesting sensory experience.
I was interested in Susan Lieu's memoir for many reasons: the mother-daughter relationship, the obsession with weight -primarily for females, the sad aspect of females enthusiastically choosing to go under the knife and anesthesia because "plastic" seems somehow less serious than unwanted surgeries, the secrets within families that leave children sensing that something is missing, the tale of plastic surgery gone wrong, the true history of post-war immigrants, and on and on. In addition, over many years I had manicures and pedicures at Vietnamese-owned businesses and often had meaningful discussions with the employees about their life plans.
Susan's mother seems to have worn the pants in the family, a hard-working and determined person who is referred to many times as the conductor of the family. Overseeing the nail salon business (where American-born Susan began helping out at the age of six) and the finances which allowed her to bring over to the USA other family members. It had taken several failed attempts for Susan's parents to finally emigrate from Vietnam. Interestingly, both the mother and father seemed harsh and even emotionally cruel in their dealings with Susan. One of the biggest questions in Susan's mind is why such an intelligent and strong woman as her mother would want and willingly pay for several, all-at-once plastic surgeries.
The only part of the book that was slightly less interesting for me came in the second half, where Susan was using spiritual "channel-ers" to contact her mother and get information about the doctor, operating without malpractice insurance, who had butchered her. However, since this book is a memoir, I accept that this is the story of how one daughter found some acceptance and mental peace of mind. So my five-star rating weakened in this part of the book, but the overall rating did not seem like it should be lowered. I have seen a couple of reviews that did not like the difficult-to-pronounce and slow-to-read phrases in the Vietnamese language. Foreign words or phrases do not bother me, and in fact, I feel that they add some authenticity. Best of all with Susan Lieu's book, Vietnamese phrases are followed by an English phrase or complimentary sentence that clearly explains what has just been said.
I received a copy of this book through Bookish First, using my points to do so since I sensed I would like this book. And I was right. I hope you will give it a try. This is my honest and voluntarily provided review.
I was interested in Susan Lieu's memoir for many reasons: the mother-daughter relationship, the obsession with weight -primarily for females, the sad aspect of females enthusiastically choosing to go under the knife and anesthesia because "plastic" seems somehow less serious than unwanted surgeries, the secrets within families that leave children sensing that something is missing, the tale of plastic surgery gone wrong, the true history of post-war immigrants, and on and on. In addition, over many years I had manicures and pedicures at Vietnamese-owned businesses and often had meaningful discussions with the employees about their life plans.
Susan's mother seems to have worn the pants in the family, a hard-working and determined person who is referred to many times as the conductor of the family. Overseeing the nail salon business (where American-born Susan began helping out at the age of six) and the finances which allowed her to bring over to the USA other family members. It had taken several failed attempts for Susan's parents to finally emigrate from Vietnam. Interestingly, both the mother and father seemed harsh and even emotionally cruel in their dealings with Susan. One of the biggest questions in Susan's mind is why such an intelligent and strong woman as her mother would want and willingly pay for several, all-at-once plastic surgeries.
The only part of the book that was slightly less interesting for me came in the second half, where Susan was using spiritual "channel-ers" to contact her mother and get information about the doctor, operating without malpractice insurance, who had butchered her. However, since this book is a memoir, I accept that this is the story of how one daughter found some acceptance and mental peace of mind. So my five-star rating weakened in this part of the book, but the overall rating did not seem like it should be lowered. I have seen a couple of reviews that did not like the difficult-to-pronounce and slow-to-read phrases in the Vietnamese language. Foreign words or phrases do not bother me, and in fact, I feel that they add some authenticity. Best of all with Susan Lieu's book, Vietnamese phrases are followed by an English phrase or complimentary sentence that clearly explains what has just been said.
I received a copy of this book through Bookish First, using my points to do so since I sensed I would like this book. And I was right. I hope you will give it a try. This is my honest and voluntarily provided review.