This is the story of Mai, who immigrates to America after the war, and her mother who follows some time after. Mai, being younger, takes on the American language and culture more completely than her mother, who in Vietnam seemed a stronger, more capable and intelligent woman, but in America seems to become foggy and troubled.

After a stroke, Mai's mother's mental state seems to deteriorate further, and Mai hears her calling for Baba Quan, her mother's father who was left behind in Vietnam. This causes Mai to begin a search for a way to bring Baba Quan to America so that he may ease her mother's heart and allow Mai to leave home for college. The story explores the past and relationship of the two, the trauma they suffered in Vietnam, the clash between Mai's world of American schooling and science and her mother's of curses and karma, and their desire to care for one another and yet their need to push the other away.

I pretty much read this book twice for school. The first time I had a more favorable impression, but I think that may have stemmed from having a Vietnamese mother myself and some things in it being amusingly familiar. The second time through, it seemed a more average read. Also, the book's conclusion, though I predicted it very early on, felt as if it came rather out of left-field build-up wise, and was also a bit unsatisfying. As I read it the second time I think it just stressed that even more, as I was able to watch and see the build to it...or rather notice the semi-lack thereof.

Usually I'd rate a book on the first impression, but I think the second was really more representative of the actual quality of the book. It's still alright, though. ( )

Monkey Bridge is the story of Mai and Thanh, recent immigrants to America from Vietnam. Through the kindness of Uncle Michael, an American GI and family friend, Mai was able to leave before the fall of Saigon; her mother, Thanh, followed through the American airlift shortly after. The novel highlights the struggle for Mai and her mother to assimilate in America. For Mai, the struggle is not too difficult. Within a few months, she has learned to appreciate America’s shopping malls, has gotten used to the chill of Virginia, and speaks American English without a Vietnamese accent. For Thanh, the adjustment is more challenging. In Vietnam, Thanh’s French convent school education gave her fluency in French and a love for the French classics. In America, she is just another immigrant who spoke no English.

In their effort to assimilate, Mai and her mother have ignored the riddle that continues to prey on their minds: on the day that her mother was airlifted out of Saigon, Mai’s grandfather, Baba Quan, was left behind. Mai is confused by her mother’s alternating grief for and seeming indifference to Baba Quan. When Thanh suffers a stroke, Mai hears her call out for Baba Quan. This incident sparks Mai’s resolve to find her grandfather, because she believes Baba Quan is the only person who can ease Thanh’s disquiet.

Lan Cao has clearly written an autobiographical novel. In the book’s jacket, the author is described as having left Vietnam in 1975. The photo, naturally, is the requisite black and white. Lan Cao is wearing black, standing against a stark background with her arms folded, unsmiling. Clearly, this is a very serious book about a very serious subject from a very serious writer.

Lan Cao, however, cannot quite reach her ambition. That’s not to say that Monkey Bridge is altogether bad. The descriptions of Little Saigon will ring true for any immigrant who has tried to find a familiar enclave in their adoptive country. Mrs. Bay, Thanh’s best friend, is touching in her zeal; she is so grateful to be given a fresh start that she maintains a cheerful disposition each day, despite her fears for Vietnam. Compared to the flatness of Thanh and Mai, Mrs. Bay is full of life, and it is the passages where she was included that I read with the most enjoyment.

Unfortunately, Monkey Bridge is so clearly autobiographical that the author muddles the narrative. The story itself is interesting, but its execution is ungainly and full of amateur touches. The ending felt cheap and shoddy, complete with maudlin melodrama and a big reveal that came out of nowhere like a bat out of hell. What makes Monkey Bridge so disappointing is that the author was unable to mold such rich, raw experience into something great. Mai had this to say about her mother, Thanh, and it sums up my discontent with this novel:

We were both in the space where all things linger, only to turn unpredictably with the exquisite swiftness of a hard flower. We all enter this space when we wait – for motionless shadows to shift with a moment’s notice, and hopes to become possibilities.

Like Mai, I too held my breath, waiting for the author to spin a tale that would captivate. Sadly, Lan Cao did not deliver because she was unsure whether she wanted to write a novel or a memoir; in the end, Monkey Bridge succeeds as neither.

Originally posted on my Vox and my LJ. ( )

An interesting novel (semi-autobiographical?) tracing a young woman's trying to understand her own life, and especially her mother's, after the end of the Vietnam War brings them to America. The revelation of the truth at the end is a bit wooden. There's also a lot of explanation of the background color, which doesn't necessarily help the plot along, but does add to the interest of the book. ( )