The Silk Merchant's Daughter

Dinah Jefferies seems to have cornered the market writing books set in areas of colonial conflict and this latest is no different. What she does very well is evoke a sense of time and place that puts you at the heart of the action.

In the Silk Merchant's Daughter, it is the French that are the oppressors as we are taken back to 1950's Indochina, to what we now know as Vietnam. Set mostly in Hanoi, this tells the story of sisters Sylvie and Nicole. Born to a French father and a Vietnamese mother, Sylvie takes after her father, while Nicole looks more like her (now dead) mother. In a society that is becoming more partisan, Nicole finds herself torn between her French supporting father and sister, and her obvious Vietnamese heritage. This show more becomes more profound when she re-opens the families old silk shop in the Old Town and is drawn more into the Vietnamese community.

Nicole's life is further complicated by her "friendship" with Mark, who she believes to be an American silk trader and her involvement with Tran a Vietnamese insurgent. The result of her relationship with both, results in danger for all and has life changing consequences.

Having read and enjoyed both of her previous two books, I was keen to read this. Even more so because I visited Vietnam last year, so it had a more pertinent relevance. Vietnam's political upheaval since the end of the Second World War is a complex one. This book helps to set the scene to the background of French control and the unrest that would ultimately result in what we in the west know as the Vietnam War, though in Vietnam this is known as the American War.

It was easy for me to be drawn into the unfolding plot as I already had allegiances as to where my sympathies would lie. The story was well told and Hanoi came to life in the telling. The Old Town is a compact and bustling place and remains the same today, so it was easy to visualise. Less easy at times to accept, if I'm honest, were some Nicole's actions which seemed ill judged and naive. However, it's a long time since I was 18 and I am probably viewing it from my aging perspective.

It is a story that will keep you engaged, as it has a cast of characters that range from sympathetic to almost pantomime villain, but they all add to the story. As ever, the fact that it reflects what could have been reality for many Hanoians makes it more poignant. I can happily recommend this book and on a lighter note, if you ever find yourself faced with an "egg coffee" try it, it really isn't that bad!

I received a review copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review. show less

*Review in ITA/ENG*

Dinah Jefferies se l'era cavata a bilanciare romance e sfondo storico (in cui si intuisce sia molto meno versata), nel suo precedente romanzo. Tanto che, pur non amando il romance, quando ho desiderato qualcosa di leggero ho sfruttato il mio Amazon Prime per questo prestito.

In questo libro, purtroppo, fallisce miseramente: è ambientato durante una guerra, ma i personaggi si muovono solo secondo i canoni di un romanzo sentimentale, il che ti fa pensare che siano tutti cretini. La protagonista, Nicole, nonostante attorno a lei accada di tutto (omicidi, aggressioni, sequestri, massacri), pensa solo al suo innamorato americano (Mark) o, per una ventata di novità!, si domanda se la sorella maggiore, Sylvie, abbia una show more relazione con lui... l'avrei presa a ceffoni per i 3/4 del libro.

Non dico che Dinah J. avrebbe dovuto dare più attenzione alla parte storica, purtroppo è il suo punto debole, ma cercare di concentrarsi di più sulla sua protagonista sì. Il padre le affida un negozio di sete in fallimento, perché non dare più spazio alla sua sfida per riportarlo in attività? Perché non dare più spazio al rapporto tra sorelle invece che ridurlo a un "Sylvie dice due parole gentili a Nicole, Nicole si chiede se vada a letto/voglia sposare Mark" ?

Dello stile di scrittura non parlo granché: l'ho trovato asettico e confusionario, ma la traduzione italiana mi ha lasciato dei dubbi.

Occasione persa, purtroppo.

***

I am glad I came across this trough Amazon Prime, I would have deeply regretted buying this book.

The Tea Planter's Wife, the previous book by this author, had been an okay read, so I picked up this one because I needed some mindless fluff for once, I am a sucker for historical based novels, and this one has an unusual setting.

Nicole, the protagonist, is promising at the start: her father gives her a failing silk shop to make her prove herself, and when the war starts, she is torn between her French way of life and her mother's Vietnamite legacy. Sadly all these facts are practically just touched in passing. The whole book is about Nicole pining after her love interest(s).

The other characters are not dwelt upon much. Nicole has a sister, but most of their complicated relationships, even during wartime, is based on the love triangle with Mark, the American love interest... all Nicole's accomplishment and traumas are glossed over in favour of the romance (which is again, mostly about her pining, than any action), which becomes cringe-worthy at times, making her static and incapable of any growth. Giving birth to a child is not the same as maturing!

I cannot express much about the writing, having read a translation, but I found the style detached and clunky. show less

The Silk Merchant's Daughter by Dinah Jefferies is a historical fiction story set in Vietnam in the early 1950s right before the Vietnam War. At this time Vietnam was at war with the French as they struggled to regain control of their country. Dinah Jefferies creates a heartbreaking atmospheric tale of one family's trauma due to their split heritage of being half French and half Vietnamese. This one factor caused great confusion and struggle as to where their loyalties should lie. This book is a riveting family drama, a war-torn love story, and a tale of persistance, tenancity, and faith showing us that family love will and can prevail when you least expect it.

I really enjoyed this book! 4 stars.

Inhalt:
Vietnam in den 1950er Jahren:
Nicole, Tochter eines französischen Vaters und einer (toten) vietnamesischen Mutter, ist gerade 18 geworden. Sie bekommt einen kleinen Seidenladen, während ihre fünf Jahre ältere Schwester Sylvie komplett in das Familiengeschäft eingebunden wird.
Nicole verliebt sich, aber durch den Krieg der Vietminh gegen die französischen Besatzer weiß sie bald nicht mehr, wem sie trauen kann, und auf welcher Seite sie steht.

Meine Meinung:
Mit ‚Die Tochter des Seidenhändlers‘ ist Dinah Jefferies ein faszinierender Roman gelungen. Über die Zeit der französischen Besetzung Vietnams war mir vorher nichts bekannt, und so war ich dann sehr gespannt auf das Buch. Ich wurde nicht enttäuscht. Man erfährt show more einiges über die Kultur Vietnams, sowie darüber, wie es zu der Teilung des Landes überhaupt kommen konnte. Wie in so vielen anderen Ländern, beginnen die politischen Unruhen und Kämpfe damit, dass die Ureinwohner endlich die Fesseln der Besatzer abschütteln wollen. Natürlich stellt das eine Zerreißprobe dar, denn inzwischen gibt es viele Familien, die gemischt sind. So auch Nicole: über ihre vietnamesischen Wurzeln weiß sie praktisch nichts, lernt aber nach und nach, dass es neben der französischen auch eine vietnamesische Seite in ihr gibt, und sie muss sich entscheiden, wo sie hingehört.
Natürlich ist das nicht leicht, sie sieht die Fehler und Grausamkeiten beider Seiten.
Dass nichts nur schwarz oder nur weiß dargestellt wurde, betrachte ich als eine große Stärke des Romans. Entsprechend hin- und hergerissen ist Nicole auch. Sie fühlt sich zu keiner Seite 100% zugehörig, und wird von keiner Seite vollkommen akzeptiert.
Irgendwie muss sie ihren Weg in diesem zerrissenen Land finden, und das ist nicht leicht.

Die ersten beiden Drittel des Buches waren sehr spannend und anschaulich beschrieben, im letzten Drittel war die Luft jedoch raus.
Die Charaktere bleiben recht farblos, und Nicole bleibt trotz allem, was sie erlebt hat, sehr vertrauensselig und naiv. Das konnte mich nicht richtig überzeugen. Allerdings waren die Umstände sehr schwierig, so dass ich ihre Entscheidungen nicht gänzlich unverständlich fand. Die Absätze erscheinen zum Teil recht übergangslos, was abgehackt wird und den Lesefluss unterbricht.
Schön ist der kurze historische Abriss am Ende des Buches, welcher dabei hilft, die Geschehnisse zeitlich einzuordnen.
Insgesamt ein sehr lesenswerter historischer Roman, wenngleich ich mir gewünscht hätte, dass die Charaktere besser herausgearbeitet worden wären.

Vielen Dank an Bastei Lübbe für das Rezensionsexemplar und die Leserunde. show less

I'd have liked more about the silk.

This is interesting for anyone who lived through the American involvment in Vietnam. This book takes place during the1950s as the French lost control of Vietnam. The main character was brought up French, but looks more like her Vietnamese mother, so she is torn like the country.

A fascinating reading, it's a touching book, beautifully written.
Before my visit to Vietnam, I read the book.

Did not finish.