Please Note: I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.
Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living.
As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help.
Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America.
As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.
Review:
I don't know exactly how to describe the new book, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, by Jamie Ford. It goes beyond speculative fiction to include elements of historical fiction, and fantasy to show a world where climate change can bring on typhoons to Seattle, and medicine that can help one relive their family's traumas. With both a storm brewing in her city, and another storm churning chaos in her personal life, the main character, Dorothy is barely hanging on. When traditional therapy fails, she seeks a radical type of treatment where one can remember the traumatic events of their ancestors, in the hopes that by understanding the past, one can change to course of one's future. It's a very intriguing premise.
But in order to tell the story of Dorothy's family, we the reader must also experience the traumas of these characters. I found that I needed breaks from the book because the situations were really upsetting, which shows that the author really got me to connect with the characters. But it made for a very exhausting reading experience. Have a light, romantic comedy ready in the wings to get you out of the funk you will find yourself in.
What I Liked:
Theme:
The idea of generational trauma is still new to me, and probably to many others. But essentially, it's the theory that the trauma of one generation effects the next. The Disney movie Encanto is a good (if somewhat simplified) example of this. The grandmother has a terrible trauma of fleeing with her family to escape the violence in her hometown, only to see her husband murdered in front of her. This effects how she raises her children, who are under intense pressure to be perfect.
Dorothy is affected by the trauma and subsequent depression of her mother. This manifests in Dorothy, herself, having depression and suicidal thoughts. She has a precious young daughter, and knows that if she doesn't get herself together, this will affect her little girl, later on.
Characters:
Dorothy may be having a terrible time managing her life, but she is a fierce mother who will do anything for her daughter. She has enough self-awareness to understand that her actions are affecting her child, and so embarks on a journey to understand her family, and heal herself. I found Dorothy to be really strong, even while having a messy life. And I was rooting for her the whole time.
Her ancestors also had determined spirits. But each of them had a mixture of mistakes, social conventions, and historical events that oppressed them. Afong Moy is obligated to become a "Ghost Bride" when her arranged marriage is disrupted by the death of her fiancé. Her granddaughter has to escape San Francisco to escape a pandemic. Another ascestor becomes pregnant as a teen and must give up her baby. All of them have a tragic story and demise.
What I Didn't Like:
Non-Stop Trauma:
There was so much trauma in each of the storylines, it made the book difficult to read. Of course, generational trauma is the theme of the book. But no one in her family catches a break. I wish the author would have tempered the terrible events with showing some of the characters triumphs. Several of the characters have to leave one country and start over again in another. It takes a lot of courage and fortitude to start over in a foreign land. I wish the author would have brought this up more often in their story. Otherwise, it really seems like there were generations of this family who never had a moment of happiness.
Story Line:
There are more storylines than I could keep up with. All of them were compelling, but I found myself (several times) being taken out of the story to try and figure out which ancestor's story this was. I hope that in the finished book there is a timeline or family tree that one can reference in order to keep all the stories straight.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Release Date: August 2nd, 2022
Author: Jamie Ford
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Source: NetGalley
Format: E-Book
Recommendation: While this was a well-written, and interesting book, it is also full of trauma. It took me a long time to read this book because I needed to walk away from it several times. If you're up to it, I think it is a solid, powerful book.
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