"'The women in this house are the same,' she said. 'When we love, we love with all of ourselves.'"
Mai is navigating life in 90s London as a first generation British-Vietnamese teenager, caught between two cultures. Her mother, Trinh, is constantly reminding her to work hard and be grateful.
But Trinh was young once too, living a vibrant and complicated life in Vietnam until forced to flee her war-torn home. Now her focus is the son she thought she'd lost, and the daughter she desperately wants to protect. She tries to forget the memories buried in the rubble of the life she left behind.
Moving into young adulthood, Mai begins to follow her calling as a photographer, and falls in knotty but passionate love despite her mother's warnings about boys.
When secrets from the past finally resurface, the family's bonds are truly shaken. But if Trinh and Mai can overcome their differences and stand together, then maybe there could be hope for a better, brighter future...
An epic, heartwarming novel that explores love, the meaning of freedom and the importance of family, for fans of PACHINKO and ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS.