Welcome to Litsy!

This debut memoir had so many things that would make great book club discussions. The refugee and immigrant angles were very interesting. Major themes involved cultural differences in processing grief and healing. The love of food played a big part, as well as body shaming and self identity.

I struggled to finish, though. It was repetitive and a bit whiny.

Thanks to Celadon Books & NetGalley for the advance in exchange for an honest opinion.

Susan Lieu is the daughter of a fiercely hardworking Vietnamese woman who moved her large family to America and opened her own businesses to support them. Sadly, she died after plastic surgery. This leaves her family adrift, as she was the central figure in their lives, financially and emotionally. The memoir focuses mainly on Lieu‘s need to revisit the past and find closure for her mother‘s death, without familial support.

It started out SO strong and then fizzled out for me….
Hearing about Susan Lieu and her childhood was a rare glimpse into the life of first generation refugees from Vietnam. Her journey to understanding herself and her relationship her mother are fascinating.
However. I DNF this book. It got too repetitive for me as she continued to search for closure over and over and over. So idk how it ended and I‘m not sad about it!

I thought I was going to read a book that was more about the search for justice, but there is so much more to this story than that. Lieu examines her thoughts, concepts and definitions of perfection, the American Dream, and justice, and she does all of this with total honesty. I also enjoyed the glimpses of Vietnamese culture throughout, as well as seeing the ways in which different groups respond to and process grief.

Absolutely loved this memoir! Lieu's mother died at the age of 38 after a botched plastic surgery operation; she writes about how this event impacted the rest of her life. So moving! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Full review at: https://erinkonrad.com/2024/04/17/the-manicurists-daughter-book-review/

This was very touching. The audiobook narration by the author made it even more special.

Audiobook of the Day…

Overall, The Manicurist's Daughter is a memoir that I would recommend to any reader interested in Asian American memoirs or nonfiction books about the beauty industry. One highlight of this book is how open the author is to teling us what happened to her family. Instead of burying it away, she is telling us family secrets so that no woman will have to go through what the author went through.

If this doesn‘t make a lot of best-memoirs-of-the-year lists, I don‘t know what will.

Susan‘s mom escaped Vietnam with her older children and made her way to the US. Susan, the first kid born in the US, grows up around her mom‘s nail salons until her mom dies in a tragic plastic surgery accident. Her family is torn apart. This sends Susan on a lifelong quest to understand her mom, why she had the surgery, and what happened during it.

I really enjoyed this memoir! Susan—& her family— have a journey & story that I deeply appreciated getting this window inside. At the heart of it lies the trauma of losing their Má when she was only 38. But Susan shares her grief & path to healing (along with some mouthwatering descriptions of the meals that brought her family together). It‘s well-written—raw at times with questions & realizations that are universal. A definite discussion starter!

This was a really interesting memoir, at the most basic level about Susan's desire to uncover what happened to her mother, who died from complications from plastic surgery when Susan was 11. As with any good memoir, there was so much more to it than that though! This brings up a lot to think about regarding health care, immigration, families, and self-discovery.