For fans of Kevin Kwan, this sharp and tender debut follows a family of estranged Vietnamese women – cursed to never know love or happiness – as they reunite when a psychic makes a startling prediction.
Everyone in Orange County’s Little Saigon knew that the Duong sisters were cursed. Their ancestor Oanh dared to leave her marriage for true love – and was cursed for it: her descendants are doomed never to find love or happiness, and to give birth only to daughters, never sons.
Oanh’s current descendant Mai Nguyen knows this curse well. She’s divorced, and after an explosive disagreement a decade ago, she’s estranged from her younger sisters, Minh Pham (the middle and the mediator) and Khuyen Lam (the youngest who swears she just runs humble coffee shops and nail salons … not Little Saigon’s underground). Mai’s three adult daughters, Priscilla, Thuy and Thao, are successful in their careers, but the same can’t be said for their love life.
Desperate for guidance, she consults Auntie Hua, her trusted psychic, who delivers an unexpected prediction: this year, her family will witness a marriage, a funeral and the birth of a son. This prophecy will reunite estranged mothers, daughters, aunts and cousins – for better or for worse.
Filled with joy and humour, The Fortunes of Jaded Women is about mourning, meddling, celebrating and healing together as a family.
‘Written with crackling humour and a shrewd, intimate understanding of Vietnamese American family life … A funny, sharp, and insightful look at family bonds and the effects of tradition on modern life.’ Kirkus Reviews
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'Clever, hilarious, and deliciously dramatic. In this knockout debut, Huynh weaves a tangled, multigenerational story between fierce, stubborn Vietnamese mothers and their estranged daughters that is equally wild and heartfelt. It beautifully captures how far mothers would go to create a better life for their daughters and reconnect with them when their efforts go awry. Unlike their fake designer purses, this book is the real deal.'
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Julie Tieu, author of The Donut Trap