Vi Khi Nao

A mother and father in mourning for their children respond to the tragedy in very different ways.

This is a book where I'm grateful the English language has this construction available to me: "I am glad to have read it." Meaning, it was work, but worth it, and I'm glad it's over.

The challenge to write about grief is a worthy challenge, and the author here had something to say, and said it uniquely. While it did not propel me closer to understanding what such a grief would feel like, it did make for an interesting journey, for the ways the author tried to explore the topic. For me in the end the novel remained an exercise in verbal approximations, rather than in human feeling. But the choices were always interesting ones.

I recommend reading Fish in Exile in tandem with [b:Grief Is the Thing with Feathers|25334576|Grief is the Thing with Feathers|Max Porter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1491367213s/25334576.jpg|45070849]. The books have similar themes, and in some ways make similar choices, but the voices of each novel are very different from the other.… (más)