Joukhadar creates beautiful and haunting scenes throughout this tale of three generations of Syrian-Americans. Blending immigration, ornithology and sexual identity is an unusual mix, and it mostly worked. The overall storytelling was where the book lost me.
I wanted to like this book more, but it fell short for me. There is a lot going on and the pace did not carry me along, keeping me engaged. The build-up to the concluding events dragged too much for me, without the enjoyment of heightening anticipation. The author creates a world for the stories main characters across the generations, and keeps within that rather narrow world. It seems quite narrow even for an immigrant community story, and I was not sure that this would be that satisfying even for Syrian-Americans eager to read stories related to the Syrian experience in New York and the upper Midwest. Perhaps the story of accepting one's own sexual identity—and supporting others in their own quest- will be the story that appeals to more readers.

I dd not expect to like this book as much as I did, and worried that it might be too manipulative and/or too scientific. The author actually found a balance that worked and keep everything quite readable. Someone who is rather extraordinary in several ways has written a memoir that made me empathize with her struggles and admire her professional perseverance in a scientific field I knew very little about that she describes poetically. (I still know very little about astrophysics, but a bit more!) Although the author was quite candid about many experiences, which is expected in a memoir, this is not one of those dramatic reveal-all confessionals. It is well written book about an unusual person's story.

I enjoyed this book ,and it would have been a great read even if I did not need a good distraction during a long period of self-quarantining! Believable characters and many plot twists in wild scenarios—but somehow, not entirely preposterous. Good writing to create a sense of place and just enough history to provide good context the present dramas in the story. This story is about love, friendship, revenge, justice, fear, power—all the makings of a great read. Eve Quimby is a likeable protagonist, and I was rooting for her from the start.

I would definitely recommend this to people who like a good mystery, and perhaps need a good beach read. I had the luxury of being able to stay up late reading to complete is rather quickly, which I did. The 5-star review is in reference to books of this genre.

It seems odd to note that a book about such painful events is "easy to read," but this poet, essayist and novelist tells her characters' story with clarity and beautiful language. Nguyen Phan Qu Mai protects the reader from the pain of her story more than some authors do when telling the story of civil war and family losses, as she focuses more on human resilience and kindness in the face of brutality.

I found one passage in the middle of the book that seemed to capture the intent of this novel as it blended the stories of a family and a country. Dieu Lan is telling her granddaughter, Huong, more family history: "We're forbidden to talk about the events that relate to past mistakes or the wrongdoing of those in power, for they give themselves the right to rewrite history. But you're old enough to know that history will write itself in people's memories, and as long as those memories live on, we can have faith that we can do better."

It was refreshing to read about the Vietnam war in a story where the Americans were a relatively minor backdrop to personal stories of a family torn apart by the civil war in Vietnam. The story covers a relatively long time span, providing a rich historical context. Read if you are interested in Vietnam from a Vietnamese writer's perspective.

I would have been happy if this was just a good mystery to read between some heavier documentaries. This was much better and fun to read. The author makes some old themes fresher again: small towns and their secrets, adults who disappoint the children in their care, and ghosts giving us warnings. The suspense got me from the start and pulled me into the small world of Fell, NY, past and present. I appreciated the uncluttered writing style that did not give away clues too easily or create red herrings.

I would recommend this to those who like mysteries, and readers young and old. My book groups would probably find this too "light" for good discussion, but my beach buddies will enjoy it next summer. I am already looking for Simone St James' earlier works.