This was such an unusual book, and I am so glad I was given a chance to read it through NetGalley. I find myself haunted by it, even as I write this review. I was uncertain what to expect, and the description does not give away the depth of it.

This is the fictionalized story of Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot on American soil. It skips back and forth between years, from the mid 1800s through 2045, and tells the truly remarkable, sad stories of Afong's descendants. I was horrified at some of the things the women endured, from her exploitation and a variety of injustices both in China and here in America. Through it all, though, her daughters persevered through hardships and joys. The story focuses on epigenetics - the real study of changes in genes not involving changes in DNA - what makes us different as opposed to the same, even as we have genes that are passed down from generation to generation biologically.

It is a challenge to review this book and not give away crucial details which might cause the ending to be revealed before the reader is ready. I found myself wanting to read faster and faster to find out what happened next, yet I found myself flipping back to re-read past passages. In the afterward, the author explains a lot of where and how the story came about. I found this one of the most intriguing, fascinating books I have read in a very long time. I am so grateful for the chance to have read it.

Inspired by the first Chinese female immigrant to the United States, Jamie Ford has created a unique reading experience with his brilliantly written new novel, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy. Blending several genres, we follow the lives of seven generations of Foy women. As Dorothy struggles to overcome depression associated with inherited trauma, she attempts to break the cycle for her daughter by beginning an experimental epigenetic treatment. Can she break the cycle and at what cost?

Ford has woven quite a journey! The wonderful writing, 250 year time span, and blend of genres add dimension to this complex story of love, courage, and motherhood. I loved it and highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to read something a little different!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Unprecedented, Tragic, and Captivating

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is a heartbreaking peice of literary fiction by Jamie Ford. This story is told fron multiple perspectives across seven generations of woman descended from Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in America. Dorothy Moy, a poet and mother, undergoes an experimental treatment for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of trauma when she notices her daughter Annabel exhibiting behavior similar to her own. Dorothy intensely connects with her ancestors; Faye, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers, Zoe, a student in England at a famous school with no rules, Lai King, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic, and her mother Greta, a tech executive for a dating app. Dorothy continues with the treatment despite the possibility of losing her mind, to finally break the cycle of pain and find peace for her daughter.

At first, I found it difficult to keep track of the Moy woman because the chapters jumped back and forth through time. Gradually, I began to be consumed by their devastating stories. I was especially fond of Afong Moy because of her innocence and breadth of the injustice she endured. This felt like the first of its kind. I had an immense amount of empathy for each character. Every word was deeply felt. My favorite passage was;

"For most of her childhood Afong thought that she must have been a horrible man in her previous life to have been reborn a woman. She must have been cruel, to be reborn powerless . She must have been greedy to come back as property. She must have been shiftless, to have had her feet bound in this life. She must have been vehement to have been forced to marry an old man whom she had never met, never seen, unable to forget the young man she cared for, dreamt about."

It's undeniable that this book sparks a fascinating conversation that will resonate with many. It left a lasting impression on me. The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is a profound read that I would recommend to anyone.

Thank you Atria books, Netgalley, and Jamie Ford for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think the idea of inherited trauma and experience is an interesting one. Ford did a great job putting the many characters in historical perspective. I found their situations engrossing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. 4.5 stars for me.

I was equally impressed and confused by this novel. Jamie Ford is definitely a brilliant author who has the ability to draw creative conclusions from small slivers of information. This book spans seven generations of women and the theory of inherited trauma.

The initial character, Afong Moy, is based on a person who lived in the 1800's and was brought the United States and basically used as an attraction. The people who brought her here from China, used her bound feet, rumored to be only four inches long as the primary draw. Other than that, very little is known about what truly happened to her in real life and all records of her disappeared after 1850. Therefore, the author took the established knowledge and then expanded on it with his imagination and created a world where Afong Moy had a daughter. From there, each daughter continues to have a daughter and the book introduces you to each woman. They are all battling some sort of mental health issues as the trauma from previous generations appears to build upon itself. By the time we get to Dorothy in the year 2045, she has a daughter, Annabel. Dorothy struggles with depression and other mental illness and is seeing signs that her daughter is also having the same issues. In an attempt to help herself and ultimately, Annabel, Dorothy agrees to an experimental study known as epigenetics. They use medications and other means to help her revisit the traumas of her female ancestors and try to find a peace.

This was a creative idea for a story. Each woman had experienced her own tragedy and/or loss so the author bounces back and forth between times and characters so that the reader gets to know each one and her situation. It's a great deal to balance as an author and even more to handle as a reader. I almost needed a notebook to keep everyone and their specific situation straight. That's a bit more work than I anticipated when I set out to read this book. Initially I was frustrated by it but eventually I got in a groove with the storyline and found a flow. I have no doubt that many readers will not have that type of patience though.

The different storylines for each woman are beautiful and meaningful. Since the book spans seven generations which is over two-hundred years, the reader can see the evolution of how the treatment of women changes in that time. It's also very eye-opening to realize that a great deal hasn't changed "enough." Women are still stigmatized as being overly emotional based on their gender. I doubt that's something we'll ever get away from even if it's unfair. I do believe this was well-done by the author. In addition, each tragedy that the women experienced was very time period appropriate. It all flows and makes sense. One thing I would caution other readers about. I always look to connect with a character. It was impossible for me to do that in this book because it bounced around too much. You weren't with any one character long enough to bond. But don't let that deter you. Just understand that's the way it's going to be going into it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I really wanted to love this book because I think Mr. Ford has a true talent in writing. And I did love the characters, just not all of the storyline that takes place in the near future. Because this is a multigenerational book that begins with the first Chinese woman in America, it needed to start at a certain time in the 1800s. That means the final characters’ storylines had to be in the future. I just couldn’t fully wrap my arms around parts of the 2046 storyline. The rest of the book was wonderful, although it tore at your heartstrings multiple times. Essentially, it is a book of multiple short stories tied together genetically, showing how a family history can shape the family’s emotional future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me with an advanced copy to read and review.

I was excited to read Jamie Ford's newest, but found The Many Daughters of Afong Moy confusing. I plan to give it another try - Jenna's bookclub is usually spot on.

As a fan of Ford’s bestselling Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, I could not wait to read his latest! And Ford’s powerful poetic storytelling did not disappoint as he traces cascading generations of Chinese women who all descended from Afong May, the first Chinese woman brought to the United States in the early 1800’s. Afong, with her bound feet and singing skills, packs theaters with curious Americans. But her story devolves into tragedy as she not only cannot return home, but gets exploited by her handlers.

Subsequent generations of Moy women all experience similar trauma, both tied to their Chinese nationality. These include Faye Moy, China nurse who gets recruited to help Brits and Americans; Zoe Moy, in a free-wheeling England high school famous for being run based on everyone voting the rules; Lai King Moy, a young girl quarantined in Chinatown San Francisco during a plague outbreak; and Greta Moy, a brilliant start-up tech executive who creates a unique dating app for women to find their soulmate.

Lastly there’s Dorothy, a former poet laureate, who uses her depression and disassociations from reality to infuse her work. She lives in a future Seattle, ravaged by climate change and raging storms. When Dorothy’s five-year-old daughter starts showing similar behavior and both start remembering things that happened to prior generations of women in their family, Dorothy seeks an experimental treatment that has been designed to relieve inherited trauma.

And that brings us to the core philosophical debate woven throughout this novel: whether traumatic experiences can get passed along in one’s genes, much as personality traits can. This real field, called epigenetics, posits that memories and traumas can get passed along the genetic train. Ford buys in whole-heartedly, and his whole novel is an ode to epigenetics being real. I just did not quite buy in but found it both fascinating and something to ponder as I read along. I definitely got side-tracked googling articles about epigenetics!

What carried the book for me was the ultimate resilience of Afong May’s progeny, and immigration story they powerfully bring forward with each successive generation.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

This is a book that I enjoyed for many reasons, but especially since I was able to truly feel like I learned so much. Beyond the vocabulary that required a dictionary to be handy (something I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing for many years), I had no idea what epigenetics were prior to this book. TBH, I'm still not 100% sure, but I am intrigued enough to continue exploring this!

Loved reading about the different generations in this book. It is not a light read, but it is a read that is full of depth. I plan to read Jamie Ford's other book, The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet soon. It's been recommended to me many times. From what I know, this book is very different in the type of story it tells. Very much enjoyed this read.

This book challenged me like no book I have read in recent years. First, it challenged me to keep reading. It's not an easy read! Second, it challenged my brain. I was unfamiliar with the history of the Chinese people who came or were brought to the US. The scientific/psychological subjects also challenged me. This was not an easy book for me, nor will it be for many readers.

However, I did not want want to stop at any point. I hesitate to go into much of the story. It is something best discovered by the reader. It is a record of 7 related women, the first being a Chinese woman brought over to the US. Each generation is handicapped in some form (physically, mentally, or emotionally). All carry the previous generations' hopes and fears within them.

I can't say I "loved" this book. But I was mesmerized and fascinated by it. I have never read anything like it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and explore my feelings related to this book. I will never forget it!

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy was a unique, multi-perspective, multi-generational story. It's part-historical fiction, part-family drama with maybe a dash of sci-fi or magical realism thrown in. Not sure what that all means? Me either, but it's a unique feminist story that I think you should try out.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the electronic copy.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is a beautifully written book about the first Asian woman in the US and her female descendants. When she notices disturbing behavior that mimics her own in her daughter, Dorothy Moy, a poet in the near future, undergoes an experimental therapy called epigenetics to try to determine if her trauma has been passed though the generations of her ancestors. We visit the lives of many May women, starting with Afong May, the first Asian woman in the US who's used basically as a circus act. Through the ages, we witness hard lives full of misogyny and anti-Asian sentiment. We learn about these fascinating women their hardships and abandonment. We also learn about a mysterious stranger who reaches out to each of the women. Is it possible for Dorothy and her daughter Annabel to achieve the peace in life denied her ancestors?

I found the concept of this book very interesting. Those deja vu times when you feel you already knew a person you just met or had done something you swear you had done before......maybe it was from another era of time.
Dorothy Moy who lives in 2045 is having some serious mental health issues and she is afraid her daughter Annabel may be suffering her same ailment. She sees and feels things that happened in another place and time. She seeks help from a specialist who uses experimental treatment to connect Dorothy to her past ancestors. You then are sent to past generations of Moy women and learn of their lives and struggles.
I think Jamie Ford did an amazing job with the characters and the different eras. It was fascinating but at other times difficult to read. The first generation Moy who came to the US with her bound feet was heart wrenching. Most of Dorothy's family did struggle in life and they all seemed to suffer from mental health issues and also relationship problems.
This book did keep you wanting to find out what happens in the end. I would definitely recommend it.
Thanks to #netgalley, #atriabooks and @jamieford for an ARC of this book.

I feel like this book would have worked much, much better with more of an anchor. Dorothy should have served that purpose, but instead everyone was given equal weight. That was good for their stories, which were all good, but it made the book feel like it had no foundation or throughline. It wasn't connected short stories, it wasn't past stories weaving through a center point, it was a combination of the two that never really gave you anywhere to grab hold. That said, it's a very unique book and you've got to appreciate that. It's a big swing and even if it doesn't entirely work, it's still worth checking out.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
#fortyfifthbookic2022 #arc

CW: trauma, gaslighting, war injuries, bound feet, displacement, rape, homophobia, racism and more

This book explores epigenetics and generational trauma by telling the stories of several women who are all descendants of Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in America. This is a fictionalized version of the real Afong, who I hadn’t heard of before this book. We hear about her struggles to survive her employers/owners, Faye’s WW2 experiences as a nurse, Zoe’s 1920’s forbidden bond with a teacher, and more. All of the stories are bound up in memories of Dorothy, a descendant from 2045 struggling to make sense of her dissociative episodes so she can heal herself and make a better future for her own daughter.

I enjoyed the historical parts of the novel, as that’s what this author is known for. Given that the story has seven different perspectives, I was pleasantly surprised that all of them interested me. They all could have been the main character in their own novel. Dorothy is explored the most, and her research into her own family history and memories is how we come to learn about her ancestors and their stories.

This is not a light easy read; it’s very heavy and the subject matter weighs on you. There are no happy endings here.

This is the first novel I’ve read exploring epigenetics as a subject, but I’d previously heard of generational trauma and absolutely believe that it exists. I want to read more about it, as well as study more about the real Afong Moy.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the advance copy. (This book was available 8/2/22.)

So unique and interesting, this is worth a read for literary and historical fiction fans.

Ford explores the possibility of accessing our own ancestors memories through the many daughters of Afong Moy, who was the first Chinese woman brought to the US. To consider that daughter after daughter had inherited the trauma of each of these women, it is no wonder that today’s women are on the verge of a mental break.

I was personally distracted while reading the first half which may have affected my overall experience. The switching of characters among the ancestry line would have been easier if I had been more focused.

I felt most connected with Dorothy, but enjoyed dipping into the lives of her ancestors. It was certainly thought-provoking and drew parallels to what inherited trauma all marginalized groups of people might be living through today.

I don't know exactly how to describe the new book, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, by Jamie Ford. It goes beyond speculative fiction to include elements of historical fiction, and fantasy to show a world where climate change can bring on typhoons to Seattle, and medicine that can help one relive their family's traumas. With both a storm brewing in her city, and another storm churning chaos in her personal life, the main character, Dorothy is barely hanging on. When traditional therapy fails, she seeks a radical type of treatment where one can remember the traumatic events of their ancestors, in the hopes that by understanding the past, one can change to course of one's future. It's a very intriguing premise.

But in order to tell the story of Dorothy's family, we the reader must also experience the traumas of these characters. I found that I needed breaks from the book because the situations were really upsetting, which shows that the author really got me to connect with the characters. But it made for a very exhausting reading experience. Have a light, romantic comedy ready in the wings to get you out of the funk you will find yourself in.

What I Liked:

Theme:

The idea of generational trauma is still new to me, and probably to many others. But essentially, it's the theory that the trauma of one generation effects the next. The Disney movie Encanto is a good (if somewhat simplified) example of this. The grandmother has a terrible trauma of fleeing with her family to escape the violence in her hometown, only to see her husband murdered in front of her. This effects how she raises her children, who are under intense pressure to be perfect.

Dorothy is affected by the trauma and subsequent depression of her mother. This manifests in Dorothy, herself, having depression and suicidal thoughts. She has a precious young daughter, and knows that if she doesn't get herself together, this will affect her little girl, later on.

Characters:

Dorothy may be having a terrible time managing her life, but she is a fierce mother who will do anything for her daughter. She has enough self-awareness to understand that her actions are affecting her child, and so embarks on a journey to understand her family, and heal herself. I found Dorothy to be really strong, even while having a messy life. And I was rooting for her the whole time.

Her ancestors also had determined spirits. But each of them had a mixture of mistakes, social conventions, and historical events that oppressed them. Afong Moy is obligated to become a "Ghost Bride" when her arranged marriage is disrupted by the death of her fiancé. Her granddaughter has to escape San Francisco to escape a pandemic. Another ascestor becomes pregnant as a teen and must give up her baby. All of them have a tragic story and demise.

What I Didn't Like:

Non-Stop Trauma:

There was so much trauma in each of the storylines, it made the book difficult to read. Of course, generational trauma is the theme of the book. But no one in her family catches a break. I wish the author would have tempered the terrible events with showing some of the characters triumphs. Several of the characters have to leave one country and start over again in another. It takes a lot of courage and fortitude to start over in a foreign land. I wish the author would have brought this up more often in their story. Otherwise, it really seems like there were generations of this family who never had a moment of happiness.

Story Line:

There are more storylines than I could keep up with. All of them were compelling, but I found myself (several times) being taken out of the story to try and figure out which ancestor's story this was. I hope that in the finished book there is a timeline or family tree that one can reference in order to keep all the stories straight.

Former poet laureate Dorothy Moy has dissociative episodes and depression that she channeled into her art, but her five-year-old is now beginning to act the same way. Seeking radical help, Dorothy is now reexperiencing genetic memories from the women she is descended from. Contained within those memories is a presence seeking her out, moving through the centuries. She is determined to break the cycle of abandonment, no matter the cost.

The idea of exploring genetic memories isn't new, and using a machine to access such memories is the backbone of the Assassin's Creed movie and games. (stick with the games, those are better) Jamie Ford's ancestor had emigrated to San Francisco in the late 1800s, changing his last name to the westernized Ford to ease the transition. I have no doubt that some of his own family's stories may have inspired pieces of this novel. He has an amazing voice for all of his characters, and I never once questioned the veracity of the women or their stories. If anything, I get so angry on their behalf when they're manipulated ir taken advantage of in some way. They simply feel too real, like they could be anyone I could meet up with and talk to in real life.

The chapters are labeled with the name and year of each woman we're with, from Afong in 1836 to Dorothy and Annabel in 2045. The various time periods aren't kind to women, and even in the modern eras, they're still pulled in different directions and seen as less than. It's internalized as well as external, and the outside world exerting its demands puts extra strain on each generation. With generational trauma and epigenetic changes at the center of Dorothy's experimental treatment, it's easy to see where her depression may have stemmed from. Women can hurt each other as well as men can, and the lack of support that the Moy women get leaves them vulnerable.

Individually the women feel alone, but it isn't until the end that Dorothy sees how the lineage falls into place and how stepping up and asserting themselves could have made a difference in each life. Each Moy woman had a turning point moment, and pivoting on that moment can change the course of their history. We get a chance to see this and learn from each woman and take those lessons forward. Epigenetics include positives as well as negatives, and those positive choices can move through the generations as well as trauma. It's a powerful message, one that we can try to focus on ourselves. I enjoyed the detail in each generation's age, and the attention to each path in life.

I must admit I was concerned when I first picked up this book -- the number of women and the ability to keep their time in history correct worried me. Faye, Dorothy, Afong, Greta, Zoe, Lai, and Annabel are a large cast to remember but don’t worry, that’s the easy part.

Not told linearly, yet easy to keep all the players straight, Jaime Ford opened a new world -- Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance/inherited trauma/generational trauma. Not knowing these strange new words, I had to rabbit trail my way through Google to get a better understanding. Still, a bit confused if the premise was built on literal science or pseudo-science, yet I eventually realized it didn’t matter.

A deep, painful, and satisfying narrative as each woman’s story unfolds. As their lives are laid raw, each woman becomes your favorite, the one you root for most. They each meld together and hold a place in your heart. A heart that will be broken and repaired time and time again.

Historical fiction, fiction-fiction, non-fiction, women’s fiction, speculative fiction, and dystopian fiction all at the same time. And yet, all originating from a true story.

As a side note, don’t skip the acknowledgments. I found them to be just as fascinating as the book itself.