The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh, is hilarious and oddly touching. It’s the best debut novel of 2022, and it isn’t as if there was no competition. My thanks go to Atria Books and Net Galley for the review copy; this book is for sale now.

Mrs. Mai Nguyen was born in Vietnam, but has lived most of her life as a Californian. When we meet her, however, she has flown to Kauai, the home of a renowned Vietnamese psychic. The psychic tells her that the year ahead will be a pivotal one, the one in which she must repair her relationships with her sisters and her daughters. There will be one wedding; one funeral; and one pregnancy.

Well, now.

Nobody likes to be estranged from a family member, and yet it happens. But all of them? Both sisters, and her daughters, too? (No brothers, and no sons, either.) But surely, it isn’t her fault; after all, there’s the curse.

Chapter four is when everything kicks up a gear, and I have seldom laughed so hard. Mrs. Minh Pham is the first to arrive, and she has my attention from the get-go when she slips the waitstaff some money and explains there could potentially be a “small, tiny, little shouting match, with a propensity for small, tiny, little objects to be thrown through the air.” Mrs. Pham is the middle daughter, and is accustomed to being the mediator in any dispute. She takes all the precautions she feels are wise; she parks near the door for a fast getaway if necessary. She removes the sharp utensils as well as the chopsticks from the table, and requests paper plates and plastic cutlery. “Mai had a reputation for throwing things.”

As the women arrive at the dim sum restaurant, they flash their fake Louis Vuitton handbags and immediately set about trying to one-up one another with regard to social status and affluence, and especially—oh yes, especially—that of their respective daughters. Within three minutes, a donnybrook ensues, and the other diners, who are also Vietnamese and well acquainted with the curse of the Duong sisters, begin placing wagers on the winner. The sixty-something sisters commence throwing things at each other and are gently escorted out of the restaurant. They head for a bakery, and they get kicked out of there, too. Finally, the three of them end up on a park bench, their hair and clothing in dishabille, and yet none of them makes any move to leap up and go home.

These are not spoilers; this all takes place within the first 17 percent.

The chapters change points of view, moving between the sisters, their elderly mother, and their daughters, all in the third person omniscient. The fascinating thing is, these crazy behaviors, and the ways that they mold and shape their daughters and their relationships, all fit perfectly.

Although the setting changes, from Orange County, California to Hawaii to Vietnam to Seattle and beyond, this story is character based, and that’s my favorite type of novel. The skeezy men they date—mostly white boyfriends with Asian fetishes—make it even funnier.

The ending is perfect.

This is one of those rare galleys that I may actually read a second time for pleasure. One thing I know for sure is that Huynh is on my radar now. I can’t wait to see what her next book looks like!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I just couldn't get into this book. I thought the concept was interesting, but I didn't care for the main characters. I like books that aren't corny or sappy. This book was all that and more. I really wanted to like this more. The cover is gorgeous so that's a plus.

The Fortunes of Jaded Women follows the Doung sisters and their daughters and extended family. The women of the family have been cursed to only have daughters. From reading the book I learned that this means that none of the women will find their resting place after death since only sons can perform that task. There are many characters to keep track of, but there is a handy chart in the front for reference. It did get confusing remembering how they were all related.
While this story revolves around a Vietnamese family, you do not need to understand the culture to relate to the characters. If you are from a family, you can relate to at least one character in this novel. In each chapter you learn a little more about each woman, and you realize that they are each doing everything they can to avoid the mistakes of the previous generations and each other. In the end though, none of them can get out of their own way, and the mistakes keep happening over and over again.
Each character is acting out of love and duty, but they can not seem to see eye to eye or understand each other no matter how they try. The book is heartwarming, and funny, and the characters are real people struggling to find happiness while honoring their family. Carolyn Huynh has a strong voice and I enjoyed reading a new Asian American author.

The Duong sisters were part of a long line of Vietnamese women. They were women who gave birth to baby girls, because they were cursed to never have a son.

These women are the very definition of character. While the family tree may take a little while to untangle, the daughters, sisters, and cousins are soon recognizable. The mothers are determined not to make the same mistakes their mothers made, but trying to follow tradition and blaze a new path at the same time obviously proves challenging.

This story was a fun read, with all the characters having their positive personality traits and shortcomings. No one was really evil or unkind to anyone else, but they were believable women with their own strengths and weaknesses. Surely most readers can find aspects of these women familiar to themselves or people they know in real life.

The events foretold by Mai’s psychic were fun to read about and watch unfold. This book was an enjoyable read and 3 out of 5 stars. It could easily be recommended to those who enjoy family dramas, especially with the influence of Vietnamese family culture.

This book is filled with female characters, in particular, a family of Vietnamese women. After a curse was put on their ancestor, each generation would give birth only to girls. Three sisters are estranged from their mother and their daughters. Whenever they get together, there is fighting, yelling and general chaos. After Mai, the older sister, visits a psychic who predicts a wedding, a death and a birth which will set everything straight, Mai proceeds to attempt a reunion with her sisters. Each sister then tries to reconcile with their daughters, six cousins who will find themselves intertwined in various ways. There is humor, sadness, a bit of meanness, but I enjoyed getting to know this messy, complicated family. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC of The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh in exchange for an honest review.

CW: toxic relationships, grief, death of parent, infidelity, racism, body shaming, disordered eating, drug use, mental illness, misogyny, pregnancy, cultural appropriation, racial slurs, see full list on StoryGraph.

The Duong sisters are cursed. Just like their mother was cursed, just like their grandmother was cursed, just like their great grandmother was cursed. What's the curse? They are unable to have sons, who in traditional Vietnamese society, are the ones who are able to invite spirits back to their ancestral home after they have passed on. They will be without a home in the afterlife. Following the Duong sisters and their daughters, The Fortunes of Jaded Women explores what it looks like to rekindle relationships within the family, and the true meaning of inheritance.

Never has a multigenerational drama engaged me so completely! I loved all of these characters, despite and because of all of their flaws. Huynh beautifully balances humor with the nitty gritty of family politics. I wanted to stay in this world for a long time. This story is both cozy and hard hitting, bringing the reader to question what is truly important in family relationships, and what drives togetherness. This is for fans of Kevin Kwan and Jesse Q. Sutanto's writing. I had a blast!

There were too many characters to make it enjoyable. The story was ok but I just couldn't keep track. Plus some of the characters had bad character traits and I didn't like how they were portrayed.

This story is messy and complex and mostly a joy to read. At times things felt overly complicated or not realistic but overall it was a strong story with characters I grew to love. Also appreciated the discussion of racism and the way cultures change over generations as it made the characters’ experiences richer and more relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is such a wonderful reminder of why I love diverse literary fiction. The story featured a widespread cast of Vietnamese-American women, each of which were unique and distinct in their character and beliefs. I loved bouncing between everyone's stories, and the pacing ensured that I never wanted to put the book down. I cannot begin to describe how many different emotions I felt over the course of the story, and appreciate the undercurrent of hope. As an American daughter of Asian immigrants and an eldest sister myself, I was able to pick out so many moments that related to my own family's dynamic. I wish I could thank the author for providing me with such a beautiful (and almost cathartic at times) reading experience.

I can't think of much else to say besides GO READ THIS BOOK. It is beautiful and breathtaking in all the most wonderful ways that you can expect. You will not be disappointed by this lovely story.

Sometimes a reputation can precede you.

Take for example, the Duong sisters. Anyone who is anyone knows the Vietnamese family has been cursed for years. After all, the proof is right there. Every birth, every generation, always a girl- never a boy.

The story focuses on two main generations of women. First there’s sisters Mai, Minh, and Khuyen. Estranged in their relationships, when they do manage to gather, all they do is bicker and attempt a sad round of one upsmanship. There’s a fourth half sister as well, who known of them like (and what just might be the only thing these women can agree upon). Of course the irony is the sisters are more alike then they are different, each one touting their own offspring’s accomplishments while not so secretly hoping they gave birth to the daughter who will ultimately break the curse.

The grown children of the sisters is also a focal point of the story. We get to know each woman’s daughters a bit, but the main focus is on Mai’s daughters: Priscilla, Thuy, and Thao. Cliché in their determination to not turn into their overbearing mothers, the independent next wave has a deeper desire to have it all, but still hopes this includes having a family of their own to meddle in, I mean, mother. 😉

Things come to a head when one of the elder sisters turns to a psychic for insight. There, the woman serves up an ominous prediction. In the upcoming year the family will live through a marriage, a funeral and a birth. But not just any birth. The birth of a celebrated first son. But who will be the chosen one for each milestone? Are the predictions even to be believed to begin with?

The Fortunes of Jaded Women is a captivating story, infused with relatable humor. It covers nuanced differences across differing generations, but manages to highlight what all the women have in common more than anything. After all, they don’t say the phrase, like mother, like daughter for nothing.

I don't know how to describe this book other than to tell you - it is a must-read! A beautifully written family story with layers upon layers happening.

This book had all the elements to attract me. I love stories of Asian women over multiple generations. This book did not disappoint. I really enjoyed all the characters and their stories. At times I felt some of the stories were a little rushed, and I wanted to know more, but in all the story was engaging and a resolution was reached. I enjoyed the family myth that the story was based around and how that impacted each generation's outlook on the world. I found myself not only looking up the pronunciation of words but also the places that were referenced. I felt I learned some things about Vietnamese culture and especially some of the gender norms as well. I also found the overarching theme of migration interesting as well.

Fortunes of Jaded Women is multi-generational story about family. Deeply rooted in immigrant experiences, it's a story about how the world treats daughters and mothers. How there are only fights family can get into. With siblings and generations all stacked on top of each other, there are memories and ghosts of the past. Can they put it to rest at last? From the beginning I was already obsessed with their drama - and love. If you love complicated mother daughter relationships you have to read Fortunes of Jaded Women.

It's about how we don't understand our parents until we are adult or until we become parents ourselves. About families who have nothing to pass down because they are forced to start over. Families who have to teach survival with tight lipped sacrifices and sharp words. Who only have disapproval in a world that works against them. Fortunes of Jaded Women also gets a tinge of the supernatural with fortunes, prophecies, and destiny.

This was a solid 4 star read for me. I love a generational saga and the tale Carolyn Huynh is able to weave amongst may layers of family is remarkable. My only problem was my ability to keep characters straight at points but that maybe have been more of a me thing. I loved the overarching themes of family, fate, and sisterhood.

This is a very well written, compelling story. The character development was strong and the storytelling very readable. An overall enjoyable experience.

Troi oi.

This new influx of books that aren't quite bilingual, but almost, are giving me life. For the longest time, I was uncomfortable being Vietnamese American. I grew up in Houston, one of the three largest enclaves for Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam. I didn't want to bring Vietnamese food to school. I was proud to have never visited Vietnam. Suffice to say, I am quite ashamed to dwell on that person now.

Well within the third decade of my life, as a proud(er) Vietnamese American woman living in Southern California, near enough to Little Saigon, this book brought such joy to my life. I laughed. (More like cackled.) I cried. I felt each and every thing these women felt.

In Vietnamese culture, and probably most East and Southeast Asian cultures, giving birth to sons is prized over giving birth to daughters. And yet in immigrant families, it is the daughters who later take care of you as you age.

Every time one of the aunties did something so typical, I cringed, but understood. Every time one of the first generation cousins did anything, I felt as if I had done something similar. The men they're into? Trash. There's the white guy with yellow fever. There's the Vietnamese fuckboi. There's the Korean fuckboi.

Maybe you won't enjoy this as much as me if you didn't grow up in the culture. But if you grew up with a Vietnamese American friend and spent any time at all at their houses growing up, surely something will resonate.

I will leave this review as I started it. Troi oi, indeed.

And now I'm craving my mom's food.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

While the writing was well done, I didn't enjoy reading this book because of the many toxic relationships that were portrayed in this book, regardless of whether or not they were resolved to a better type of relationship by book's end. I also found myself confused by too many main characters, although the author did mark each chapter as to which characters were being focused on.

The book did give interesting insight into various Asian cultures (primarily Vietnamese), particularly in mother/daughter relationships, in both current times and going back a few decades.

This is a humorous and emotional saga of a Vietnamese family in America. Though not a perfect book for me, I expect this book will resonate quite a bit with those who are mothers and who are Vietnamese-American. Generations ago, the family is cursed because a woman runs off with a man who isn't her husband. The curse is that this family will bear only daughters, not sons. Only a son can welcome a dead mother's spirit into their home, so a woman who bears only daughters will have no place to rest in the afterlife.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book, but it's challenging to review because it's steeped in Vietnamese-American culture and language. I enjoyed those elements, only that I don't feel I could review this book as well as someone who is Vietnamese-American themselves. There were aspects of this story that were harder for me to relate to, but others I certainly could, such as estranged family members, to competition among siblings, to the difficulty of figuring out who you are and what you want in life.

I could definitely relate to this book as a daughter. And while not a mother myself, I appreciated how hard the mothers in this book tried to give their daughters the best lives possible -- while at the same time making them absolutely miserable. I could appreciate all the struggles these women faced in terms of adapting to the U.S. and building family and economic stability, and the one place they have some control is raising their daughters. Each mother in this book is so sure she knows what's best, and it's hard seeing their daughters make all the mistakes they did Yet they also struggle to understand their daughters' differences, like not wanting a high-powered career, flashy jewelry, or a wealthy husband. Their outlet for their frustration is to compete with their sisters for who has the most successful offspring.

I appreciated Huynh's insights into how Asian women are treated in America -- the ways that Asian women are both fetishized and diminished by white men was truly appalling. Huynh's depiction of Mark is particularly memorable. The guy only dates Asian women (younger and younger), he insists on going to the most "authentic" Asian restaurants, and then he spends all his time telling the servers about his life-changing experiences living in the East. It's funny, but it's not.

One of the reasons I didn't love this book was the large number of characters and narrators - the perspectives switched so quickly I never felt I got to know any one character, which is a problem for me. I particularly wanted to know more about the sister in Saigon; her story disappointed me. Also, keeping track of the family members and how each were related was distracting, particularly given similar names like Thy and Tho, and Mai and Minh.

It's written in a really humorous, over-the-top way, which made me think of Dial A for Aunties a bit. The women in this book don't just yell, they have outright food fights and are evicted from restaurants. Readers who like Alice Hoffman will also appreciate the fantastic elements of the book, with its psychic predictions and magical potions. But that's where focusing on fewer characters would have given this book more depth. I enjoyed both the humor and the magical realism but it didn't feel "real" to me.

I enjoyed one recurring theme of this book, which is how many cultures value sons above daughters. I come from a daughters-only family myself, and it's amazing to me how often, even today, it gets commented on, like there's something wrong with that. The other theme is that even in the most estranged families, there's a way to come back together and support each other. Those important family relationships can be rebuilt - not easily, and not without some damage, but they can be restored.

Note: I received an advanced reading copy from NetGalley and publisher Atria Books. This book published September 6, 2022.