Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for my eArc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

"Banyan Moon" by Thao Thai is a wonderful little punch of a book. We follow Ann, Huong, and Minh in this novel and although Minh dies very early on in the book, she is ever present as her daughter, Huong, and granddaughter, Ann, deal with her death and Ann's unplanned pregnancy. I very rarely see any literature from other SEA writers, so to see this pop up on NetGalley, I knew that I needed to apply for a copy. Thai did not disappoint. As somone who has never and likely will never have a close relationship with my mother, I related to Ann and her estrangement from Huong. Although the story is very much character driven, which can easily be boring in a less adept writer's hands, the story is beautifully written and crafted. Thai does a great job at not letting the narrative get too emotional and saccharine which I really appreciated. Thai gives space to Ann and Huong with their grief about Minh's death.

That said, there are some issues; Thai reveals big pieces of information pretty late in the story and so we don't really get a lot of time to actually sit with the information and neither does the novel. There are also some bits of Minh's narration that bothered me just because Thai wrote her so perfectly; the almost condescending and patronizing way that her narration was written in reminded me a lot of my grandma and I say that with love. I think for other people, it may present a challenge. I also wish we got a full story about how the Banyan House actually came into the family. We get a lot of tidbits that felt like we'd get the full story later in the story but we never did and man, it is killing me that we never did...although from the tidbits, you can kind of infer the origin.

All in all, I loved this book. It is so obvious that Thai is a gifted writer and one that I will be paying attention to. As a fellow SEA, it was really inspiring and encouraging to see a book by a SEA be so well-received by non-AAPI readers.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher of Harper Collins, and the author Thao Thai for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Starting a debut novel can be a challenge, especially a family saga, and while typical in Asian American literature, the challenge of the family saga is its near epicness of it. In other words, there has to be a reason there's a family saga. The family members and the family have to be compelling enough, and it's a lot to tackle as a debut author. Writing a novel is a difficult task, and writing a family saga is another, but I didn't see the family as compelling least of all, Ann. I wish I could be rooting for Ann as a character, but she's rather bland compared to the rest of her family members. I hope to see what Thai writes next.

Moving family saga based on 3 generations of women experiencing life's difficulties. Her grandmother's funeral brings Ann home for the first time in years. Grieving, she starts the slow process of forgiveness, reconnecting with lost friends and discovering her next chapter. Wonderful story for all patrons and a solid book club choice.

Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of Banyan Moon. It was a story of three generations of strong women and their journeys toward motherhood. The men seemed incidental to the story. The women each wrestled with their relationships to men and to their children. The house was almost its own character but I was left wanting more of its story. Good read for those looking for a women's story. #BanyanMoon #NetGalley

Banyan Moon is a sweeping epic family drama that spans three generations. Grandmother, mother, and daughter (who is in the process of becoming a mother herself) tell their stories through three different POVs. One of them is a ghost. Although the story stretches back to the grandmother's childhood in Vietnam, the true setting of this book is a decrepit, sprawling mansion in Florida next to a Banyan tree. Full of someone else's keepsakes and the women's own secrets, the house is a character itself, but whether a benevolent embrace or an eerie prison is up to how the women choose to live. This story breathes with memories, trauma and a dreamlike sense of fairy tale. Although broken promises and domestic violence play a role, the story centers around these three women and their relationships, mostly with each other. It is about mothers- the mothers we have, the mothers we wish we had, and the mothers we hope to be. It is a tale of becoming-who we become to each other but more importantly who we become to ourselves. Banyan Moon is full of rich, poignant phrases that I had to stop and reread more than once. Thao Thai is a masterful writer with a grasp of language that sheds light on the human condition with poetic insight. I look forward to reading more from this remarkable debut author.

This was a sweet book of three generations of women. Each one living beautiful lives full of love and trials, mistakes and redemption.

This debut generational novel captured me from the beginning. Thai skillfully weaves a braided narrative following three generations of women. The story unfolds at a satisfying pace using different timelines. The circumstances of life choices are revealed in time to add detail to the challenges of the next generation. I enjoyed the insight into immigrant and first generation American lives.

Generational trauma writ large. Hard (painful) to read at times, but beautifully done. Lush writing and characters you can empathize with.

I honestly have no words. I went in blind not really knowing what to expect aside from this being a multi-generational family story. This just hits me in all of the way, the journey we saw the characters on, the way they are so immensely flawed but so undeniably human. The way Thao Thai wrote the weight of generational trauma and how it's carried over and the effort in breaking feel from said cycle (whether cleanly or to some some extent, it's just so painfully real). The way Thao Thai write is just so captivating, she was able to spun the simplest sentences into something that tug at my heartstrings. I love this book a lot and the women in it. I can't wait for it to come out. I look forward to the physical release of it and whatever Thao Thai plan to put out next.

Beautiful multi-generational family story where each storyline pulls its weight, portraying both the deadly weight of generational trauma and the redemption of finally breaking, to some extent, the cycle.