Member Reviews
The Manicurist's Daughter was thought-provoking for me in several different ways. Susan's mother, a Vietnamese immigrant to the United States, dies after having plastic surgery when she's thirty-eight years old, leaving behind a husband and four children. At the time, Susan was eleven years old. Reading about how hard the family worked to have a secure household makes me feel grateful that my family didn't have to worry as much, and that I had more time to be a kid. How much of that was having to start over in a new country with nothing, and how much of it was the drive of Susan's mother? How much of it was cultural expectations that made Susan's mother the way she was? Why did she feel the need to have plastic surgery so much - especially when it made up such a large part of the income that came in? Any young girl or woman who escapes objectification and criticism about her appearance is exceedingly rare. Even knowing what her mother went through, Susan constantly battles criticism from her family members about her weight. As someone who has also lost their mother (albeit at an older age) I understand when Susan wonders about what her mother would have thought of something, and to some extent views her with rose-colored glasses, even though her mother didn't sound overly maternal most of the time. I didn't always love how there would be occasional flashbacks, instead of being told sequentially, and I feel like it would be easier to experience the show about her mother and family that she talks about than hearing it described alongside the battle to get her family members to talk about her mother. Thought-provoking both from the perspective of coping with the loss of an important family member, and how the culture Susan was raised in affected how the family dealt with that loss and treated each other in the aftermath of it. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Interesting book with a good topic. I liked reading about Susan’s life and the different phases she went through and also got so frustrated with her family at times. I think the main topic of finding out who her mom really was lagged a little bit and don’t feel like by the end the reader sees it. But her ‘coming to age’ moment at the very last 5% of the book sealed it.
Lieu's memoir explores her life before and after the death of her admirable mother, a brave and strong refugee woman (from Vietnam) who died due to complications of a tummy tuck. Woven throughout are Lieu's own issues with body image, exacerbated by the blunt and harsh comments of many of her immediate and extended family members. She also attempts to explore her mother's life and her family's grief alongside her family, however (at least partially due to culture), her family is not emotive and do not want to discuss the tragic nature of her mother's death. She begins working in theater and it becomes a means for here to explore her family's nail business, the anger at her mother's doctor, body image, and grief, as well as a way to publicly celebrate her mother. The memoir covers the bulk of Lieu's life but she does gloss over some events that do not include her mother (I wanted more emphasis on how she met and came to marry her husband, for example.) At times, Lieu's writing comes off as a bit amateurish - such as her penchant for exclamation marks, and her attempt to end the memoir on what felt like false positivity, as opposed to the reality which seemed to entail closure but difficult family dynamics. Still, I think those who enjoy memoirs that explore grief and/or the experiences of first generation Americans will enjoy thsi debut.
Very captivating story of immigrants and their children. The trauma that is passed down between generations. I felt like I was going through the process of therapy with the author in learning to deal with her feelings.
The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu is a memoir about Susan's journey through understanding and accepting her mother's early demise through the negligence of a plastic surgeon. But this book is much more than an exploration of grief and the many guises grief can take on. Susan is Vietnamese and explains many fascinating aspects of her heritage. From naming conventions to dietary and food traditions to interpersonal relationships and communications among the family, Susan Lieu explains Vietnamese life in a understandable and interesting way. This book and Ms Lieu's research into her mother's malpractice case shine a light on the mega issue of women's self identity and obsession with beauty and self-image. Being from the east coast, I was not familiar with Susan Lieu or her solo performances of 140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother. I was able to see portions of the performance on-line and was as impressed with that as I was with her book. This is a story not only for minorities in the United States who may be taken advantage of, but for women young and old who all need to hear the message that 'we are enough'. The last line of the book was my absolute favorite because I get the irony in Ms. Lieu's declaration. I give this book four stars and would like to thank BookishFirst and Celadon books for getting an ARC in my hands.
So, this memoir dives deep into the life of Susan, the youngest daughter of a Vietnamese family. It's a real emotional rollercoaster, especially as she grapples with the loss of her mom, who tragically passed away in her thirties after a botched plastic surgery. Talk about heart-wrenching—especially since Susan had just had a fight with her mom that very morning, shouting that she hated her.
Their family ran two successful nail salons, and the book gives you a glimpse into that world—every little detail of opening up shop, dealing with clients, you name it. It's like being a fly on the wall in Susan's world, especially when her larger-than-life mom, Jennifer, was running the show.
But as Susan tries to piece together her mom's life and death, she faces frustration from her family, who'd rather move on than dig deep. She's determined though, digging into depositions from the malpractice case, making trips to Vietnam, and eventually creating a theatrical show to work through her grief.
Now, there were bits I really dug, like the insights into running the nail salons and the hustle of daily life. But I gotta admit, there were times when things felt a bit dragged out, especially towards the end. And keeping track of family members, especially with their Vietnamese names, got a bit confusing.
Overall, it's a solid read with an important message about beauty standards and the pressures women face. Big thanks to Celadon Books for hooking me up with an advance copy through NetGalley!
This was a 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars for me. The author, Susa Lieu, lost her hard-working and successful mother at a young age to plastic surgery gone wrong. She utilizes this event as a point from which to explore backward and forwards through her family's (and Vietnamese community's) history. Throughout this process, she is also writing about the varied ways in which we process grief and trauma. This is evidenced through cultural practices as well as her own process that eventually led to performance art. It was interesting to read about that part of it because clearly the writing of the book was also part of her journey so it would seem this is ongoing. I'd be curious to learn how she experiences this next part as more people learn about her and her family's story through the book and how it might be different from a theater performance setting.
I gave this book 3 stars because it was not the right book for me. I found it to be slow-paced and every scene felt belabored to me. I do think this could be the right book for someone, especially someone who can relate more to the themes of grief/loss, mother-daughter bonds, and being first-gen. But for me, I was unable to finish it.
I love to read about Asian cultures, especially those who have emigrated to the United States and work hard to create their own businesses. Families who recruit their own children to help out in little ways with running these businesses, teaching them skills and personal responsibility, instilling survival skills. This is a memoir written by the youngest daughter of a Vietnamese family. She suffered the emotional scar of the early death (in her thirties) of her mother from a botched plastic surgery. Sue was eleven when she lost her mother, and horribly, she had just fought with her mother that morning screaming that she hated her. They owned two successful manicurist salons.
The book tracks the evolution of Susan's grief and voluminous questions she yearns to be answered about her mother. She is forever frustrated by her family members with their reluctance to delve deeply into these issues, preferring that they all just move on from this tragedy. Susan persists in investigating her mother's death, acquiring depositions in the malpractice case, taking trips to Vietnam, and slowly, methodically, piecing together the mother Susan barely got to know. She then painstakingly created a theatrical show depicting this family tragedy as a mechanism for working through the grief and desire to connect with her deceased mother.
I found many elements that I enjoyed in this book such as the previously mentioned worth ethic employed in running the nail salons, her descriptions of all the little moving parts of opening the salon each day, the various clientele and services performed. It was interesting and fun being a voyeur in little Susan's world when her larger than life mother Jennifer ran the show. Reading about how she vacuumed the floor, helped remove nail polish, phoned customers to remind them of their appointment, etc. I usually love to read about the food culture, but there was a bit too much elaborated in that area. I also felt the memoir could have been edited down some as things got so repetitous in the final chapters that I found myself skimming. I also found it difficult differentiating family members when she would use their Vietnamese names. Overall it was a good read with an important message. It's a shame that woman that are so beautiful already, not just physically but as human beings, feel that they have to get these plastic surgery procedures. It was also unfortunate how multiple female relatives would bluntly comment negatively on Susan's weight, even after just having a baby, knowing that their matriarch died years ago from a tummy tuck.
Thank you to the publisher Celadon Books who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.
I am a big fan of memoirs, especially emotionally raw and reflective ones like The Manicurist’s Daughter. This memoir is about Susan’s strength and determination during her 20-year quest to find answers about her mother after her untimely death due to a tummy tuck gone wrong. It is a story of uncovering the past as well as a discovering one’s purpose.
From customs to communication styles, I really enjoyed how Lieu gave the reader insight into Vietnamese culture. One thing I particularly loved were the descriptions of the different dishes her family served; not only did many sound delicious, it showcased the importance of meals in Vietnamese culture. I think it is vital that we read diverse stories from cultures different than our own, and I feel like this book is a great opportunity to do just that.
This story was heartfelt and so vulnerable. Lieu’s journey ended up being more than learning about her mother. It was a memoir about relationships–with one’s family and oneself. She shared her personal body image struggles and the impact her family and her culture has had on it. Lieu also made important points about how people in the beauty industry takes advantage of refugees and immigrants to sell cosmetic procedures. She related these facts to her mother’s own experience with her botched tummy tuck and the sinister plastic surgeon who preyed on Vietnamese women.
Personally, I did not care for how slow paced The Manicurist’s Daughter was. I typically enjoy more medium paced books. There were some redundancies in some of the details, which I perhaps only noticed because I read the book in two sittings, but I wanted to note it.
Additionally, as an atheist, it was difficult for me to read the spiritual aspects of the memoir because I felt like I had to suspend my belief (or lack thereof); however, I know that these spiritual elements are vital to Lieu’s story. I cannot expect every person to share my feelings on spirituality, but I wanted to put it out there for any atheists or agnostics to know ahead of time that there is a lot of spiritual content.
(4.5 rounded up)
GREAT book! I loved how this book tied together Vietnamese culture along, the American Dream, and the toxic parts of American culture. What appears to be silly stories from Susan's childhood develop throughout the book into larger life lessons that I found myself relating to despite having a different upbringing than Susan. I found the author very self-aware and the book made me think a lot about myself, my family dynamics, and the impact of nature vs. nurture. Would definitely recommend this book!
What a wonderful read about family. Loved it.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.
ARC copy provided by NetGalley.
The Manicurist's Daughter knocked the wind out of me. What a beautiful meditation about the author's families. It captured the distemperate and ephemeral essence of grief and we walked along with the artist as she created something from it, something that - critically - was not this novel. There is a quote that I once read (on Arabelle Sicardi's tumblr, if that means anything to anyone but me...) about how grief (or perhaps trauma) makes you do weird shit, and I've been trying to find it since. I think it captures what felt like the essence of this work - that you will be forever changed, and that often those changes alienate you from the people you love in the same way their grief alienates them from you. What The Manicurist's Daughter told me is that the secondary work of grief is to find ways to be alien together, no matter how long that takes.
The Manicurist’s Daughter has been keeping me company these past few weeks, where I read a little at a time, alongside my fiction reads.
Susan Lieu was the first in her family to be born in America- her older siblings were all born in Vietnam, and her parents escaped as refugees in the 1980’s. Susan grew up helping out in the two nail salons that her hard-working mother opened, and she spent her days there hanging out with her aunties and other family members that her mother helped sponsor and bring over. But when Susan was eleven, her world was turned upside down when her mother died from a tummy tuck gone wrong. No one would talk about what happened, and Susan was left with a gaping hole left by her mother and a distant and fractured family.
This book chronicles Susan’s journey into adulthood and married life as she struggled to find meaning and the truth of what happened to her mother. “Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channellers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty”. It’s a book about identity, grief and healing. I admired her resiliency and transparency as she told her story. I hope the process of writing this book brings further healing and closure.
Thank you to @celadonbooks , who were kind enough to send copies of this book for all the members of my book club. I’m looking forward to discussing it more! It publishes in March 2024.
💅 Do you get your nails done? For me, it’s a treat, but I do love it when my nails are painted.
“On the last day of her life, Má, my Vietnamese refugee mother and proud owner of two nail salons, went in for plastic surgery—a tummy tuck, the narrowing of her nostrils, a chin implant—and figured she would be home the next day with her beautiful new body.”
At the age of eleven, after her mother passed from a botched plastic surgery, Lieu struggled to grieve. Raised in a family that never showed emotion or vulnerability, Lieu’s mother was hardly spoken of after her death and Lieu had to rebuild her life alone in silence. For years, Lieu wrestled with the question “why”. Her mom had it all. The American Dream, the picture-perfect life. Why would she risk it all for physically beauty?
We follow Lieu as she searches for answers about her mother, works to heal herself and her hostile relationships with family members, and works to find her place in the world as an American-raised Vietnamese woman.
Pieces of Lieu’s Vietnamese roots are braided throughout this entire memoir and I found it fascinating to read about. From names and phrases to traditional Vietnamese meals and practices, I was swept away by the way Lieu wrote about her heritage. Lieu is a natural storyteller and writes in a way that makes you crave more of her words. An incredible read that will stick with me for a long time. A must read memoir for 2024.
Thank you NetGalley for my digital copy. Out 03/12/2024!
Very coming of age. Susan's memoir is a very insightful and often sad look at life as a refugee in America and what it means to lose a mom way too soon in life. I really appreciates the woven in parts of her Vietnamese culture.
There were parts for me that felt very methodical timeline and less story telling.
I recently read The Manicurist's Daughter by @susanlieu and loved it!
Lieu's memoir tells her family's story of arriving in America as Vietnamese Refugees shortly before Susan was born. Lieu's parents both worked in and owned nail salons and brought over several members of her mother's family to work in the salons. While the family had very little disposable income, there was a focus on appearances, which led Susan's mother to opt for plastic surgery, a choice that cost her life. Lieu was only about 11 years old when her mother passed, and had to grow up very quickly. While she maintained relationships with her father and siblings, they were strained at times, as everyone wanted Susan to just move on after her mother's death, something that a grieving tween cannot easily do on her own. Additionally, a rift formed between her father and her mother's side of the family, and so Susan was no longer able to communicate with the people who knew her mother best. She spends her life asking questions about her mother's life and death, and not receiving many answers.
Weaving together a coming-of-age story and an inquiry into the life of her mother, Lieu's memoir is interesting, emotional, and heartfelt. Lieu pieces together her mother's story slowly, as if we are also part of the inquiry, receiving only small tidbits of information and hitting a lot of deadends. I also really appreciated the information about the family's difficulty fleeing Vietnam as this is something I haven't read much about. Overall it is a really well written memoir and one that I would definitely recommend.
I read this book shortly after reading Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, and while different cultures and circumstances, the two memoirs have a lot in common. So if you loved that one, definitely consider picking this one up when it is published this March! Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher @celadonbooks for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC! This memoir follows Susans journey for answers about her mothers death and her quest to connect with her family. This was a sad but insightful memoir.
The cover intrigued me and hoped the story would be just as good. Susan tells her story beautifully, giving tribute to her family. I thought her story was sad but also full of hope and insight. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu has recently been named one of the most anticipated books of 2024 by Goodreads and I could not agree more with this recommendation. I loved so many things about this book. Ms. Lieu writes eloquently and poignantly about her family's departure from Vietnam as refugees and adjustment to life in the US. Lieu's mother, the matriarch of the family opens and operates nail salons in California leading the family with charisma, bravery, and hard work. She dies tragically when Susan is 11 years old from a botched tummy tuck. The author describes her journey as an adult to learn about her mother. The Manicurist's Daughter reveals several challenges that immigrants and first generation families face at the hands of manipulative physicians and mind controlling cult leaders. Body image, expectations of perfection and unwritten rules about food challenge the Lieu family and this struggle is captured in heartbreaking ways in the Manicurist's Daughter.
This is one of the best memoirs that I have read in 2023 and I highly recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.