Hello dear Readers,
Below is my book review of The Manicurist's Daughter: A Memoir by Susan Lieu.
Title: The Manicurist's Daughter: A Memoir
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Genre: Memoir
Author: Susan Lieu
Publisher: Celadon Books
Publication Date: March 12, 2024
Publication Date: March 12, 2024
Language: English
Hardcover: 320 pages
Meet the Author: Susan Lieu
Buy Me: Amazon
Meet the Author: Susan Lieu
Buy Me: Amazon
Book Description
An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery.
Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success―until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened.
For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone―why did the most perfect person in her life want to change her body? Why would no one tell her about her mother’s life in Vietnam? And how did this surgeon, who preyed on Vietnamese immigrants, go on operating after her mother’s death? Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty.
The Manicurist’s Daughter is much more than a memoir about grief, trauma, and body image. It is a story of fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding your place in the world.
An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery.
Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family’s past and about her own future. Refugees from the Vietnam War, Susan’s family escaped to California in the 1980s after five failed attempts. Upon arrival, Susan’s mother was their savvy, charismatic North Star, setting up two successful nail salons and orchestrating every success―until Susan was eleven. That year, her mother died from a botched tummy tuck. After the funeral, no one was ever allowed to talk about her or what had happened.
For the next twenty years, Susan navigated a series of cascading questions alone―why did the most perfect person in her life want to change her body? Why would no one tell her about her mother’s life in Vietnam? And how did this surgeon, who preyed on Vietnamese immigrants, go on operating after her mother’s death? Sifting through depositions, tracking down the surgeon’s family, and enlisting the help of spirit channelers, Susan uncovers the painful truth of her mother, herself, and the impossible ideal of beauty.
The Manicurist’s Daughter is much more than a memoir about grief, trauma, and body image. It is a story of fierce determination, strength in shared culture, and finding your place in the world.
My Thoughts
I am so grateful that I got to read this memoir. As I have expressed before, I read a lot of memoirs. It is my favorite genre in all honesty. I am always fascinated by reading about other people's experiences. I usually feel lucky to have access to these works and love all of them, however, from time to time, I come across a memoir that is impossible to forget, one that I identify with in so many ways, that it is almost as if the author knew my thoughts while writing it.
I am not by any means saying that I can relate to Susan's family's immigration experience to the USA, to all the pain, struggle, and difficulties they went through to be able to come here, from Vietnam. In that part, I always command authors who share these kinds of experiences, but I can relate to some of the aspects of the mother-daughter relationship between Susan and her mom. I actually highlighted those because I don't want to forget them. Some of these words got to my heart so profoundly that I felt heard and understood in a very weird way but that was my experience while reading this book.
I didn't want the book to end but at the same time, I was rooting for Susan to finally find at least some of the answers about her mom that she was so eagerly trying to find.
Thank you Celadon Books and Netgalley for the free advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review.
Wendy
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