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The Duong sisters have been cursed for generations: to not find love and to bear only daughters. And everyone in Orange County’s Little Saigon knows about their plight. They also know that the three 60-something sisters Mai, Minh and Khuyen haven’t spoken in a decade. Mai is divorced and worries about her own three daughters, all single but very successful in their careers. She wants them to marry and at least one of them to bear her a grandson.
When Mai makes her annual visit to her psychic in Hawaii, Auntie Hua tells her that in the coming year, her family will experience a marriage, a funeral — and the birth of a son!
The news leads Mai to do the unthinkable: contact her sisters. The first meeting, ahem, doesn’t start off too well, as is not surprising to the members of their community. But slowly, they make some inroads to getting along.
The Fortunes of Jaded Women follows the stories of Mai and her sisters, their mother, their daughters, and a few other members of the family over the course of a year. There’s a lot of superstition, plenty of misunderstandings and grudges, and a fair amount of wackiness. I found it entertaining enough (though at times a bit outlandish), and it was interesting to get a view into some Vietnamese culture. Yes, one of the Duong sisters owns nail salons. Yes, as with many Asian stories, the immigrant mothers want their daughters to not only be wealthy and successful materially in their new home of the U.S. but to be devoted children and provide grandbabies.
I enjoyed the book and got a bit of a kick out of where the story went, but I didn’t love it.
Rated: High. Profanity includes 45 uses of strong language, 45 instances of moderate profanity, about 35 uses of mild language, and 30 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes references to sex and kissing and some crudeness.
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