Review of When the Tamarind Tree Blooms
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ansu alex 1
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Review of When the Tamarind Tree Blooms
[Following is a volunteer review of "When the Tamarind Tree Blooms" by Elaine Russell.]
When the Tamarind Tree Blooms tells us the story of 18-year-old Vivi or Geneviève Dubois, starting at the time of her release from the orphanage, to how she becomes an able-minded young woman hoping to attend a university in France. She is half-French, half-Lao, and this story is set in Laos, a former French colony where the orphan’s desperate fights to find her family roots are rewarded due to her determination. The reward is bittersweet, but this helps her to let go of her past and live a more fulfilled life no matter what others think. Being bi-racial, Vivi and others like her are often shunned and left without support, but she wants to overcome this and make the path easier for many who follow her.
Kind benefactors like Catherine and her friends come forward to help Vivi, but orphans at the French lycée are ill-equipped for the world and Geneviève struggles to adjust till a striking young prince offers to help. Caution is thrown in the wind as a beautiful romance builds. Prince Bounmy Savang opens her world and helps her understand more about her Laos heritage. We see some tension build when Catherine’s brother Julian is introduced to Vivi and a love triangle develops momentarily. A love-struck Vivi ignores constant warnings of imminent heartbreak and instead uses this as a distraction from grief and sadness that hits her unexpectedly.
The tone of the book changes with an encounter of rape which breaks more than one relationship, and all the beautiful feelings of romance are replaced with resentment and anger. Trying to heal from trauma, Vivi tries to move forward and makes choices to hold on to and build a better future with her recently found family.
This beautiful historical fiction pan in line with facts, added with elaborate descriptions of the culture, architecture, and people. The author’s written discourse paints vivid images that light the imagination. The story flows in a beautiful, almost dreamy sequence until things shatter. The sudden recovery and ending felt abrupt, but the story was tastefully structured and left me wanting to know more about Vivi and her future. This beautifully edited novel had no errors. I commend the author Elaine Russell for creating a sense of optimism throughout the narrative, despite the weighty and frequently negative emotions portrayed, leading to a hopeful finale that justifies a score of 5 out of 5.
I recommend this book to everyone, especially to those who enjoy historical fiction, romance, or coming of age type of stories and hopeful endings.
******
When the Tamarind Tree Blooms
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
When the Tamarind Tree Blooms tells us the story of 18-year-old Vivi or Geneviève Dubois, starting at the time of her release from the orphanage, to how she becomes an able-minded young woman hoping to attend a university in France. She is half-French, half-Lao, and this story is set in Laos, a former French colony where the orphan’s desperate fights to find her family roots are rewarded due to her determination. The reward is bittersweet, but this helps her to let go of her past and live a more fulfilled life no matter what others think. Being bi-racial, Vivi and others like her are often shunned and left without support, but she wants to overcome this and make the path easier for many who follow her.
Kind benefactors like Catherine and her friends come forward to help Vivi, but orphans at the French lycée are ill-equipped for the world and Geneviève struggles to adjust till a striking young prince offers to help. Caution is thrown in the wind as a beautiful romance builds. Prince Bounmy Savang opens her world and helps her understand more about her Laos heritage. We see some tension build when Catherine’s brother Julian is introduced to Vivi and a love triangle develops momentarily. A love-struck Vivi ignores constant warnings of imminent heartbreak and instead uses this as a distraction from grief and sadness that hits her unexpectedly.
The tone of the book changes with an encounter of rape which breaks more than one relationship, and all the beautiful feelings of romance are replaced with resentment and anger. Trying to heal from trauma, Vivi tries to move forward and makes choices to hold on to and build a better future with her recently found family.
This beautiful historical fiction pan in line with facts, added with elaborate descriptions of the culture, architecture, and people. The author’s written discourse paints vivid images that light the imagination. The story flows in a beautiful, almost dreamy sequence until things shatter. The sudden recovery and ending felt abrupt, but the story was tastefully structured and left me wanting to know more about Vivi and her future. This beautifully edited novel had no errors. I commend the author Elaine Russell for creating a sense of optimism throughout the narrative, despite the weighty and frequently negative emotions portrayed, leading to a hopeful finale that justifies a score of 5 out of 5.
I recommend this book to everyone, especially to those who enjoy historical fiction, romance, or coming of age type of stories and hopeful endings.
******
When the Tamarind Tree Blooms
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Latest Review: A Week's Worth by Thyme Lewis
