For fans of Jonathan Tropper KJ Dell'Antonia and Kevin Kwan this sharp smart and
gloriously extra (Nancy Jooyoun Kim The Last Story of Mina Lee) debut follows a family of
estranged Vietnamese women-cursed to never know love or happiness-as they reunite when a
psychic makes a startling prediction. Everyone in Orange County's Little Saigon knew that the
Duong sisters were cursed. It started with their ancestor Oanh who dared to leave her
marriage for true love-so a fearsome Vietnamese witch cursed Oanh and her descendants so that
they would never find love or happiness and the Duong women would give birth to daughters
never sons. Oanh's current descendant Mai Nguyen knows this curse well. She's divorced and
after an explosive disagreement a decade ago she's estranged from her younger sisters Minh
Pham (the middle and the mediator) and Khuyen Lam (the youngest who swears she just runs humble
coffee shops and nail salons not Little Saigon's underground). Though Mai's three adult
daughters Priscilla Thuy and Thao are successful in their careers (one of them is John
Cho's dermatologist!) the same can't be said for their love lives. Mai is convinced they might
drive her to an early grave. Desperate for guidance she consults Auntie Hua her trusted
psychic in Hawaii who delivers an unexpected prediction: this year her family will witness a
marriage a funeral and the birth of a son. This prophecy will reunite estranged mothers
daughters aunts and cousins-for better or for worse. A multi-narrative novel brimming with
levity and candor The Fortunes of Jaded Women is about mourning meddling celebrating and
healing together as a family. It shows how Vietnamese women emerge victorious even if the
world is against them.
