By Kaylie Seed
Content warning: rape/sexual assault
It doesn’t often happen that I find myself speechless after reading a novel. I still don’t know if I have the right words to write the praise Jamie Ford’s forthcoming novel The Many Daughters of Afong Moy deserves, but I’m going to do my best to allow this book to shine. In 2045, Dorothy Moy decides to go through an experimental treatment for her struggles with mental illness and what unfolds from that point on changes Dorothy’s life forever. The reader will follow Dorothy but they will also have the opportunity to meet an array of characters as the plot moves through space and time.
Ford does an excellent job of describing the treatment that Dorothy undergoes and the reader quickly learns that the treatment is meant to alleviate the pain from intergenerational trauma, which is thought to be the root cause of Dorothy’s mental illness. While going through with this treatment, Dorothy has the chance to relive the lives of women in her family. The reader will follow Dorothy and five other women from the Moy family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China during WWII; Zoe Moy, a student attending an alternative school in England; Lai King Moy, a young girl living with her parents during a plague epidemic in San Francisco; Greta Moy, an executive for a dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to arrive in America. Ford has done extensive research into each of the real life events that inspired the characters and what happens to them throughout their lifetimes.
Ford manages to make each of these timelines seamless and unforgettable. Even though the reader is learning about multiple characters and their stories, each of their distinct voices helps the reader distinguish who is who while also being able to see the generational similarities amongst the Moy women. Ford also touches on racism, sexism, and classism in each lifetime and how these have stayed the same yet changed in the generations. Ford’s prose is light yet manages to have an impact that captures the reader's attention and holds it long after the novel is done.
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is going to stay with me for a long time. I found myself wanting to know more but at the same time not wanting the story to end; wanting to bask in these women’s lives as they experience heartbreak, love, loss, grief, and pain. I was invested in each of their lives and found them all intriguing, needing to know more about them and how their lives influenced future generations.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.