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Bronze Drum

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

A stunning novel of ancient Vietnam based on the true story of two warrior sisters who raised an army of women to overthrow the Han Chinese and rule as kings over a united people, for readers of Circe and The Night Tiger.
Gather around, children of Chu Dien, and be brave.
For even to listen to the story of the Trung Sisters is,
in these troubled times, a dangerous act.In 40 CE, in the Au Lac region of ancient Vietnam, two daughters of a Vietnamese Lord fill their days training, studying, and trying to stay true to Vietnamese traditions. While Trung Trac is disciplined and wise, always excelling in her duty, Trung Nhi is fierce and free spirited, more concerned with spending time in the gardens and with lovers.
But these sister's lives—and the lives of their people—are shadowed by the oppressive rule of the Han Chinese. They are forced to adopt Confucian teachings, secure marriages, and pay ever‑increasing taxes. As the peoples' frustration boils over, the country comes ever closer to the edge of war.
When Trung Trac and Trung Nhi's father is executed, their world comes crashing down around them. With no men to save them against the Han's encroaching regime, they must rise and unite the women of Vietnam into an army. Solidifying their status as champions of women and Vietnam, they usher in a period of freedom and independence for their people.
Vivid, lyrical, and filled with adventure, The Bronze Drum is a true story of standing up for one's people, culture, and country that has been passed down through generations of Vietnamese families through oral tradition. Phong Nguyen's breathtaking novel takes these real women out of legends and celebrates their loves, losses, and resilience in this inspirational story of women's strength and power even in the face of the greatest obstacles.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 27, 2022
      Nguyen (Roundabout) shines with this portrayal of two sisters’ heroism in ancient Vietnam. Set over seven years during the Bronze Age, when the Han Dynasty ruled what is now Northern Vietnam, the story follows Viet Lord Trư
      ng and Lady Man Thiệ
      n of Cung Diệ
      n Mê Linh, who raise their daughters Trư
      ng Trac and Trưng Nhi to rule as men’s equals. Instilled with the religious beliefs and values of the Viet traditions, the girls struggle to conform to the forced assimilation of patriarchal Confucian culture. This struggle comes to a head when Lord Trưng is executed by order of the Han government. Together, Trưng Trac and Trưng Nhị
      raise an army of Viet women to retake their hometown from the Han and free the Viet people. Throughout, Nguyen returns to the traditional bronze drums as symbols of Viet pride and culture, scorned by the Han: “She wanted to demand that he respect the instrument.... An object forged with such care, one that took on a thousand meanings... should not be a gift to dismiss lightly.” Bronze drums echo throughout the story, leading the Viet sisters in peace and in war. Readers will not want to put down this epic feminist page-turner. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber.

    • Library Journal

      July 1, 2022

      Nguyen's third novel (after Roundabout) is based on real-life events in 40 CE Vietnam, when the Viet people rose up against the Han Chinese oppressors who were conscripting Viet men, forcing marriages, and levying exorbitant taxes on the populace. When their nobleman father is executed, the Trung sisters, Nhi and Trac, discard their feminine garb and became generals in the fight for independence of the Viet people. By the end of the first month of battle, they are joined by women from all walks of life, from aristocrats to farmers, and the Trung sisters ride into battle astride elephants, brandishing weapons and leading an army of 70,000 women in an effort to free their nation. Eventually the Viet people did regain their freedom and independence from the Han, but not without suffering terrible losses. VERDICT Nguyen's beautifully written novel will be an eye-opener to people who don't know the turbulent history of the Lac Viet and the Han. Readers who remember the Vietnam War, and the part the United States played in it, might come away with a better understanding of the region and its people.--Jane Henriksen Baird

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      June 15, 2022
      When Beyonc� asked, "Who run the world?" was she thinking about the legendary Trưng sisters? During the early years of the Common Era, Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhi, two daughters of a Việt lord, grew up within palace walls. Their northern homeland was under the increasingly tyrannical rule of the H�n from neighboring China. Trưng Trắc, the older sister, was studious and steadfast; Trưng Nhi was rebellious and resistant to the constraints of royal life. When the uneasy peace their father had maintained with the H�n was disrupted and terrible injury was inflicted upon their family and loved ones, the young women (eventually referred to as the She-Kings of the Việts) call upon their inner strengths, upon their classical education in the art and philosophy of war, and, most importantly, upon other Việt women to defend their homeland. Marshalling an army of 80,000 women, the sisters waged a spectacular war--complete with drums, arrows, and elephants--on the H�n, and, for a short time, the postwar kingdom was ruled by Trưng Trắc. When her rule was disrupted in a H�n rout, an effort was made by the conquerors to confiscate all the bronze drums that had become the means of battle communication for the women warriors in an effort to build a towering symbol of H�n superiority. Some drums, hidden and buried by the vanquished women, are still unearthed today, providing continued support for the legacy of the fierce duo. The sisters have long been revered as national icons in Vietnam, and this fictionalized account of their rise to military greatness includes extensive, cinematic descriptions of battlefield tactics and imagined scenes of heartache and horror while not avoiding references to mistakes in judgment (diplomatic and otherwise) they may have made. Nguyen reminds us that the power of women is nothing new.

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      August 1, 2022
      Nearly 2,000 years ago, two Vietnamese sisters led an army of women against their H�n Chinese overlords, briefly creating an independent nation that set the stage for the creation of Vietnam. Nguyen brings the near-mythical figures of the Trưng sisters to full-blooded life in this sweeping historical narrative. The imperious and dutiful Trưng Trắc and her younger, impetuous sister, Trưng Nhị, are the daughters of a lord, raised to rule and encouraged to choose their own partners outside the economic constraints of marriage. But the shadow of H�n rule forces one sister into a year of imprisonment while the other contemplates running away to be with the man she loves. When their defiance of a H�n suitor leads to the murder of their loved ones, the sisters stand up against their oppressors. They slay a tiger that has terrorized a village for more than a decade, writing their proclamation of war on its skin. Though the path to victory is riddled with obstacles, the Trưng sisters' determination and skill earn their place in history. Gripping historical adventure.

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Quyen Ngo is a firm feminist voice for this historical novel about two famed Vietnamese sisters who worked together to save their country from Chinese domination--in CE 40, no less. Fans of world literature will find much to admire in this fast-paced, lyrical story, told by a confident narrator. The sisters' privileged lives fall apart after the murder of their father amid the unrelenting pressure of the encroaching Chinese. Ngo captures the sisters' youthful spirit and steely determination as they unite their people against a colonial adversary. This will be a new tale to many, one that Ngo brings vividly to life. M.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      March 1, 2023

      Narrator Quyen Ngo adds the perfect spark of life to Nguyen's (The Adventures of Joe Harper) fictionalized account of the highly revered Hai B� Tru'ng, the legendary sisters who led an ill-fated rebellion against the Han Chinese when they first dominated the Au Lac region of Vietnam in 40 C.E. Ngo adds an air of playfulness between the sisters, who are opposites in personality, and a sense of grandeur to their father and mother, the Vietnamese lord and his wife. The love the two women feel for the men they have chosen is palpable. Ngo's portrayal of the Han as ruthless conquerors resonates. It is grimace-worthy when the girls' father and older sister Tru'ng Thac's husband are beheaded in front of them, then they are banished from the court. Ngo is careful and precise with pronunciations, often caressing selected words and delivering characterizations that are both sensitive and grounded. Her authentic pronunciation of ancient Vietnamese words, names, and places seals the deal. VERDICT A fascinating peek into life in ancient Vietnam and its matriarchal past, eloquently performed.--Stephanie Bange

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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