REVIEW: A Long and Speaking Silence (The Singing Hills Cycle Book 7) by Nghi Vo
Every story begins somewhere.
On the banks of the Ya-lé River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midst—lazy, violent, unwanted—while the refugees themselves grieve the loss of the home they loved.
Cleric Chih, very recently still Novice Chih, is also a stranger in Luntien. A moment of carelessness and bad luck leaves them waiting tables as they struggle to establish themself as a real cleric. A cleric’s job is to listen and record, but the stories emerging in Luntien are ugly and violent, as hard to predict as the river itself. With their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant by their side, Chih must help the refugees while also unraveling a mystery that may have roots in their own faraway home in the abbey of Singing Hills.
In the seventh entry of the award-winning Singing Hills series, we meet Chih and Almost Brilliant just beginning their journey together as Chih assumes their place on the road and in the world.
The novellas of the Singing Hills series are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.
Dear Nghi Vo,
This entry to the Singing Hills cycle novellas hits on some very timely subjects. It’s also the OG story for Cleric Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant who sometimes has to intervene when Chih socially stumbles.
Cleric Chih is now slinging hash in a restaurant due to having their funds “lifted” while on a crowded ferry. Almost Brilliant helps some as she’s better at remembering 4-6 orders for food but the talking bird reminds Chih that she is not the help. While down near the river to talk to the harbormaster, Chic and Almost Brilliant see a ferry, loaded with more refugees, approaching the dock. Trying to be helpful, Chih mentions that there is a Temple for the Lady of the Thousand Hands in town and a stampede occurs.
Later Chih gets a request to take down the names of the refugees to carry with them when they and Almost Brilliant leave. In doing so, Chih begins to see their frustration, loss, and grief plus the tension developing between the refugees and the townspeople. Talking to their employers, Chih begins to wonder at the origin of Old Mo, a grandmother who told her grandchildren stories, one of which ended with “where the hills sing songs.” Why is Chih so involved with the newcomers to the town? Because once their family was fleeing, too, and a decision which was made changed Chih’s entire future.
At this point in their career as a monastic story gatherer, Cleric Chih is a newbie. I remember this stage myself when I’d finally finished my training and got a job. I was as eager to do things but also unsure of myself and with a tendency to sometimes forget that I was in charge now. Chih makes some mistakes in their eagerness to gather stories and be of help. At times Almost Brilliant has to hiss some sharp words of admonishment or advice in Chih’s ear and if that doesn’t work, a sharp nip gets Chih’s attention.
“I messed up.”
“You did.”
Delicately woven through the novella are the stories, histories, hard work, and determination of several different immigrant groups. Old Mo arrived alone and immediately got two jobs, working from dawn to dark, before buying the restaurant where Chih now “helps” (and often accidentally drops plates). Little by little Chih and Almost Brilliant gather clues about the old woman then spend the evening and far into the night attempting to assist the refugees pass on word of who is there and who didn’t make it. Mistakes are sometimes made in interacting with certain families allowing Chih to learn more about these people whom they are gently admonished to call by their correct name rather than the one the townspeople label them with.
“As it turns out, you learn more being wrong than you do being right,” Chih said, and they went to greet the chapwoman with her rack full of pamphlets strapped to her back, hungry and hoping for some eggs on rice.
Also sifted into the story are the all too frequent (and still occuring) clashes and misunderstandings between those forced to leave home and kin and those who see strangers showing up en masse in their town or country. Through it all, Cleric Chih frantically writes and writes and writes, trying to capture everyone’s stories including their own as they witness refugees, a colorful festival, a temple with some interesting evidence, and people just trying to survive. A
~Jayne
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