Review: Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith is one of the best books I’ve read in recent years. It is a brilliant, symbolic exploration of colonialism, generational trauma, women’s bodies, and the history of place. And it’s all told as a ghost story.
I picked this book on a whim while browsing the LA County Library audiobook catalog. I had no idea what I was in for. I just knew I loved this book’s cover and the synopsis sounded intriguing. Build Your House Around My Body took me on a wildly engaging and sometimes nauseating journey full of ghosts, snakes, and subtle horror. I loved the story so much that I automatically purchased a physical copy after finishing the audiobook. Yes, I am obsessed. No, I will not stop recommending this book to my friends.
The story has several storylines that are all interconnected, but our main character is Winnie, a Vietnamese American woman who takes a job teaching English in Vietnam. She’s living with a distant family member who is judgmental, alienating Winnie in her own home. She feels disaffected with her teaching job and can’t connect with her co-workers, whom she finds mildly annoying and sometimes flabbergasting. As she starts to put less and less effort into her job, she begins to unravel and ultimately wants to disappear from her own body. Right from the get-go, she experiences unsettling and slightly unhinged encounters with others, but it’s unclear if these encounters are actually unhinged, or if it’s simply Winnie’s perception of these encounters. Towards the beginning of the book, an encounter with a woman selling lottery tickets absolutely freaked me out. I loved it.
Winnie begins to slowly disintegrate into the remains of her life, manifesting her desire to disappear in strange and unusual ways. Winnie’s mental state of being is physically reflected in the state of her room, which becomes absolutely filthy and vile. There are many ways that Kupersmith connects physical homes and dwellings with internal conflicts and states of being.
Other characters, histories, and storylines weave in and out of Winnie’s narrative. Our cast of characters is vast, including a fortune teller, two brothers, and an old woman with a peculiarly attentive dog. It can be hit or miss when an author tries to weave multiple storylines into one, but I thought Kupersmith did a wonderful job. The story bounces between the past and the present, and although it can be confusing at times, the payoff is worth it. All of these separate narratives masterfully intertwine and come together to tell a story much darker than a simple study abroad narrative. Build Your House Around My Body tells a story of the ghosts that can haunt a nation and follow us wherever we try to run. Bodies act as vessels, and sometimes they are not our own.
Every character is connected, whether they know it or not. That knowledge is given to the reader even if the characters are unaware, making the story that much more significant. I don’t want to give too much away, but the reader has to pay close attention as they move through the book. Kupersmith will introduce characters without naming them sometimes, only to reintroduce them later in a different context. I love when authors do this, and I found it fun to make connections and wait for the next “reveal.”
This book left me with a lot to think about. How we can carry the generational trauma of a nation in our bodies. How our bodies serve as a home for the memories we carry around with us. How women’s bodies in particular are often viewed as empty vessels, only to be filled by someone else’s desires. Kupersmith carries stories of the past into the present of this story, showing the reader how everything is more connected than we care to think.
Kupersmith is a fantastic writer, and I am looking forward to reading more of her work. I ordered myself a copy of her short story collection, The Frangipani Hotel, that I can’t wait to dive into. Her use of symbolism is excellent. As someone who doesn’t have very much background knowledge about Vietnamese history and culture, I know I definitely missed out on understanding some deeper themes. Some nuances went over my head, but that’s on me for not having too much background knowledge. I read this book many months ago, and I still find myself thinking about it.
I absolutely loved this book, but I know that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Please be forewarned, this book contains depictions of sexual assault, harassment, rape, body horror, and snakes (I’m being serious. There are scenes with very detailed descriptions of cobras). With that being said, I would personally recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost stories, literary fiction rife with symbolism that explores heavy themes, and intertwining storylines.
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