Build Your House Around My Body

A Novel

By: Violet Kupersmith

Narrated by: Quyen Ngo

Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Part puzzle, part revenge tale, part ghost story, this ingenious novel spins half a century of Vietnamese history and folklore into “a thrilling read, acrobatic and filled with verve” (The New York Times Editors’ Choice).

FINALIST FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION’S FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Good Housekeeping, Kirkus Reviews

“Fiction as daring and accomplished as Violet Kupersmith’s first novel reignites my love of the form and its kaleidoscopic possibilities.”—David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas

Two young women go missing decades apart. Both are fearless, both are lost. And both will have their revenge.

1986: The teenage daughter of a wealthy Vietnamese family loses her way in an abandoned rubber plantation while fleeing her angry father and is forever changed.

2011: A young, unhappy Vietnamese American woman disappears from her new home in Saigon without a trace.

The fates of these two women are inescapably linked, bound together by past generations, by ghosts and ancestors, by the history of possessed bodies and possessed lands. Alongside them, we meet a young boy who is sent to a boarding school for the métis children of French expatriates, just before Vietnam declares its independence from colonial rule; two Frenchmen who are trying to start a business with the Vietnam War on the horizon; and the employees of the Saigon Spirit Eradication Co., who find themselves investigating strange occurrences in a farmhouse on the edge of a forest. Each new character and timeline brings us one step closer to understanding what binds them all.

Build Your House Around My Body takes us from colonial mansions to ramshackle zoos, from sweaty nightclubs to the jostling seats of motorbikes, from ex-pat flats to sizzling back-alley street carts. Spanning more than fifty years of Vietnamese history and barreling toward an unforgettable conclusion, this is a time-traveling, heart-pounding, border-crossing fever dream of a novel that will haunt you long after the last minute.

©2021 Violet Kupersmith (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"I loved this epic book - beautiful, brilliant, powerful, and shivery-back-of-the-neck terrifying." (Madeline Miller, author of Circe)

“Violet Kupersmith’s eerie and electric debut novel...followed me into my days, refusing to release me.... This is a big, packed novel. Reading it provides a sensation not unlike riding on a motorbike overloaded with passengers and wares: It careens, it tilts and at times I wondered if it would reach its destination without a crash. But Kupersmith proves herself a fearless driver who revels in the daunting challenge she has set for herself. There are so many ways this novel could have lost its balance; instead, its too-much-ness makes for a thrilling read, acrobatic and filled with verve.” (New York Times)

“Haunting and unforgettable.” (Bust)

Great ingredients put together a bit messily

This story had everything I love in a novel - folklore, magical realism, horror. It started off with a recipe for a fantastic novel but, in the end, ultimately felt a little too disorganized and incomplete. Lots of intriguing stories and plot lines that I felt were never explored as much as I would have liked for a novel of this length. The ending did wrap up the main story in a satisfying way, but I left wishing I understood more about various plot lines that were ultimately left unexplored. Sort of felt like a dream with tendrils of ideas that span out but just dissolve without explanation. And maybe that was the idea, but for a novel with such great ideas and themes, I wanted more.

Incredibly written and performed

A friend recommended this book to me, and while it was unsettling and difficult to get through at times, it was a fantastically original and immersive story.

Good but a bit unsatisfying

I enjoyed the writing style in the book. Overall, however, the ending was a bit unsatisfying. Overall I would recommend.

Extraordinary ghost story

This book is so well-crafted. It’s beautifully written, well-paced, and it’s genuinely scary. It’s the right balance of horror, mystery, drama, and folklore, with moments of real humor and levity. The characters and plot are compelling, and the setting is so strong that it feels like Vietnam is it’s own character. I can’t praise it enough. It’s basically perfect. I’d be so proud of myself if I were the author.

Takes a lot of work

This supernatural story bounces back and forth haphazardly between historical points so it is somewhat difficult. Look for the lightbulb moments to help navigate.

a great read

if you like a slow burn creepy story this will absolutely deliver for you!

Worth a second listen

This book is strange, captivating, rich, mysterious, dark, and sometimes funny. It's magical realism feels deeply cultural, and the book is well read. I may listen again, to better absorb the details.

Confusingly good read.

This book turned out to be a really good read. I had to stop almost halfway through to start over from the beginning. I was confused as to how the various characters connected to each other. After starting over, I was able to connect the dots better and it just made the story that much more intriguing. I’ll definitely have to listen again now that I’ve completed it because I still have questions and want to connect the rest of the dots. I’d highly recommend this for those that like mystery and enjoy the mind bending experience of trying to piece together puzzles for the bigger picture.

Incredible

This story is amazing. It’s eery and beautiful. A wonderfully talented author. Enjoy this fabulous ride.

Very visceral

Too visceral for me, but the story is intricately woven. I wish I can hear more about the very origin of the smoke.