The Fortunes of Jaded Women Quotes

“She saw what the white men did to her country, and saving souls was the last thing they did.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Mrs. Phạm didn’t have the cure for Joyce’s depression, but maybe she could help with something else. She shuffled to the corner, grabbed her fake Louis bag, pulled out the vial with the last remaining droplet of the potion, and poured the last of it into Liam’s teacup.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Get up, bitch. Staying in is for the dead and for those who don’t know how to properly put on fake lashes.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Because life was always meant to unfold organically. Especially when the universe colludes with other spiritual forces at play; that’s when it collides.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“The old man had taken many desperate women—mothers, daughters, and sisters—across the country to visit the witch, but he’d never once stepped foot inside. He knew better than to interrupt the flow of the universe. Only women were brave enough to tempt fate like that.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Because she deserves to rest, and I will love her for her. I will carry us the rest of the way from here.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be safe. At the time, safe meant to get married and have a home. Protection against society and protection against the wind, the two things that women needed to survive.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“I don't dress up for men. I dress up for myself.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Don’t congratulate me just yet. Now I’m legally stuck with a poor son-in-law,” Mai groaned. “Their family has no money. Just a bunch of social do-gooders who all work in nonprofits.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Ugh, save your epiphany, William,” Christine groaned. “Just go conquer a land or something.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“That the strange, petite Vietnamese woman—who lived off the Kuhio Highway on the fourth-largest Hawaiian Island—had the kind of powers that could see into Asian souls and help guide them on this earth, and well into the next.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Why didn’t Mai have more Vietnamese food options? Why are there so many American dishes here?” “Are you surprised? Look at Mai’s daughters. So Americanized. Probably eat cheeseburgers for dinner and hot dogs for breakfast.” “Why is Joyce Phạm dating a smoker?”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Have I taught none of my daughters anything? Marriage is a contract! With love or without love, get that money no matter what!”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Don’t talk about my business like that, you pretentious, uptight, Beverly Hills ho!” Elaine snapped at Thủy. “You’re not even from Los Angeles! You’re from fucking Garden Grove!”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“British men are the worst. Constant horndogs,” Alexandria interrupted. She lit up a cigarette. “They all have yellow fever. You can see it in their eyes. Looking for their next Cho Chang to ride.” “Ew, Alex,” Evelyn said. “You have the worst mouth.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“So you blew us up? For some Asian fuckboy with a gallon of hair gel and a BMW who patrols Koreatown in fake Ray-Bans? Because me and him are two entirely different people. We’re not even in the same damn universe.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Every week?!” Andy’s jaw dropped. “You saw him every week? So go to fucking therapy then if all you want to do is talk.” “It’s not that simple, Andy.” “Explain it to me like I’m an idiot. That’s what you clearly see me as anyways.” “You’re not an idiot!” “Fucking explain, Thủy. How could you do this to me? To us?”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Enjoy capitalism while you can. You think you’d have a nail salon back in Vietnam? Go back if you want to suffer in communism. I like California much better.” “Oh shut up, Vân! Don’t be so brainwashed by war propaganda!”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Eh, I watched a few growing up, but to me they’re no better than Disney movies. It just sells a lie and raises expectations, when life, romance, and relationships aren’t like that at all.” Liam said.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“The city was littered with noncommittal men, all of whom found it just as easy to order sex at four in the morning as it was to order dumplings. Joyce was lonely.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Do you think any of the women in our family are actually happy? Look at the disarray. No one talks to each other, they all blame my mother, my mother blames all of them, and honestly, no one actually gets what they want at the end of the day. All they do is blame some family curse, but the only curse I see here is self-inflicted.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“She wondered if she’d ever be good at anything—aside from being the daughter of a woman who owned a chain of nail salons and questionable bikini coffee shops.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“You said that last Monday morning, Elaine. This isn’t a goddamn strip club and we are not making small talk at the office water cooler. I don’t exactly do this shit for fun, I do it to pay for law school. Now, do something about him.” Jacqueline slammed her heels on the ground. “I know we’re not a fucking strip club. Let me go out and talk to him.” “I better get a bigger cut in tips this morning—”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“You know what, you’re right, they love to pretend they’re not Vietnamese,” Elaine agreed, ready to talk shit about her cousins at any hour. “Fucking Thảo won’t even respond back to my text about helping me find a woman for the arranged—”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“The women in her family were born stubborn and would die stubborn. She needed to focus on running a healthy and thriving business for her own daughters’ survival.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“They always came to the temple with fifty pounds of makeup on, eyelashes heavier than brick, cat eyes sharper than a machete.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“She was tired of always being an afterthought, never a forethought.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“You think I also don’t have Asian-daughter guilt? We can’t keep doing things for our mothers. We need to break out of these generational cycles and expectations and live for ourselves. We can’t waste our twenties and good looks doing what our parents want, right?”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“That the new generation had modernized it while keeping certain traditions alive. Sài Gòn had evolved into a hub of tech, literature, music, and international businesses. Expats flooded the city, attempting to cash in on the Sài Gòn revival. This opulence and decadence was only known to those who knew how to navigate the twenty-four districts, unlike the white men who only wanted to pass through Bùi Viện Street trying to fill their time with women and watered-down alcohol.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women

“Why do you love Vietnam so much? We escaped the war so we’d never have to go back there, and now you’ve bought a second home over there, and moved all your business operations over there. Are you insane?” Her mother’s voice breaking the sound barrier over the phone. “What are you doing over there all the time?”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Fortunes of Jaded Women