Banyan Moon

Ann is one of three protagonists and narrators of Banyan Moon. She is Hương’s daughter and Minh’s granddaughter. Her relationships with her mother and grandmother are the two most important relationships in her life, even if she would sometimes like to believe that she does not need her mother at all. This trifecta of intergenerational points of view underscores the novel’s discussion of The Challenges of Mother-Daughter Relationships. Ann maintains a good and (she believes) uncomplicated relationship with her grandmother throughout her life, but at the beginning of the novel has not spoken to her mother in several years. Minh’s death is the catalyst that brings Ann and Hương together again and forces them to deal with their difficult relationship. 

Ann changes a great deal over the course of Banyan Moon as her arc progresses, largely because she’s forced to confront her past and reconcile with her mother. As Ann sorts through her relationship with Hương, she also comes to terms with being a mother herself and what that will mean for her. She has cut herself off from her relationship with Noah because of his infidelity, yet she cannot fully imagine what her life will look like without him.