Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this beautifully-written family saga by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz. 5 stars!
Told in dual time periods, we see the Preston family (dad Robert, mom Genevieve, kids Beatrice, Phillip, Laura) having moved to Bangkok in 1972 for Robert's job, supposedly working on building a dam. We experience what is was like for them, moving from Washington DC to this foreign country during a time when the Vietnam War was raging. We get a glimpse into what it was like for the servants, especially the women, who worked for the Preston's and other ex-pat families. Both Robert and Genevieve are keeping many secrets - what are they actually doing during the day? And the children are raised free-range with the servants doing much of the childrearing and transportation duties. When Phillip goes missing, their entire world changes.
In 2019, we see Laura and Bea still navigating their sibling stories and living out their assigned roles - Bea as the bossy one in charge and Laura, the baby, never quite growing up. Mom Genevieve is still in their family home but with dementia issues. An email makes its way to Laura from a stranger in Bangkok, saying that Phillip is living there in a home owned by her father and he must leave immediately. Is it really Phillip after all this time? Where was he and what happened?
I loved the beautiful writing in this book and was transported into other worlds while reading it. Sometimes in dual time period novels, I prefer one setting to the other and am anxious to get back to it. In this book, I thought both were so intriguing and wasn't anxious for either to end. This is mainly a book about family dynamics, especially between siblings, but it is so much more than that. There's the mystery of Phillip intertwined through all the pages as well as all the secrets being kept. I loved the backstories of the servants and their customs and beliefs. Highly recommended!
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