Rose’s review of TheExpatriates by Janice U.K. Lee
Women’s Fiction published by Viking 12 Jan 16
The story of three American women, their lives and their families living abroad in Hong Kong. It’s all very familiar, as it is the life I’ve been living for fifteen years. The author’s description of the arrivals is done very well, I like the way she crafted the different scenarios. It is fun to read about the 5-star hotel lunches and the women’s clubs and charity events. All everyday happenings in this expat life.
Where the book gets interesting and away from the “daily routine” is in the personal stories of the three main characters. Mercy, the young American Ivy League graduate that just can’t seem to find her place. Margaret, a stay-at-home mom with a loving husband and three lovely children, the perfect life. And Hilary, whose husband decides he’s just not happy and leaves her with their beautiful home, live-in housekeeper, and chauffeur.
We learn of their lives and how they deal with these challenges.
While The Expatriates is well written, there are some descriptions that I find a bit overdone, yet still entertaining. It really is a different lifestyle and sometimes repatriation can be difficult, returning to the “real-world.” I think Ms. Lee does a good job setting the scene.
Grade: B
Summary:
From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Piano Teacher, a beautiful, transporting novel about motherhood, marriage, and friendship, Janice Y. K. Lee’s blockbuster hit debut, The Piano Teacher, was called “immensely satisfying” by People, “intensely readable” by O, The Oprah Magazine, and “a rare and exquisite story” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Now, in her long-awaited new novel, Lee explores with devastating poignancy the emotions, identities, and relationships of three very different American women living in the same small expat community in Hong Kong.
Read an excerpt.
