The Expatriates by Janice Lee

The Expatriates by Janice Lee is a very atmospheric book – the reader can sense the “heaviness,” the isolation, and the constraints that often surprisingly define the lives of those living overseas.  Small, closed communities, like this one in Hong Kong, force the members, especially women, to conform.  In The Expatriates, Janice Lee (The Piano Teacher) shares the thoughts and emotions of three women, ultimately describing how their lives intertwine. 

Mercy is a young twenty-something who seems ever adrift without much purpose, despite an education at Columbia; Margaret Reade is a trailing spouse, giving her career a hiatus to follow her husband and care for the children; and finally, there is Hilary who wants a child desperately, contributes to the local gossip and is shocked when it reflects back on her actions.  Each of these women is very self-centered in her own way, yet the reader is left to ask if that is not a necessary part of self-preservation in this rather artificial environment. Who should each women trust? And why? The unthinkable happens, grief seems pervasive, and Lee adds an element of suspense that propels the story forward.

I found The Expatriates to be a very engaging read, especially since I had lived overseas for several years.  Its themes of motherhood/marriage, acceptance/friendship, and racial and class stereotypes are universal and the characters and their musings are fascinating, if not always sympathetic. 

The Expatriates by Janice Lee received a starred review from Library Journal.

Whispering Shadows by Jan-Philipp Sendker

Jan-Philipp Sendker has become one of my favorite authors and I was eagerly anticipating his newest work, Whispering Shadows, which is a mystery story set in Hong Kong and mainland China. An ex-pat, but longtime Hong Kong resident, Paul Leibovitz, is asked to look into the disappearance of a young American business executive.  He turns to a close friend, Zhang, a homicide detective in Shenzhen, and together the two of them attempt to learn what has happened. Their search for truth is dangerous, particularly when opposition from local officials leads to some definite tension and suspense.

In addition to the Asian settings, what I like best about Sendker’s writing is the personal reflection and soul searching shared by his characters and that was evident again in Whispering Shadows as Paul and Zhang each battles with an inner voice amid distractions of everyday life.  In this case, secrets and events are tied to happenings from the time of the Cultural Revolution and there is plenty of opportunity to debate the meaning of trust, past choices involving betrayal, and the essence of true friendship. Having been told that this book is intended to be part of a trilogy, I am once again already looking forward to another title from Jan-Philipp Sendker.

Starred review from Booklist; other titles by Sendker: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and A Well-Tempered Heart.