Silent Hearts by Gwen Florio

Set mostly in the early 2000s and post 9/11, SILENT HEARTS by Gwen Florio is a recently published novel that explores parallels and contrasts through the intertwined lives of two women. Liv is an American expatriate in Afghanistan with her professor husband and Farida is an educated Pakistani who is newly married to the son of an Afghan businessman whose trade involves drugs and guns. Yes, despite clear differences, both women are often defined by their husbands’ roles and impacted by the men’s emotions: “Liv thought of her life in the sheltered embrace of the college campus, first as a student, then a researcher and Martin’s wife. Of the things in that universe that depended upon the whims of men. A door held open for her, or not. A date. A promotion. In this world [Afghanistan] a woman’s very life could turn on whether a man had had a bad day.”

With Farida acting as translator, Liv interviews Afghani women about their life experiences, preparing reports for an NGO named Face the Future. Both Farida and Liv display resilience and develop a mutual regard for each other, even bonding over Alice and Wonderland, the story of “a girl whose curiosity led her to ever-stranger places, who did her best to adjust to incomprehensible circumstances, but who inevitable called stupidity what it was.” Gwen Florio is a prize-winning journalist who has reported from Afghanistan and she movingly conveys the difficulties and dangers there as well as explaining cultural and religious differences. SILENT HEARTS received a starred review from Library Journal, has a helpful discussion guide here, and is definitely recommended for book group discussions.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy which was provided in exchange for this honest review.

 

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.