Liese O'Halloran SchwarzReseñas

Three stories come together. Enjoyed.

One of the best books I've read in a while. The whole book has a vivid sense of place, but the parts that take place in Bangkok are particularly so. The characters were also well-drawn, with inner conflicts and growth throughout the novel. I really loved the way the author dealt with writing from the perspective of a person with dementia in one scene.

Laura's family lived in Bangkok when she was a child. Her father was an intelligence officer, though they didn't know that at the time. Her brother disappeared there. Years later out of the blue, someone contacts her saying she has found her brother Phillip. Wow.
Chapters of the book alternate between the present day and 1972, and the stories of various characters.
It's a very troubling book. Most characters are well drawn. There are complicated relationships between characters.

Good story, but so many characters to keep straight, especially when they show up again way later in the book, plus the ending was a little confusing and lacking.

In the first pages, I wasn't sure I would continue with this story. There seemed to be just too many consumer and class signifiers—references to neighborhoods and shops, the sort of thing that can be off-putting. I always think, Let's get to the story and hope it stands on its own. But this is a novel about a rather affluent family, whose home is in a leafy, exclusive part of D.C., so those details weren't really superfluous. And very quickly I was entranced.

An American family goes to Bangkok in the early 70s, when the Vietnam War is still raging next door. They're not exactly in the diplomatic corps: Dad is supposedly involved in the planning for construction of a dam. But they live the luxurious life of U.S. diplomats in underdeveloped places: Big house in a walled garden, a retinue of servants, frequent parties, bridge afternoons at the club for Mom. And what is Dad's job, exactly? Their planned one-year stay drags on and on, the dam never seems to get built...and then one of the kids disappears.

It's possible I ended up so entranced and loving this novel for very personal reasons. I grew up in a different leafy, affluent neighborhood of D.C., and my father was a Foreign Service officer. We lived in Taiwan in the late 50s. And I am about to have a novel published (Lily Narcissus, from Unsolicited Press) derived somewhat from that experience. My story is about a family similar to (but not) mine, who also end up staying in Asia long after that first posting, whose father is also up to something clandestine, whose mother may also be having an affair with another shady diplomat. (And there the similarities of the two books end, in terms of plot, if not so much in atmosphere.)

Schwarz's book is terrific. Family saga, international intrigue, mystery; many rich, conflicted and intertwined characters; an accurate historical background evolving over five decades. Apparently the author's family did live in Bangkok when she was a kid, but it's clear to me that this story is the product of her brilliant imagination.

a sad tale of a young 8 year old boy kidnapped in Thailand in the 1970's. It's the story of the destruction of the family and also of redemption. It was a bit too slow moving and too long for me. 464 pages

Wat er te redden viel. Door: Liese O’Halloran Schwarz.

Als je op zoek bent naar een boek dat je deze vakantie helemaal in beslag gaat nemen, een boek dat je dagen vult, lees dan Wat er te redden viel. Het leest als een thriller, een familiekroniek en expat-verhaal in één. Het speelt zich af in Bangkok én in Amerika, in de jaren ‘70 en in het heden.

We volgen grotendeels Laura, zus van Bea en Phillip. Phillip die op 8-jarige leeftijd verdwijnt en 50 jaar later weer opduikt. Wat er toen is gebeurd, wat er ondertussen wel en niet is veranderd, hoe het zo ver is kunnen komen, dat lees je hoofdstuk na hoofdstuk (vol spanning en op het puntje van je stoel).

De setting is vaak exotisch, de personages zijn veelal kleurrijk en flamboyant en toch draait het ook maar om een ‘gewone familie’. Met zijn eigen ups en downs, geheimen, worstelingen, strubbelingen. De scènes, dialogen, intriges; alles is tot in het detail uitgewerkt. Mensen die daar van houden gaan smullen!

Het boek leest als een film of spannende serie. Ik kan me voorstellen dat er gauw een verfilming volgt…

Enthralling. A really good mystery with a great plot!

What Could Be Saved is a well-written story between interwoven timelines of past and present. The major theme is losing and wanting what could have been and how to look forward. That said, the scope of the storyline is wide and may be a bit slow as a result.

Thoughts on story:
Laura is not the most likeable character. There are plenty of details of her life to self-justify and I ended up still resenting her. I wished to learn more about either Bea or Philip. It is super exciting to read about the struggles of a trust-fund artist that is trying to find meaning in her art and love life again. The 1970s Thailand arc was interesting enough to outweigh the burden of modern Laura. Sorry Laura. In addition, Robert's death was a really chilling chapter and took me by surprise. It is expected from the reader knowing the future already but it still has a lot of emotion to it and great reflection. I thought it was really well-done.

Just a lovely, lovely book. Three characters, whose lives converge, in a beautiful moving story line, that was absolutely compelling and hard to put down. I couldn’t have enjoyed this one more.

Three of my favorite quotes -

“This place wasn’t mine, just as Leo was never mine. We have things for a while, and then they’re gone, and we’re lucky to have had them at all”

And

“Nothing is perfectly clean; there’s always a trace of what came before”

And

“At that moment, I made a decision; to give him my secret, or at least a part of it, to keep.
It’s our secrets that make each of us different from everyone else - our secrets and what we choose to love”

You’ll have to read the book to see how these themes coalesce in this wondrous story!

Told in alternating timelines, this book is set in 2019 Washington, DC and 1972 Bangkok. It is a dramatic family story of the aftermath of a child going missing. It is especially tragic in that the family has to return to the USA without their missing child.

I enjoyed the glimpse into the cultural life of the Thai people. I also liked the descriptions of the Thai landscape. I thought the characters were well-developed.

I did find the pace much too slow for me. As a result, I lost interest about halfway through the book. I also found some of it unrealistic.

I received an advance egalley from the publisher and NetGalley with no expectation of a positive review.

This is such a beautiful story it made me cry.

The possible world is the story of four people, Ben, Leo, Lucy and Claire.
Ben, a boy of six years, whose just lost his mother to a brutal murder, Leo, a boy who lives in Ben's head and memories, Lucy, an ER doctor, whose life is falling apart and Claire, a lady, almost hundred years who is experienced loss more than anobody should.
They are all very different but still they are connected. The connection between them isn't clear until later in the book and it keeps you guessing and interested in the story from the beginning to the end.

Like I said, the story itself is marvelous and so, so beautiful. It's not particularly happy, it's actually quite sad and full of darkness and misery. It goes through Leo and Claire's story in their memories and Lucy lives through her life that is falling apart. It is so hard to put into words how I felt when reading this book. It's been awhile since I really cried when reading a book.

In the end, they all felt happiness. They all had they happy endings in a way. And after I closed the book, it was really hard for me to fall asleep because I was so, so overwhelmed with the book and how it made me feel. It was truly, truly beautiful and it is still hard for me to comprehend that I've finished it.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I'm giving this 4 stars, since I thought the first half was worth 5 stars and the second more like 3 stars. The set up is intriguing: is the man in Thailand Laura and Bea's brother Philip, who went missing there when he was eight? The dual timelines (now, when Laura travels to Bangkok to find out, and 1972 when Philip disappeared) worked well, with the suspense of whether it was Philip or not being maintained in the first timeline, while the second set up various potential suggestions of who might be responsible for his disappearance.

However, the second half dragged for me - I just wanted to find out what had happened to Philip, and wasn't interested in a blow by blow account of the last minutes of Philip's father's life in 1980, or a lengthy recap of the life story of Noi, the servant who returned to the States with the family. The story of what had actually happened to Philip was recounted again at great length and was somehow more mundane than I had been hoping for.

I would be interested to read more by this author though - her characterization was excellent.

Oh my heart! What a beautiful story. The characters were so real and developed so beautifully I feel like they were real people. Loved how their lives all came together for a very satisfying ending.

I finished this late last night, then felt bereft. Tempted to go back to the beginning and read it again I loved it that much.

LOSS AND THE HUMAN NEED FOR CONNECTION. Three stories, one a young woman named, Lucy, an ER doctor, reeling from a failing marriage. A young boy, named Ben, who insisted he be called Leo, arrives in the ER, the victim of a terrible crime, and a horrific personal tragedy. Lastly, Claire, in a senior center, soon to celebrate her 100th birthday, and her story is both wonderful and heartbreaking. When the story first opens, we hear from all three of these characters, their stories unraveling as we read. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how these stories were going to line up, merge, and fit together.

From the beginning I trusted this author, that she would reveal what I needed to know, when it fit. I was intrigued, and loved not knowing exactly how this would go, it was a unique experience. Usually I'm trying to fit everything together, guess what would happen, not here, I sat back and read, waited. It was sad, lovely, and everything in between. The human need for touch connection, the passing of time and what can change, what cannot, is fully exemplified in this novel. A connection made in the past, that needs to be fulfilled in the present. Possible? Who knows, I certainly don't, but in this authors deft hands, all things seem possible.

A little bit different, a little bit wonderful.

ARC from Edelweiss.

Being invited to a birthday party isn‘t something that comes easy for Ben. Too many things can happen, all is so unpredictable with other boys, but his mother can convince him to go nevertheless. And then, the most unexpected happens: a murderer comes to the party and kills the two mothers in the house as well as all of the kids, except for Ben. In hospital, Lucy can only determine that he hasn’t been hurt physically, but there seems to be a kind of trauma since Ben wants to be called Leo and remembers life with a certain Clare. At an elderly home somewhere in town, Clare is fighting again against having to socialise. Her life alone in a recluse hut and later with her foster child Leo has simply been perfect. How come Ben remembers being Clare’s son Leo?

Liese O‘Halloran Schwarz‘ novel is one of the rare books that you just open and then get completely lost in. I read it in just one sitting because I simply did not want to get away from her characters. It is bittersweet, often melancholic, but you see the good heart the characters have and you are convinced that there must be something good coming from them. It is a perfect feel-good book, even though it tells harsh reality in an emergency room and the story of a child given away by his mother.

I liked the alternate narration of the three protagonists, even though it did not completely make sense at the beginning, you slowly manage to put together the puzzle pieces that form a new and complete picture. All three are very sensitive characters, misunderstood by the people around them and therefore lonely. I guess these kind of people recognize each other what helps them to find each other. What also links them is the fact that they are highly intelligent and question the world: why do the things have to be the way they are and why don’t people change something about it?

A beautifully written story about non-mainstream characters who can easily be overlooked.

The Possible World by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz is a highly recommended emotional novel that deals with loss and the bonds between people.

In Providence, Rhode Island, a six-year-old boy, Ben, witnesses the aftermath of a brutal multiple murder, including that of his mother, while at a birthday party. When found alive and uninjured in the carnage, Ben insists on being called Leo, but otherwise remembers nothing. He is traumatized and almost mute. The police are hoping he can remember something about the crime, but for now he is sent to the pediatric psych unit.

Dr. Lucy Cole is an emergency room doctor who checked Ben over when he came in and later realizes that he is the son of a colleague who was murdered. She is perpetually overworked and dealing with turmoil in her personal life. Lucy finds herself thinking of Ben and continues to visit him.

Clare is an elderly woman living in a nursing home. She is lucid and doing well, but she is about to turn one-hundred-years-old. Clare has carried her life story and it's many secrets for a long time, but may finally feel like it is time to tell her story to a new resident.

The Possible World is well written and the characters are fully developed and complicated. The narrative rotates between the main three characters, Ben, Lucy, and Clare, and later a fourth, a young boy from Clare's past named Leo. The thoughts, emotions, and the lives of these people are explored and revealed, culminating in a reunion of sorts. It is a very compelling novel and will hold your attention throughout.

I had two qualms with the novel. The first is the myriad of ER details Lucy shares. This make sense, she is an ER Dr. as is the author Liese O'Halloran Schwarz, but I wasn't reading this as a medical novel and soon grew a bit weary of all the ER action. Readers are also required to believe/accept the idea that reincarnation is real and that Ben used to be a boy named Leo. It felt too contrived for me to totally accept this plot pretense and the final scene. However, the quality of the writing is never in dispute.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Scribner.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/06/the-possible-world.html

I absolutely LOVED this book!!!! The cover of the book caught my eye and the story ended being amazing. It was beautifully written. This is one of those books that I find myself randomly thinking about, especially while driving home from work. The characters and their story just stuck with me. I loved everything about it- the story, characters and writing style. The characters just all came together, they ended up being connected even though Ben, Lucy and Clare didn't initially know each other.

Lucy is an ER doctor. She meets Ben when when he is brought into the ER covered in blood. He was the lone survivor of a horrific birthday party massacre. He tells the doctors his name is Leo and wants to find Clare. Under hypnosis, Ben tells Leo's story. Clare is living in a nursing home and is believed to be 100 years old. She ends up making friends with another resident, Gloria. She eventually tells Gloria her story.

I may have cried a few times, definitely at the end. I fell in love with the characters especially Clare. Her story was heartbreaking. I liked how it alternated between Clare, Ben/Leo and Lucy. I feel like I got to know the characters. Even when the book ended I wanted to keep reading about their lives. Leo's mom was unbelievable. She didn't seem to have any emotion when she received the telegram, unlike Clare. Clare loved and took care of Leo just like Lucy will for Ben.

I definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more by the author. It was one of my favorite books that I read this year!!!

Thanks to NetGalley, Scribner and the author, Liese O'Halloran Schwarz, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.

Comment: Started listening to this and it gets off to an intriguing start but I couldn't apply myself to it.½