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 ( )