An underdeveloped novel about finding one’s place when far away from home.
A dutiful wife and mother leaves small-town Oklahoma for Thailand in Lav’s debut novel set in the mid-1970s.
Brian Carrol accepts a job in Bangkok from an American oil and gas company. His journalist wife, Crystal, will remain in Pico City, Oklahoma with their children, Lisa and Tim, for two months while they complete the school year; then they’ll all move to Thailand to be with him. Brian never asked Crystal if she wanted to go, which she quietly laments. In Bangkok, Brian gets to know Judi, a masseuse, but turns down her sexual advances. Crystal reluctantly leaves her job, and once in Thailand with the kids, she feels isolated. Still, she develops a friendship with her maid, Nit, who hopes to attend an American university. Crystal insists on tutoring her, but Nit is unable to grasp English grammar and quits her job. Hoping to make amends, Crystal tracks down Nit’s parents, who accept the money she offers them but also berate her, noting that she knows “nothing of our lives.” Meanwhile, Brian uncovers an embezzlement scheme at his place of business, which puts the family in danger—and young Tim is briefly kidnapped. Later, Crystal discovers Brian’s secret relationship with Judi and becomes severely depressed; Brian arranges for her to return to the United States, where she’s hospitalized. Later, she returns to Bangkok, and begins writing remotely for the Oklahoma Daily. Over the course of this novel, Lav presents an ambitious tale about overstepping cultural boundaries and losing one’s autonomy within a marriage. However, some of the story’s more complex issues resolve far too easily; for instance, 8-year-old Tim is abducted for two entire days, but he recovers from the ordeal unrealistically quickly. The dialogue often falls flat, and the inner monologues are stilted and unrevealing (“I’m not sure of anything anymore. This is so hard!” Brian muses). The novel does, however, give readers an unusual glimpse of life in Thailand in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
An underdeveloped novel about finding one’s place when far away from home.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63152-707-4
Page Count: 280
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A touching story of love and grief ends in an epic battle of good versus evil.
Roberts’ latest may move you to tears, or joy, or dread, or all three.
Every summer, John and Cora Fox visit Cora’s mother, Lucy Lannigan, in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky, leaving their children, 12-year-old Thea and 10-year-old Rem, for a two-week taste of heaven. The children love Grammie Lucy far more than John’s snooty family, which looks down on Cora. Lucy, a healer with deep Appalachian roots, loves animals, cooks the best meals, plays musical instruments, and makes soap and candles for her thriving business. Thea—who’s inherited the psychic abilities passed down through the women of Lucy’s family—has vivid magical dreams, one of which becomes a living nightmare when a psychopath robs and murders John and Cora as Thea watches helplessly. Thea’s description of the killer and her ability to see him in real time help the skeptical police catch Ray Riggs, who goes to prison for life. Although Thea and Rem go on to have a wonderful childhood with Grammie, Thea constantly wages a mental battle with Riggs, who tries to use his own psychic abilities to get into her mind. Over the years, Thea uses her imagination to become a game designer while the more business-minded Rem helps manage her career. Thea eventually builds a house near Lucy, where a newly arrived neighbor is her teen crush, singer-songwriter Tyler Brennan. Tyler has his own issues and is protective of his young son but slowly builds a loving relationship with Thea, whose silence about her abilities leads to a devastating misunderstanding. At first Thea tries to keep Riggs locked out of her mind. As her powers grow, she torments him. Finally, she realizes that she must win this battle and destroy him if she’s ever to have peace.
A touching story of love and grief ends in an epic battle of good versus evil.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781250289698
Page Count: 432
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
Answers are hard to come by in this twisting tale designed to trick and delight.
Three siblings on very different paths learn that their family home may be haunted by secrets.
Eldest daughter Beth is alone with her fading mother as she takes her final breath and says something about Beth’s long-departed brother and sister, who may not have disappeared forever. Beth is still reeling from the loss of her mother when her estranged siblings show up. Michael, the youngest, hasn’t been home since their father’s disappearance seven years ago. In the meantime, he’s outgrown his siblings, trading his share of the family troubles for a high-paying job in San Jose. Nicole, the middle child, has been overpowered by addiction and prioritized tuning out reality over any sense of responsibility, much to Beth’s disgust. Though their mother’s death marks an ending for the family, it’s also a beginning, as the three siblings realize when they find a disturbing videotape among their parents’ belongings. The video, from 1999, sheds suspicion on their father’s disappearance, linking it to a long-unsolved neighborhood mystery. Was it just a series of unfortunate circumstances that broke the family apart, or does something more sinister underlie the sadness they’ve all found in life? In chapters that rotate among the family’s first-person narratives, the siblings take turns digging up stories and secrets in their search for solace.
Answers are hard to come by in this twisting tale designed to trick and delight.Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9798212182843
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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