The Expatriates
On sale
12th January 2016
Price: £9.99
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‘Devastating and heartwarming, and exquisite in every way, this is a book you’ll fall deeply in love with and never want to put down’ Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians
‘I raced through this enthralling story’ Liane Moriarty
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Piano Teacher, a searing novel of marriage, motherhood and the search for connection far from home.
Expats come to the glittering city of Hong Kong for myriad reasons – to find or lose themselves in a foreign place, and to forget or remake themselves far from home. Three women’s lives to collide in ways that rewrite every assumption of their privileged world:
Mercy, a young Korean American and recent Columbia graduate, once again finds herself compromised and adrift, trying to start her life anew.
Hilary, a wealthy housewife, is haunted by her struggle to have a child, hoping to save her uncertain marriage.
Margaret, once the enviable mother of three, tries to negotiate an existence that has become utterly unrecognizable after a catastrophic event.
Faced with unthinkable choices, these three women form a profound connection that defies the norms of the sequestered community – finding in each other a strength borne of need, forgiveness, and ultimately hope.
Brilliantly plotted and written, utterly absorbing’ Daily Mail
‘An emotionally gripping page-turner’ Elle
‘Devastating and heartwarming, and exquisite in every way, this is a book you’ll fall deeply in love with and never want to put down’ Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians
‘I raced through this enthralling story’ Liane Moriarty
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Piano Teacher, a searing novel of marriage, motherhood and the search for connection far from home.
Expats come to the glittering city of Hong Kong for myriad reasons – to find or lose themselves in a foreign place, and to forget or remake themselves far from home. Three women’s lives to collide in ways that rewrite every assumption of their privileged world:
Mercy, a young Korean American and recent Columbia graduate, once again finds herself compromised and adrift, trying to start her life anew.
Hilary, a wealthy housewife, is haunted by her struggle to have a child, hoping to save her uncertain marriage.
Margaret, once the enviable mother of three, tries to negotiate an existence that has become utterly unrecognizable after a catastrophic event.
Faced with unthinkable choices, these three women form a profound connection that defies the norms of the sequestered community – finding in each other a strength borne of need, forgiveness, and ultimately hope.
Brilliantly plotted and written, utterly absorbing’ Daily Mail
‘An emotionally gripping page-turner’ Elle
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Reviews
One chief pleasure of The Expatriates is watching how the lives of Hilary, Mercy and Margaret converge and are changed by that convergence, and how they each metabolize grief. A more subtle yet lingering benefit is getting to know Lee's acutely observed Hong Kong, a city on the cusp of change that must eventually affect the lives of expatriates and locals alike
Powerful [and] nuanced . . . poignant and compelling . . . The Expatriates moves with urgency, but also takes time to slowly reveal a complex story. Lee's storytelling is intricate, precise and rich enough to keep the reader seduced until the end
A remarkably touching and quite, quite beautiful read. Set in Hong Kong, the prologue is teeming with people making their way to this remarkable city...Janice Y. K. Lee writes with an exquisite, startling intensity...There is a real depth and energy to the writing, yet the thread of compassion that weaves through the pages ensures a delicate balance. The Expatriates' is wonderfully fascinating, compelling and profound, and I absolutely loved it
Irresistible . . . Lee's wizardry is her ability to whip drama, pathos and humor into a scrumptious page-turning blend.
Brilliantly plotted and written, utterly absorbing, often heartbreaking, The Expatriates looks set to be one of the books of the year
We imagine we know these [expatriate] women, who are distanced from their work, friends, and family, but we don't. Janice Y. K. Lee does. Set in Hong Kong, The Expatriates looks inside the lives of three women . . . all in crisis, all needing one another in ways they, and we, can't imagine
An emotionally gripping page-turner
A novel about displacement and belonging . . . A thoughtful portrait of motherhood trade-offs, the book also offers sharp insights into the tensions between moneyed expats and the impoverished locals who serve them
Lee has written a book that manages to shine a penetrating light on both the ups and downs of the expat experience and the resilience of human spirit...A perceptive and compelling tale. By laying bare three lives and dishing out a series of hard knocks, Janice Lee expertly demonstrates how "small decisions lead to big effects"
Gorgeously wrought
Lee excels at conveying the claustrophobic atmosphere of expat life. Despite their various degrees of privilege and wealth, Hilary, Margaret and Mercy are all forced to operate within a tight framework of expectations. . . shrewd and moving
We found ourselves racing through this exotic, sexy, heartbreaking book. . . . We couldn't wait to find out what happens to each of the women
Beautiful and heartbreaking
Janice Y. K. Lee nails family drama and gentrified Hong Kong
Offers sharp insights into the tensions between moneyed expats and the impoverished locals who serve them
I raced through this enthralling story of three very different American women living in the same small expat community in Hong Kong. One devastating moment has irreversible consequences for all three. I kept saying 'no, no, no' as I read the description of that moment. My husband said, 'What?' - and I said, 'Be quiet. Let me read.'
A female, funny Henry James in Asia, Janice Y. K. Lee is vividly good on the subject of Americans abroad...vibrant social satire: Inside these dark materials lies the sharpness of a comic novelist, and Lee's eye for the nuance and clash of culture, class, race and sex is subtle and shrewd