What Could be Saved by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz

 

This is one of the best books I have read this year. It is an intriguing, fascinating story beautifully told by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz, of the Preston family: parents Genevieve and Robert and children, Beatrice, Laura and Philip. The story moves back and forth between 1972 in Bangkok and 2019 in New York. 

Genevieve is bored with the expat experience and terribly disappointed that the promised one year in Bangkok keeps being extended; Robert cannot tell her of the true nature of his work and her life consists of an endless round of beauty salon appointments, bridge games and parties with other expatriate Americans. The children are looked after by servants and their days are regimented into school, swimming,  ballet lessons for the girls and judo lessons for Philip.

That is the top layer of this brilliant book. The sights, sounds and smells of Bangkok leap from the pages; Genevieve finds her life suddenly filled with drama and excitement and then, suddenly, tragedy strikes the family. The story is gripping, compelling and suspenseful and I found it hard to put the book down once I became involved with the Prestons, their servants and everyone else in their lives. When the action shifts to America in 2019 the story holds its fascination but I won’t reveal any details and spoil the absolute enjoyment anyone who reads the book will surely get from it.

To read this book is to love it! 5 out of 5 at the very least.

Published by Allen & Unwin