The Expatriates: A Novel (Paperback)

The Expatriates: A Novel By Janice Y. K. Lee Cover Image
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January 2016 Indie Next List


“The Expatriates focuses on three very different American women whose lives in wealthy and privileged modern-day Hong Kong merge in an astounding way. Margaret, Hilary, and Mercy come from different backgrounds, and as their inner struggles first collide in this glamorous new world and then with each others', tough decisions are made that have a rippling effect. An unthinkable tragedy occurs that makes two women wish they could turn back the clock. Lee writes beautifully, with each woman's story unfolding in sequenced chapters. A fantastic read!”
— Joanne Doggart, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Chatham, MA

Description


THE INSPIRATION FOR EXPATS—AN ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING NICOLE KIDMAN—NOW STREAMING ON PRIME VIDEO

“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
 
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.

In the glittering city of Hong Kong, expats arrive daily for myriad reasons—to find or lose themselves in a foreign place, and to forget or remake themselves far from home. Amidst this hothouse atmosphere, a tragic incident causes three American women’s lives to collide in ways that will 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; meanwhile, 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.  

Atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Expatriates showcases Lee’s exceptional talent as one of our keenest observers of women’s inner lives.

About the Author


Janice Y. K. Lee was born and raised in Hong Kong. She received a BA in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard College. A former editor at Elle magazine, Lee lives in New York with her husband and four children.

Praise For…


“A female, funny Henry James in Asia, Janice Y. K. Lee is vividly good on the subject of Americans abroad. . . . [The Expatriates is] 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.”
—New York Times Book Review
 
“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

“Irresistible . . . Lee’s wizardry is her ability to whip drama, pathos and humor into a scrumptious page-turning blend. Raise a glass: The first great book-club novel of 2016 has arrived.”
USA Today, 4/4 stars

“I raced through this enthralling story.”
Liane Moriarty, author of Big Little Lies

“Gorgeously wrought . . .a must-read.” 
Marie Claire

“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.”
Seattle Times

“We found ourselves racing through this exotic, sexy, heartbreaking book. . . . We couldn’t wait to find out what happens to each of the women.” 
Glamour

“At turns illuminating, entertaining, cringe-inducing, piercing . . . With meticulous details and nuanced observations, Lee creates an exquisite novel of everyday lives in extraordinary circumstances. . . . How Lee’s triumvirate reacts, copes, and ventures forth (or not) proves to be a stupendous feat of magnetic, transporting storytelling. . . . Mark my words: The Expatriates will appear repeatedly on year-end award nominations and all the 'best of' compilations.”
—Christian Science Monitor
 
“An emotionally gripping page-turner.” 
Elle

"Captivating."
US Weekly

“A nuanced reminder of how shockingly easy it can be to lose everything in a moment and of how to reinvent one’s life after a fall.” 
—San Francisco Chronicle

“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.” 
—Los Angeles Times

“Janice Y.K. Lee’s absorbing, poignant novel . . . [is a] nuanced story of the ordinary heroism needed to move past some of life’s worst experiences. It’s a great read and a testament to the strength and resilience we all have.” 
—Redbook

“Combines a page-turning plot with intimate perceptions about Americans in Hong Kong.” 
—More

"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.”
Vanity Fair
 
“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.”  
People, “The Best New Books”
 
“Janice Y. K. Lee nails family drama and gentrified Hong Kong.”
—New York Magazine
 
“[Lee] gently conveys her sad characters' loneliness, suffering and anguish.” 
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“One of the novel’s strengths is Lee’s exploration of the sometimes subtle interplay between different layers and types of privilege; another is her empathy for the loneliness that her characters must endure. The result is a shrewd and moving study of how race, gender and education constrain the options that life gives you.” 
—The Financial Times

“Everyone’s buzzing about The Expatriates. . . . These women and their stories will pull at every string in your heart.”
—Bustle 

“Sex and the City meets Lost in Translation.”“
—TheSkimm 

“Brilliantly plotted and written, utterly absorbing.”
Daily Mail (London)

“Like Jodi Picoult and Kristin Hannah, Lee is a perceptive observer of her compelling characters and brings them vividly to life in this moving novel.”
—BookPage

“Captivating . . . Lee’s women are complex and often flawed, which makes the stories of their strength all the more compelling in this tale of family, motherhood, and attempts at moving on.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A richly detailed novel that rubs away at the luster of expat life and examines how the bonds of motherhood or, really, womanhood, can call back even those who are furthest adrift.” 
Kirkus Reviews


Product Details
ISBN: 9780143108429
ISBN-10: 0143108425
Publisher: Penguin Books
Publication Date: October 11th, 2016
Pages: 336
Language: English