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A review by jaayraad_reads
The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee
4.0
The Expatriates, now a show with a bit of Covid controversy, tells the story of three women. Margaret, Mercy and Hillary. Three women whose lives were once separate but are now entwined after a terrible tragedy.
Margaret and her children followed her husband Clarke to Hong Kong, and while Margaret attempted some semblance of a working life, she quickly became a part of American-expat life, lunch with the ladies, days at the club, international getaways for weekends and holidays. That is until one day she meets Mercy.
Mercy is struggling, she has little to no work and is the outlier among her friends. A Korean American, she isn’t as wealthy or successful as her friends and as much as she tries to fit in, she is always just on the outside. When she meets Margaret, she offers to help with the children, looking after them when needed, until a trip to Korea results in the youngest child going missing.
What follows is a tale of grief, of how these two women handle their grief for the loss of G in different ways. Margaret withdraws. Mercy starves, and then begins an affair with Hillary’s husband.
What I found more enjoyable about the book vs the TV show, was the deeper focus on Hillary. On her desire for a child, on her relationship with a Julian as she works towards adopting him.
Overall, this was a great story about expat life, and the way each of these women adapted to their surroundings. As in the show there is still no indication of what happened to G, but I wasn’t expecting to find out anything more
Margaret and her children followed her husband Clarke to Hong Kong, and while Margaret attempted some semblance of a working life, she quickly became a part of American-expat life, lunch with the ladies, days at the club, international getaways for weekends and holidays. That is until one day she meets Mercy.
Mercy is struggling, she has little to no work and is the outlier among her friends. A Korean American, she isn’t as wealthy or successful as her friends and as much as she tries to fit in, she is always just on the outside. When she meets Margaret, she offers to help with the children, looking after them when needed, until a trip to Korea results in the youngest child going missing.
What follows is a tale of grief, of how these two women handle their grief for the loss of G in different ways. Margaret withdraws. Mercy starves, and then begins an affair with Hillary’s husband.
What I found more enjoyable about the book vs the TV show, was the deeper focus on Hillary. On her desire for a child, on her relationship with a Julian as she works towards adopting him.
Overall, this was a great story about expat life, and the way each of these women adapted to their surroundings. As in the show there is still no indication of what happened to G, but I wasn’t expecting to find out anything more