Wow, what a story! This book surprised me in so
many ways, which is something I didn’t expect going into it after reading the
summary. On the surface, this looked like a typical mystery / thriller
but with a unique premise – a hyperbaric oxygen therapy procedure gone horribly
wrong and subsequently a young single mother gets put on trial for murder – yet
a few chapters in, it became apparent that there was nothing “typical” about
this story. In fact, I had a hard time categorizing this book, as it’s
one of those stories that starts off with a crime committed – in this case, a
fire that was set, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries – but as the facts
about the case are debated in court and each character gets to tell their side
of the story from their perspective, the narrative evolves into much more than
just an exercise in determining guilt or innocence in order to solve a
case. Rather, the story becomes a deeper exploration of various issues
and experiences that many of us deal with in real life: the complexities
of relationships, the obligations involved with marriage and parenthood, the
bonds of family, morality and ethics as it pertains to how one deals with
incurable medical conditions, etc. – throw into that mix a truly resonant
immigrant story, one that gets to the heart of the Asian immigrant experience
in terms of culture, acceptance, identity, and the effect this experience can
have on those who live it every day. There was a lot of depth to the
story as well as to the characters, all of whom I felt that I could relate to
and connect with in one way or another, despite coming from a completely
different background and, with a few of the characters, not sharing any
experiences in common.
This was a book that I found very hard to put down, to
the point that I very nearly finished it in one sitting except for the fact
that I needed to sleep for a few hours in order for my brain to properly
function so I reluctantly had to finish reading in 2 sittings instead. It
still amazes me that this is the author Angie Kim’s debut novel, as this was so
well-written and the individual threads of the story were woven together so
seamlessly, there’s no doubt in my mind about her talent as a writer. I’m
typically not a fan of books where courtroom dramas are front and center, as I
tend to find them too drawn out and confusing, but this one was very well done,
with a perfect balance of twists and turns as the trial went on with the
cleverly placed backstories that kept me constantly second-guessing each
character’s involvement leading up to the incident. The ending was surprising
and not anything at all like what I expected, yet made perfect sense with the
way the story played out.
In interviews and articles, the author talks about her
family’s own experience with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which she incorporated
into the narrative alongside additional research that gave the story an
altogether authentic feel. At times, I felt like I was reading about a
real-life court case involving real-life people — a criminal case written so
convincingly, I had to remind myself time and again that this was a work of
fiction. The realistic nature of the
story compelled me to immediately go online after I finished the book so I
could find out more about the author and also get some additional background on
what I had read.
This is a book you want to go into knowing as little as
possible and just let the story take you where it leads. With that in mind, I don’t want to say too
much more other than give yourself sufficient time to read this one because
once you pick it up, you most likely won’t want to put it down!
Received ARC from
Sarah Crichton Books (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) via NetGalley
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