Barbara (Wedding week, checking in when I can!)'s Reviews > The Expatriates

3.5 Stars: This novel is a book club pick, and not one that was on my radar. That’s what’s good about book club, reading books you would not have chosen. THE EXPATRIATES is chick-lit about three women who are living in Hong Kong in a small expat community. The story is told from the three protagonists point of view.

Mercy is a twenty-something American-Korean who moved to Hong Kong to try and jump-start her floundering life. She graduated from Columbia, is book smart, but seems to make all the wrong decisions in life along with saying all the wrong things.

When the reader meets Margaret, we learn that she battling sadness. She’s suffering from a tragedy that will be revealed later.

In Part I, the reader learns how Mercy and Margaret are entwined, but not how it became so horrible.

In Part II Hilary is introduced. She’s married to a Lawyer, is childless, and wanting a child. Her marriage is tenuous. She is struggling with her identity as a childless wife.

All three women are in the same small community, with Hilary and Margaret being “trailing spouses”, the spouses who gave up their lives or professions to follow their husbands. Author Janice Lee does a fabulous job painting the lives of these women. It’s luxurious, yet lonely at times. They need to recreate their lives to fit into a new community.

Lee also paces the story well. The chapters are short. The Parts do a fine job of separating events. This is a great beach read or airplane read. It’s easy to follow and entertaining. I can’t say I really liked any of the protagonists, although I felt the most empathy for Margaret. Yet, each character deserves empathy, as Lee has constructed them as humanly flawed(I found it difficult nonetheless). I enjoyed learning how those lucky Hong Kong expats get to live. It sounds exciting and fun, even taking into account the down sides. I recommend it as a fast, beach-sort of read.