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1920: Nineteen-year-old Soraya, an intelligent and sensitive Muslim girl, takes a job as maid and cook for Mrs. Hattingh in an unnamed colonial harbor city after the Great War. Mrs. Hattingh’s son still resides in England after his war service and, despite her busy life full of good works, Mrs. Hattingh lives alone in some isolation. As Soraya begins her service as a live-in maid, she also encounters a mysterious grey woman, a spirit in the house only she can sense. At length, Soraya’s employer—unaware that Soraya is literate—offers to write weekly letters to Soraya’s fiancé. The two women, alone in the old decaying mansion, develop an oddly intertwined relationship, while her employer demands more of Soraya’s time, limiting her days off and opportunities to visit her beloved family.

This novel totally engrossed me; I devoured this book in one sitting. The writing is masterful and the complex characters hypnotically compelling. As the two women’s convoluted relationship deepens, dark secrets rise to consciousness. The story easily transcends the Gothic genre and makes for a memorable read—a tender and scathing meditation on power dynamics and human experience, on colonizer and colonized, and, more intimately, on two women thrown together by need and circumstance. Easily among the best books I’ve read this year, this book is highly recommended… a fantastic story!

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In 18th-century China, Baoyu is a child of privilege, heir to an important family of Chinese nobles. He is said to have been born with a jade pendant in his mouth and surrounded by luxury. His grandmother swears to this legend and tells him that as long as he wears the jade around his neck, he will have good luck. He is adored and pampered by his grandmother, but his father hates him, and he has no idea why. He prefers to avoid his father and spend his time with his brilliant and beautiful cousin Daiyu, with whom he quickly falls in love. But then a cruel beating, death, betrayal, and the loss of his jade lead Baoyu to look inward.

The descriptions in this novel, which is inspired by the Chinese novel Hong Lou Meng, are absolutely vivid, and written words spring to life: the opulence in which Baoyu lives, the privilege he enjoys, and the servants who meet his every physical need, with no exceptions, paint a lush but questionable picture of his young world. The evil is apparent too. The hatred his father has for him absolutely thumps across the page. A jealous half-brother hates him. Young Baoyu’s unchecked self-indulgence also has the potential for evil.

The reader is quickly immersed in Baoyu’s world, good and bad. The author’s extensive research and knowledge of Chinese folklore and customs, as well as Taoist, Confucian, Zhuangzian, Buddhist, and other teachings is apparent. Baoyu’s response to devastating loss and agony defines this whole book. The impact on this reader, from the vivid imagery combined with the depth of feeling portrayed by the author, was immense. Eye-opening, artful, exquisite, and painful, this is a journey of self-discovery that is not to be missed. Highly, highly recommended.

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