A Hundred Suns: A Novel

Karin Tanabe

Apr 2020 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

Named A Best Book of Spring 2020 by Real Simple · Parade · PopSugar · New York Post · Entertainment Weekly · Betches · CrimeReads · BookBub

"A transporting historical novel, and a smart thriller."— Washington Post

"A luscious setting combined with a sinister, sizzling plot." -EW

A faraway land.
A family’s dynasty.
A trail of secrets that could shatter their glamorous lifestyle.

On a humid afternoon in 1933, American Jessie Lesage steps off a boat from Paris and onto the shores of Vietnam. Accompanying her French husband Victor, an heir to the Michelin rubber fortune, she’s certain that their new life is full of promise, for while the rest of the world is sinking into economic depression, Indochine is gold for the Michelins. Jessie knows that the vast plantations near Saigon are the key to the family’s prosperity, and though they have recently been marred in scandal, she needs them to succeed for her husband’s sake—and to ensure that the life she left behind in America stays buried in the past.

Jessie dives into the glamorous colonial world, where money is king and morals are brushed aside, and meets Marcelle de Fabry, a spellbinding expat with a wealthy Indochinese lover, the silk tycoon Khoi Nguyen. Descending on Jessie’s world like a hurricane, Marcelle proves to be an exuberant guide to colonial life. But hidden beneath her vivacious exterior is a fierce desire to put the colony back in the hands of its people––starting with the Michelin plantations.

It doesn’t take long for the sun-drenched days and champagne-soaked nights to catch up with Jessie. With an increasingly fractured mind, her affection for Indochine falters. And as a fiery political struggle builds around her, Jessie begins to wonder what’s real in a friendship that she suspects may be nothing but a house of cards.

Motivated by love, driven by ambition, and seeking self-preservation at all costs, Jessie and Marcelle each toe the line between friend and foe, ethics and excess. Cast against the stylish backdrop of 1920s Paris and 1930s Indochine, in a time and place defined by contrasts and convictions, Karin Tanabe's A Hundred Suns is historical fiction at its lush, suspenseful best.

Ratings and reviews

Told in alternating chapters we meet Jessie, an American married to the French born Victor, also an heir to the Michelin dynasty meets Marcelle de Fabry, also a French ex-Pat who also has a moneyed lifestyle and, by virtue of knowing “almost everyone” including her lover and silk merchant Khoi Nguyen. Marcelle and Jessie seem to bond – at least until the cattiness starts as allegiances are tested, the rich and need always to be entertained get bored, and Jessie finds herself disillusioned with both the country and her ‘new friends’, particularly when political tensions start to rise and the contrasts between what she ‘thought’ this move would provide and what she is actually navigating in her daily life. What emerges as the story unfolds is the convoluted and complex issues that surround imperialism and colonization, the abject poverty and horrible conditions that the Vietnamese every-day person endured: from long hours for little pay to dangerous situations, strife within families as the unrest over social inequities give rise to a pro-communist viewpoint, and the utter disregard for the years of unique history and family dynamics that were the mainstay of the culture prior to the Michelin’s involvement and hunt for rubber. Added to this is Jessie’s history of mental illness and the long hours spent simply indulging in whims that only the rich could afford, perhaps manipulated and encouraged into more and more ‘questionable’ pastimes, leaving her close to crisis when she starts to see the dire consequences for her (and all of the ex-Pat’s) attitudes and actions. Bringing the time and place to life and light, it is a part of the history of the world that not many people are aware of, knowing of the ‘boat lifts’ during the late 1960’s and 70’s, and little else. Researched and presenting information and little pieces of ‘side knowledge’ that is not well know regarding the Michelin dynasty, as well as presenting the story as one where the ‘downtrodden’ – the Vietnamese workers who were so exploited and abused – become the only people to truly cheer on, finding their turning to communist ideals quite logical and discovering the hearts of the people who simply wanted to ‘regain’ their own country, and have been fighting for just that for long years now. A nice mix of suspense and history with a dash of frenemies and romance added in, the story takes readers on a journey that entertains and enlightens. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Vietnam, SE Asia, family-dynamics, friendship, historical-research, historical-novel The more things change, the more they stay the same. I remembered that maxim countless times as I read this saga. This is the early times of the long French IndoChinese conflicts about colonialism vs communism (think Dr Siri Paiboun) but of the more privileged classes. I had some issues with some of the characters' portrayals but overall I loved it despite the irregular pacing (it reallly dragged in some places). I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

About the author

Karin Tanabe is the author of over half a dozen novels, including A Woman of Intelligence and The Gilded Years. A former Politico reporter, her writing has also appeared in The Washington Post, Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, and Newsday. She has appeared as a celebrity and politics expert on Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and CBS Early Show. Karin is a graduate of Vassar College and lives in Washington, D.C.