Sweeping across the world from Paris to Vietnam, this book had so many of my favorite things: intercultural intrigue, the societal clashes and rampant corruption of colonialism, great character development, sumptuous details of far-off places. Told in a fractured timeline with a very slow reveal, this story intrigues and captivates. I loved this book and wish I had it to read again.

This is a historical book based on 1933.
Victor and his american-born wife Jessie. And there young child Lucie. Made the move from Paris to Hanoi.
Victor takes over the rubber Factory owned by his family.
This Book was hard for me to get into.
But was a good book once into it.
Thank you netgally

Lyrical and lush it's a story that will transport you far away to a world not many of us get to see. Beautifully written this amazing story will temporarily whisk you away from everything that's going on around you. Prepare to be dazzled. Happy reading!

A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe is an intriguing novel of Indochina and the Michelin (rubber) family. It is written from two points of view: Jessie and Marcelle, and takes place in 1933, at the height of imperialism. Jessie is the wife of Victor Lesage a cousin of the ruling family and anxious to make his way in the world. Jessie had suggested coming to Indochina and it was turning out to be an excellent idea. She had her own reasons, above and beyond it being good for her family: she, Victor and their daughter, Lucie. Marcelle was the wife of Arnaud de Fabry, the head of the chamber of commerce in Hanoi. She was also the lover of long standing of Khoi Nguyen, whom she had met in Paris when he was a student some ten years earlier. She was somewhat discrete but her husband had his own lovers so it was mutual. She and Khoi were looking to get revenge on the man who had killed their friend, Sinh Cao upon his return home several years before. They believed the murder had been at the behest of the Michelin family. Marcelle pretends to be Jessie's friend. All Jessie wants is to use her brain to help her husband. It gets very complicated. The reader won't see the end until it smacks them in the face.

This is an extremely well-plotted, well-thought-out story complicated by expectations. People expectations of Jessie as a European wife, Michelin's expectations of Victor, the servants' expectations of the family they served and their response to Jessie's unexpected kindness. There are also secrets, everyone has them and they all come back to bite. It was another time, another world. This book was an exciting glimpse into a totally different lifestyle. It was intriguing as well as frightening. The ease of paying someone to do something for you is probably not much different than today, but it was certainly cheaper. Enjoyable. Interesting. Improbable. I liked it. I recommend it.

I received a free ARC of A Hundred Suns from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #ahundredsuns

Rating: 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars

Karin Tanabe’s “A Hundred Suns” did not quite fulfill my expectations. Set in 1930’s Indochine (present-day Vietnam) the book introduces us to Jessie and her French husband Victor Michelin Lesage. They are moving from Paris so that Victor can climb another rung on his family’s business ladder. American Jessie comes with her own set of secrets that she is trying to run from and bury. The dissolute ex-pat society that she finds in Indochine exacerbates her fragile mental state.

There are rumblings of rebellion fueled in part by Jessie’s new friend Marcelle de Fabry. Marcelle is part of the ex-pat community, but she also has a local lover and her own reasons to want to overthrow the French regime in Vietnam. The setting is steamy. The ex-pat society pinballs from excessive drinking to opium use. The ex-pats treat the Vietnamese horribly. I am glad I wasn’t actually plunked down in the middle of this setting.

Historical fiction and women’s fiction are this book’s advertised genres. However, there is also a strong element of a psychological thriller embedded in the story. Will Jessie crack in this foreign environment? What secrets might she let slip? Will they have the power to destroy her and her family? For me, the book was too muddled. I appreciated the story arc that the author was trying build. However, I thought that arc was too broad. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the focus went deeper on the historical fiction aspect, and less on the psychological thriller aspect. I did learn new things about Vietnam in the 1930’s, which enhanced the book’s experience for me.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, St Martin’s Press; and the author, Karin Tanabe, for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Set in the 1930's, A Hundred Suns centers on Vietnam under the colonial rule of the French. Split between two women, this historical fiction novel offers disparate viewpoints as the Vietnamese workers labor under brutal conditions and, secretly, long for a communist uprising. Jessie Lesage is married to a MIchelin heir, and they have recently relocated to Vietnam to oversee the rubber plantations there. Through Jessie's eyes, we see her become disillusioned with the French and, also, the capitalistic Michelin machine. Her descent into ugliness is also marred by strange hallucinations that plague her increasingly often. Marcelle de Fabry is a married woman with a secret agenda, to set off a communist uprising against the French and achieve independence for the Vietnamese people. Marcelle sets her sights on the Michelin plantations, and as she begins to uncover the truth, Jessie and Marcelle must come to terms with what the French occupation really means.

I mostly liked A Hundred Suns. It had a lot going on, and the ending was a bit convenient, however I do appreciate that much of what was written here is based on factual events. I got a pretty good sense of what was going on in Vietnam and, particularly, learned a fair bit about the Michelin empire in this region. While I don't expect this book will be for everyone, if you're looking for a thought-provoking read that's got some economic and societal meat on its bones, pick this one up.

⭐ 3.75 rounded up to 4 Stars...

Thanks @netgalley #stmartinspress for my free eARC of #ahundredsuns at my request. All opinion are my own.

Set in 1930s Indochine, Jessie and Victor, an heir to the Michelin family, move to the French colony to run the family plant. In their exclusive expat community, they meet Marcelle (French) and her husband and her lover. While Victor and Jessie hope to achieve great success with the plant which would help them gain credibility in the eyes of Victor's family, Jessie has other reasons for pushing her husband to pursue the opportunity in Vietnam. The couple is caught up in the glamorous and drug-filled nightlife and the dangerous political climate.

Told from dual perspectives (Jessie and Marcelle), A Hundred Suns is a mixture of historical fiction, intrigue, suspense, and psychological thriller. Jessie could be considered an unreliable narrator.

Content Considerations: drugs, mental health, sexual encounters

A Hundred Suns is well written and researched, and readers who enjoy hisfic with elements of a suspenseful thriller might want to check this out.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

Set in Vietnam, this story is about an dirt-poor American who married well, meets a friend who may is or may not be a friend, with a little mystery and lots of secrets flying around.

I had a hard time getting into this book, probably because I didn't care for characters and their lifestyles the more I got to know them. I was somewhat intrigued, but at the same time didn't like them. It took me two attempts to get into the story, and I struggled with it. I think this is a book where the timing of when you read it is important, and understand it's more about the behavior than the time.

A Hundred Suns is the story of Jesse Lesage, an American woman who marries Victor, an heir to the Michelin rubber fortune. In an effort to improve Victor’s standing in the company, Victor and Jessie and their daughter, Lucie, move to Indochine. She is befriended by Marcelle de Fabry shortly after their arrival, and, although initially enamored with all the culture has to offer, Jessie becomes more conflicted about things happening around her, as well as suffering a decline in her own wellbeing. Karin Tanabe does a masterful job of taking the reader into her detailed world of 1930s Vietnam.

I enjoyed A Hundred Suns immensely. It portrays a completely different culture than much of today’s historical fiction, and is clearly well researched, not only in the details of the time period, but the dramatic differences in the lifestyles of the French citizens living in Indochine as well as the natives of the area. The characters are well formed and interesting, and the plot is fast paced, while still giving the reader enough details to truly be able to imagine the setting. This is historical fiction/mystery/thriller at its best!

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Karin Tanabe for my advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Books featuring Vietnam seem to be popping up everywhere. This is my third in the past month--two historical fiction and one thriller. This new title from Karin Tanabe is set in the 30's at the height of French colonialism. Jessie and Marcelle tell the story of swanky clubs, fancy yachts, opium parties, and the rise of communism on the rubber plantations. The lives of the two women are intertwined in ways we do not understand until much later in the narrative. Through it all, Jessie strives for a partnership with her husband who is connected to the iconic Michelin family. Marcelle freely cavorts with her Indochine lover while socializing on the arm of her husband who has his share of affairs and works with the government. When Jessie sees the suffering on the rubber plantations first hand, how can she put her family first and still help the workers live better lives? If this setting appeals to you and you like historical fiction, be sure to check out "The Mountains Sing" by Phan Qu Mai Nguyn.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for a paperback ARC and to NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’ve enjoyed Karin Tanabe’s previous historical fiction releases, so I knew without even thinking much about it that I was interested in her next book regardless of the subject matter. And the fact that she was writing about French Indochine (Vietnam under French rule) in the 1930s was intriguing, as it was a period I didn’t know a ton about. Thus, it was somewhat disappointing that I didn’t really gel with this one.

At the heart of it, there is some inclusion of the politics, with the major characters being heavily involved in that aspect, particularly Jessie whose husband is part of the Michelins and is trying to hide her secrets to ensure the family’s good fortune. And the allusions to the broader issues, while not as frequent as I would have liked, were great, and I

However, a lot of the story is also devoted to depictions of Jessie’s and Marcelle’s decadent lives while the workers suffer, and it just felt odd to read juxtaposed against all these radical events going on. I am aware this is the reality of the situation, and I don’t think we’re meant to fully sympathize with either of them fully. However, I didn’t feel like they were successful anti-heroes either.

I did not enjoy this at all, and find myself quite disappointed at its imperialist, hedonistic take on a rather dark time in history, especially in comparison to the other books Tanabe wrote which handle things like race relations so well. I think if you don’t mind a story with unlikable leads with their hands in rather shady dealings, then I think you’ll enjoy this, especially as it is complemented by some glitz and glamour.

I must admit I was quite surprised by the plot - both the storyline and history. It took me a while to understand who was a villain and who was a victim.

The novel has two narrators, American Jessie Lesage and French Marcelle de Fabry. Both women come from different backgrounds and social statuses. They have built themselves up and created a better future with successful marriages. There is one more thing Jessie and Marcelle have in common - Michelin family.

I've enjoyed the novel more than I ever expected it. The stories of both Jessie and Marcelle tell us about poverty, child abuse, drug abuse, infidelity, political wars, and revenge. I've learned so much about French Indochine during the 1930s. An author painted a sad, gruesome but real picture of the colonies and its natives' lives before the fall of France during WWII.

"A Hundred Suns" is a wonderful historical fiction read. I enjoyed both Jessie and Marcelle's storylines, admired their ambition, dedication, and strong will. Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a free and advanced copy of the novel.

Set in the 1930’s, A Hundred Suns follows the life of American teacher Jessie Lesage, wife to Victor - an heir to the Michelin rubber fortune, as they settle into Indochine to build the family’s rubber empire. But the longer they are in Indochine, the more it appears that Jessie may be losing her mind….or is she?

As with any great historical fiction, A Hundred Suns gives readers scandal, drama, and family secrets that could destroy their empire. But unlike most historical fiction, this book is also a bit of a thriller!

Marcelle is in Indochine to seek revenge for the death of a dear friend, Sinh. Told from alternating perspectives of Jessie and Marcelle de Fabry, this story has a unique psychological component that sets it apart from most historical fiction. As the story unfolds, the connection between the two women is revealed.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Karin Tananbe for the advanced copy of A Hundred Suns in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. This is much more (and different) than I expected it to be from both the promotional material and the first chapter. Jessie and Marcelle both clawed their way out of poverty to marry rich Frenchmen and now they've come to a collision point in 1933 Hanoi. Jessie is an American married to a Michelin who is managing the plantations while Marcelle is a French woman married to a banker but in love with Khoi, a wealthy IndoChinese silk magnate. There are an incredible number of secrets here, some of which don't some out until the very end. Marcelle and Khoi, however, are communists who want to avenge the death of one of their friends- and Jessie's husband Victor is implicated. Terrific period and local atmospherics (noting that this is top 1 percent stuff) and intriguing, multifaceted characters will keep you reading, I learned something about Indochina during this period (always a plus) and sadly, also about conditions on rubber plantations. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Great storytelling and a surprise around many corners!

I enjoyed the setting and the era of this book although the political storyline was not as interesting to me. The pseudo friendship between the two main female characters did not engage me either. The book felt too long and not quite enough action for my reading taste at this time.
#NetGalley #AHundredSuns

A Hundred Suns, by Karin Tanabe was a captivating read. Set in Hanoi in 1933, it tells the story of family and friends all trying to do what it best to better their lives. The story is filled with drama, love, and manipulation all done in the motivation of making the world around the characters better in their own eyes. I truly loved this story and the way the story was told. My attention was grabbed in the very first chapter and was held until the very end.

A Hundred Suns is a provocative story of avarice, power, and colonial politics set in French Indochina in the 1930s. Jessie Lesage and her husband, heir to the Michelin business empire, Victor Michelin Lesage, arrive in Hanoi amidst a global recession to manage the Michelin rubber plantations and grow their fortune.

Karin Tanabe paints a vivid picture of the French colonial masters living a profuse lifestyle of opium, glamour and sex, while ordinary plantation ‘coolies’, work in dire conditions and live in poverty. The ordinary people dream of independence and communism starts to exert an influence.

“The most important thing, taking precedence over everything else, is that the plantations continue to make money. If we don’t have profit, we can’t even feed our men. The second priority, which is equal and forever linked to the first, is to keep the communist element from rising up.”

Jessie knows she has to support her husband so after a few years, they can return to Paris a success. She does, however, battle mental issues, some held in secret from her past, and a lifestyle of pleasure and gossip makes exposure much more of a reality. Jessie meets another glamourous woman, Marcelle de Fabry, and their delicate relationship progresses on a fine line between friend and foe.

Marcelle is married to a French ex-pat but has a closer relationship with her Indochinese lover, Khoi Nguyen whom she first met years previously in Paris. Marcelle has a quest to return Vietnam to independence and her first target is the Michelin rubber plantation business. With private investigators seeking evidence of wrongdoing, they uncover secrets they didn’t expect. The story is told from the perspectives of Jessie and Marcelle, both are influenced by previous experiences and both struggle to tread a line between friendship, ambition and previous obligations. The suspense is built with secrets being uncovered and teasingly released. Neither of the female characters was captivating, although Marcelle did provide a more intriguing background that provided glimpses into the issues facing the region at the time.

In a time when Indochina’s indigenous people struggled with colonial rule and geared itself for a war of independence, the story embeds itself in the unrestrained immoral antics surrounding an Officer's Club. What I felt missing in the novel, was a more compelling thread in terms of the deeper political and social powder keg which contributed to the Vietnam War starting twenty years later on 1st November 1955.

I had an expectation starting this historical fiction novel that wasn’t fully realised but I still felt it was a well-written novel which may resonate better with other readers. I would rate the book 3.5 stars and I’d like to thank St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

An enjoyable, interesting read the whole way through. I liked the psychological thriller edge to this novel as the back and forth between Jessie and Marcelle left me guessing on who would win out in the end. I found both women to be interesting characters. Jessie, being a somewhat unreliable narrator, was more calculating than I expected but I liked that rough edge to her. And Marcelle, it's impossible not to agree with her mission.

I will say I was hoping for more history in this historical fiction; there are plentiful descriptions of French Indochina's landscape and expat life but it was hard to truly immerse yourself in the time knowing that the majority of life there wasn't really being shown. I think my genre expectations are why I didn't enjoy it more because I did like it, but it wasn't what I thought I'd read (which is on me). The pacing kinda shows issues here because the thriller bits really race by while the setting/historical descriptions slow it down. I'd say this one's more women's fiction and thriller than historical fiction.

That's not a dig on the story though. It's well written and I had a hard time putting it down, though the ending left me a little wanting. All in all, I did like it though and would suggest it to friends.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press and the author Karin Tanabe for the opportunity to do so.

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.

This book presents a good view of Vietnam during the pre-WWII days. Victor Michelin Lesage, his American-born wife Jessie and their young daughter Lucie move to Hanoi, where Victor is to take over the management of the rubber plantations owned by the Michelin family. The story focuses on Jessie, and her adaptation to the life there while escaping her past and the secrets it holds. Life in Hanoi is different from any Jessie has ever known. She is quickly caught up in the life of ex-pats who spend their time drinking and smoking opium, as opposed to the life of the Communists who would prefer the French treat the Vietnamese better or just go home. The book follows Jessie and the ex-pat she befriends Marcelle de Fabry, the wife of the president of the chamber of commerce. As the book progresses, we see Jessie’s disillusionment with the French in Vietnam as well as with the Michelin family, as she slips farther into a sort of mental stupor or illness. The book, as I said, presented a good picture of the decadent French in Vietnam, or Indochine, as they called it then. I enjoyed finding out what the country was like then, as I have always been interested in the area and in the French, whether ex-pats or not. The book definitely gave me a picture of this. The two main characters were interesting opposites, and it was fascinating to watch them interact with an react to each other and the small group in which they traveled. This is a good book for a reader interested in historical fiction and/or this small country. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.