What Could Be Saved is one of those long meaty books. It’s not perfect, bur it’s very much the type of novel I love to sink my teeth in. There are two timelines. In the earlier timeline, in 1972, an American family lives in Bangkok. From the outset, we know that one of the children went missing while they were there. In the later timelines, in 2019, the younger sister, Laura, receives an email suggesting that her brother has been found. The earlier timeline is seen from multiple points of view, with everyone caught up in the drama in their own heads. The later timeline is mostly seen from the perspective of Laura, who has lived all these years with the emotional fallout of her brother’s disappearance. The writing is strong. The plotting is intricate. There is a delicious edge of your seat tension to both storylines. And there is a subtle— but not preachy — commentary about colonialism and class. My only real criticism is that I wasn’t very interested in the subplot involving Laura’s melodramatic contemporary relationships. But otherwise it was a good read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Ten stars. Simple Incredible.

If you're lucky, you get a handful of books a year where absolutely everything aligns. I finished this book on Christmas Day (about a week and a half ago) and I still am in awe of what I read. As I turned the last page, I sat in stunned silence. The writing, the story, the characters, THAT ENDING...were simply magnificent. There is not one thing I can think of that I would change about this book. It is truly one of the most special reading experiences I ever had...and certainly most recently.

Since I have finished, I have recommended this to every fiction, family saga, historical fiction book lover I know. So far, every single person has loved it just as much as me. It is PHENOMENAL.

If you are looking for a life changing story...this is it. Read it.

Thank you to Atria Books, Maudee Genao and Liese O’Halloran Schwartz for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review.

Review Date: 01/04/2021
Publication Date: 01/12/2021

This epic story of intrigue, love, and betrayal of an American family living in Bangkok during the 1970's, told in alternating time periods with their current lives in Washington DC, offers a great deal of historical detail and thoughtful attention to the family dynamics and secrets kept for almost five decades. Told through the voice of Laura, the youngest sibling, the reader is drawn into the mystery of a missing 8 year old boy (Laura's older brother) Philip and the web of theories, lies and protective shields created to both justify his disappearance and ultimately to resolve whether or not it is really him that Laura has found in 2019. Even with the dense historical detail in Bangkok and our appreciation that as Genevieve (the family's mother and patriarch) strives to re-recreate an ex-pat perfect American life while they are in Thailand, we learn that she, her husband and their American colleagues/friends are in countless ways naive to the forces at play around them. None of the characters in this family saga are truly likable to the outside viewer (us, the readers) and I think that was author's intention. Why? Because at it's core, this is a multi-layered family saga where only the now-adult kids can truly understand, redeem and save themselves, their parents and their legacy.

What started as a slow build for me, What Could Be Saved ultimately was a page-turning read whose themes of love, family and redemption are what will stay with me long after I finished the last page at 3am.
**Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What could be saved is a character driven family story told in dual timelines: Bangkok in 1972 and Washington DC in 2019. It is the story of the Prestons and what happens when their missing son of decades possibly resurfaces.

I was very excited to read this as it’s right up my alley, and overall, I enjoyed it. It took me awhile to orient myself with everything happening and all the different dynamics. Right when I was getting super into it, the timeline would change and I’d have to reorient. So it did take me awhile to really start enjoying this book, but that did come. Despite having a lot of unlikeable characters, I was invested in what was going to happen to them and loved the exploration of what secrets can do to a family and when maybe it is best to keep something from your loved ones.

I recommend this to fans of The Most Fun We Ever Had!

Laura is shocked when she gets a strange email. Apparently her brother, who has been missing since 1972 has been found. It is 2019 and she and her family have long since moved from Bangkok. Laura knows she needs to find out if it could really be Phillip.

This book was so good! It was told in dual timelines between 2019 and 1972. While I did prefer the 2019 timeline, it was fascinating to learn what had really happened in 1972. I thought this book was incredibly well written and an overall fascinating story.

I'm still reeling from the ending of What Could Be Saved. This was an emotional read and discusses some dark themes such as child sex trafficking and addiction. This was my first book by this author and I loved it.

In What Could Be Save the focus is on the Preston family. The book starts in 2019 where Laura is an artist and Bea is now married with children. Their mother, Genevieve, is sliding into dementia and their father passed away in 1980. Laura receives an email saying her brother, Phillip, is alive and well in Bangkok after being missing for 47 years. Laura immediately gets on a plane to see if it's really him. In the second timeline it's 1972, Robert and Genevieve have moved their 3 children to Bangkok for what was supposed to be a year, it's now their fourth year in Thailand. The children are mostly looked after by their servants while Robert works for American Intelligence and Genevieve spends her time throwing parties. One day in August 1972 Phillip goes missing without a trace. After this the family is never the same ever again and Genevieve is consumed with finding her missing son and takes many trips to Bangkok to search for him. I don't want to give too much away and that's all I'll say about the plot.

The scenes set in Thailand were so vivid and well described that I could picture everything the author was talking about very easily. The writing was beautiful and the secrets the family are keeping are heartbreaking. I loved the dual timeline and I found the different time periods flowed together perfectly. The timelines were seamless and while the beginning of the book was a bit slow once I was hooked I finished this book very quickly. This dramatic family sage spanned many years and showed how the secrets they kept were destroying the family. I wanted to know what happened to Phillip but the full story isn't revealed until the end of the book. It was a shocking and dark turn for the book once it revealed what had happened to Phillip and where he had been for so long. The characters weren't my favourite and I didn't connect that deeply with any of them but found that reading all their stories together made for such a moving book that didn't bother me. Once I started reading this I couldn't stop and think this story will stay with me.

Overall, I loved this book and highly recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Book for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this beautifully-written family saga by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz. 5 stars!

Told in dual time periods, we see the Preston family (dad Robert, mom Genevieve, kids Beatrice, Phillip, Laura) having moved to Bangkok in 1972 for Robert's job, supposedly working on building a dam. We experience what is was like for them, moving from Washington DC to this foreign country during a time when the Vietnam War was raging. We get a glimpse into what it was like for the servants, especially the women, who worked for the Preston's and other ex-pat families. Both Robert and Genevieve are keeping many secrets - what are they actually doing during the day? And the children are raised free-range with the servants doing much of the childrearing and transportation duties. When Phillip goes missing, their entire world changes.

In 2019, we see Laura and Bea still navigating their sibling stories and living out their assigned roles - Bea as the bossy one in charge and Laura, the baby, never quite growing up. Mom Genevieve is still in their family home but with dementia issues. An email makes its way to Laura from a stranger in Bangkok, saying that Phillip is living there in a home owned by her father and he must leave immediately. Is it really Phillip after all this time? Where was he and what happened?

I loved the beautiful writing in this book and was transported into other worlds while reading it. Sometimes in dual time period novels, I prefer one setting to the other and am anxious to get back to it. In this book, I thought both were so intriguing and wasn't anxious for either to end. This is mainly a book about family dynamics, especially between siblings, but it is so much more than that. There's the mystery of Phillip intertwined through all the pages as well as all the secrets being kept. I loved the backstories of the servants and their customs and beliefs. Highly recommended!

What Could Be Saved is a story about an American family living in Bangkok. The father works, the mother tends to the house, and the two sisters and brother do what children do. All the while secrets are kept. What does the dad actually do? Where does the mom go? After one of the children is abducted, choices for better or worse have to be made. But what happens when they show up suddenly 50 years later? There were so many wonderful parts to the story, but also some very tragic ones. The author shaped a story of family very well.

I love a book that has multiple storylines from different timelines. This fit the bill and loose ends were tied up by the end. It was a troubling book as you are imagining the worst and family dynamics are broken in a way that can’t really be put back together. The author did a great job of building up the characters’ roles and I enjoyed the pace of the book. I would definitely recommend this book.

This is a gripping novel that centers around a tragedy that rocks a family to its core. Many secrets will be revealed throughout the story. I found it to be a page turner.
Many thanks to Atria Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

“We’re less a ‘read between the lines’ family and more a ‘hallucinate something onto this blank sheet of paper’ family.”

1972. The Prestons had lived for several years in Bangkok. The Viet Nam war was raging one country over. Robert was supposedly working for a private company on a dam project that was taking forever. Ummmm, not really. He was working for US intelligence re that nearby conflict. Genevieve was a hostess with the mostess, (She was beautiful, really perfect. A wife for other men to envy.) having earned a well-deserved reputation for entertaining impressively in their large residence. Beatrice was the oldest, responsible, looked after her younger sibs. Laura is a good kid, although she feels beset by Bea taking advantage of her sometimes, bossing her around. It is clear early on that she has an artistic gift. Phillip is the youngest. Studious. Not an athlete. Gets bullied at school.

"…how often he felt an onlooker in the company of other men, outside their easy bawdiness and filthy banter. Robert’s otherness had made school, that welter of vicious adolescent boys, a misery before athletics had rescued him, and it bred in his adulthood a certain isolation—men didn’t invite him along when they went to seedy places, or tell him about their adventures there."

Robert sees the same otherness in Phillip, so decides to put him into a judo class to toughen him up, maybe give him better tools for defending himself against bigger kids, make him better able than his father to fit in with the males around him. But then, one day, neither parent shows up to bring him home from judo class, and Phillip vanishes.

2019. Laura Preston, now a professional painter, is contacted by a stranger in Thailand, claiming to be looking for relations of one Phillip Preston. There had been hoax attempts before. Bea, still the bossy one, discourages Laura from pursuing this, but, after seeing the man briefly, on screen, she has a feeling, and dashes off to Bangkok. Could this really be her, their, long-lost brother? Or was it a scam? But if it was him, then where had he been all these years? What had happened to him? Why was he emerging now? Why didn’t he get in touch sooner?

The novel is set in (mostly) two times, 1972, when the disappearance occurs and 2019, when this possible Phillip appears. It is told, mostly, from Laura’s perspective. Noi, a young Thai woman who worked for the family in 1972, when she was 15, and who still works for Genevieve in Washington DC, tells some of the story, and the man purporting to be Phillip tells his tale at the end.

Schwartz takes us behind the scenes filling in what was going on with Robert and Genevieve at the time. Not exactly the happiest marriage. Gen was having an affair with Robert’s boss. He was finding comfort in the company of a young Thai woman trapped in a demeaning job.

Noi is witness to sundry dodginess on the part of the Preston household staff, and gets entangled with a man who is up to no good. Her boss is a bit of a dragon lady.

The family returns to the states, although they continue to search for Phillip for quite some time.

Schwartz shows us the relationships the characters have with each other. Robert with Genevieve, Genevieve with her lover, Robert with his young companion, Noi with Daeng, her boss in Thailand, Noi with Genevieve, the children, and her nogoodnik boyfriend. Laura’s relationship with Bea is given a lot of attention, and holds some surprises. And we see Laura’s relationship with her long-term boyfriend as an adult. What is, and has been missing is their relationship with Phillip, ever since he disappeared. How can you relate to a mystery? Even if this guy turns out to be Phillip, can a few years of childhood build enough of a foundation, create enough of a core, that one could step back in and feel the same connection?

“Why do we never, ever tell the truth to each other? Why do we keep so many secrets?”

Who doesn’t have secrets? Usually they are small, but sometimes they can be huge. Secrets abound here. Robert’s work is, of course, all about secrets. Genevieve must keep her affair under cover. Bea keeps secrets from Laura, both as a child and as an adult. The children keep secrets from their mother. Laura as an adult is charged with keeping a very large secret that both her parents had kept for a long time. There is even an explanation of a Thai phrase that means someone’s secret was safe. Noi also totes a major secret for decades. The novel looks at the reasons why people keep secrets, which are complex, and diverse, and how secrecy impacts not just one-to-one relationships, but family and community bonds.

This is a pretty much straight ahead novel, but there is a bit of magical realism in Noi’s time working in the Preston household, as she is visited by a welcome presence.

In addition to the adventure of the story, the mystery, you may pick up a few nuggets of wisdom, such as the proper etiquette for checking for snakes in the toilet, and why it is important for women never to admit that they know how to make coffee. Also, I was hugely impressed by how Schwartz portrays dementia, offering a brilliant, yet very understandable image of how one might experience the loosening of ties to time and memory.

"That’s such a challenge; it is so difficult to know, as the writer, how a story unfolds to the eyes of a fresh reader. Suspense is not just whodunit, of course! It can be super subtle. It’s the element that keeps the reader interested and engaged, wanting to know what happens next. I remember something I heard from an NPR interview with a TV writer: the writer said, when discussing how to write a successful pilot: “Don’t explain ANYTHING at first” and after hearing that, I reviewed some stories that I considered to be very engaging (written and film/TV), and realized that they did that: in the beginning they explained almost nothing, opened up a lot of questions and answered very few. It was really useful advice. My own corollary would be: “When you answer the questions you have raised: answer some soon, some slowly, and some in surprising ways—and always raise new questions as you go.” The “questions” can be tiny or big, some can be answered in the same paragraph in which they are raised, or on the same page, or not be answered until the very end of the story; they all work to keep the reader caring about what’s coming and wanting to read on." - from the 26.org interview

She knows of what she speaks and has worked that approach deftly to keep us on tenterhooks as she peels back layer after layer, and leaves you thinking. Great, now I know why this, but then why that? And on you speed.

While I occasionally found the pace a bit slow, overall I would still categorize this as a page-turner. The major question of is-he-or-isn’t-he will keep you engaged, and the peeling back of the layers hiding the truth offers ongoing satisfaction, as well as a reason to keep reading. Laura is engaging, without being a goody-goody. Some characters undergo meaningful growth, and others are revealed to be more, or less, than they present to the world as their secrets are unearthed.

"They sat for a while longer, two sisters up far past their bedtime, the old house creaking and sighing around them, always in the process of settling, never completely at rest."


Review posted – 12/25/2020

Publication date – 1/12/2021

I received an ARE of this book from Atria in return for an honest review. It really is me who wrote this review, not someone pretending to be me. Of course that is just what a copycat would say.

I honestly think I am in the minority, especially after looking at the reviews, but this book was a miss for me.
While I like books that go back and forth in past and present, but this one was hard for me to follow and keep track of. I know plenty of people who really like this book. I wish I was one of them

Thank you #NetGalley for the arc.

I’ve browsed quite a few reviews before writing my own, and I feel a lot of them spoil this story. I’m going to skip my summary because this is such a powerful book it shouldn’t be spoiled.

The prose is stunning, and I found myself especially engaged when we went back in time to Bangkok. The descriptions of the village and the people are incredibly rich. Genevieve is a hard person to like. I hated the way she renamed and treated people in her employ. I love it when an author writes characters that I don’t love but can still pull emotions from the reader. She’s written all the characters just as well as Genevieve. The alternating timelines meshed together for a complete story.

I cannot recommend adding this to your TBR enough. The story is beautifully told. It is haunting and heartbreaking. There are layers of secrets that get revealed as the years go on. O’Halloran Schwarz touched on many issues from sex trafficking, drugs, fractured families, bullying, and more. It’s a book that leaves an impression on you long after you’ve closed it. Thank you, Atria Books, for sending this along.

This has been a top five read for me during 2020. This novel is going to huge in 2021 because it is so well done.

Laura, now an adult in DC, receives a phone call that her missing brother is alive and living in Bangkok. Laura doesn’t know if this is a scam but she is determined to find out. She travels to Bangkok and is swept up in learning if this man is her brother that went missing when they were kids and what happened.

Told in alternating timelines between today and the early 1970s, a story of a family on the edge, people in a foreign country and secrets all make for this to be a read you won’t be able to put down.

I loved it so much, I am now going back and visiting the author’s earlier works.

“Life was a sucking cornucopia of loss. Everyone teetered unwittingly on its edge all the time, all the precious things at risk every moment.”

What Could Be Saved by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz alternates between the past and present of the Preston family. In the present the story follows the main character Laura Preston who lives in DC in 2019 when she gets a mysterious email from someone claiming they’ve found her long lost brother in Bangkok.

Then, there’s the past perspective set in 1972. It’s a time when the Prestons live in Bangkok, where Laura’s father, Robert, is in the American intelligence agency, and where Laura’s mother, Genevieve, is pulled into a passionate affair with her Husband’s boss. Little do they know, unforeseen dangers are ahead.

What I didn’t like?
For me, there were spots that dragged on and it felt like the book was longer than it had to be. It was a little like a rollercoaster with going into lulls where I felt myself not as interested and then places I was really committed. I, also, wish it gave more to the plot. It felt very character focused and the plot was so interesting, I wish got more of it in each POV swap or for there to be less swaps so I could feel like I was getting more plot, more actions. And, then a minor thing... the use of Washington in replace of DC, being from the area, I can say absolutely no one does that, so every time it happened it would throw me off.

What I liked?
While some characters were unlikable, it seemed as if it were for a reason and made sense for their family background and the children’s upbringing. I feel like all the characters memorable, and their actions and biases were also believable for the time period. I, especially, liked the growth of Laura. Going on, I think the past and present perspective with alternating POVs, helped with the pacing of the book. Then the end! Every piece eventually tied to the end and I LOVE when that happens.

If you want a book that has some mystery, family drama, and interesting plot? Definitely give this a try when it comes out on January 12th!

Historical fiction set in Bangkok; a great read for anyone interested in an engaging story that weaves in elements of culture and international intrigue.  The book alternates between the 70s and current day; multigenerational story, fascinating story of tragedy, complex family dynamics, and the aftermath of a child that goes missing. Well written; the pacing of the story is good though a slow build at times. Character driven with a satisfying conclusion. A great read that will appeal to a broad range of audiences. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review

I loved this book. It stepped outside the box, for me in so many ways. I have not read many books that are set in Bangkok, and especially, Bangkok 0f the early to mid 1970's. Then, contrasting it with the Bangkok of today was fascinating.

It was also extremely interesting to see how each family member coped with the loss in the family, and how managed to move forward, including, the lost brother Philip (a bee in a glass jar).

Finally, I really enjoyed the "medical" aspects, and in particular, the detailed description of the development of the clot that precipitates a heart attack (to the point I was convinced I had a clot in my leg when I felt pain after reading that section!

This is a great read. I highly recommend picking it up. #5stars

This novel traces the lives of an American family, (Robert, his wife, Genevieve and their three children) transplanted to Thailand in the 1960s as a result of Robert’s job. Events unfold with far-reaching implications that threaten to break the family apart over a number of decades. Note that there is a chapter dealing with child exploitation but it is sensitively handled and not gratuitous.

This is a well-written story that explores a variety of tensions including within families, between couples, and between the wealthy Westerners and the local Thai people they employ as servants, I really liked how the author interwove these different strands into an interesting story. For the most part, the characters were well-developed and the plot unfolded at a good pace although I think the book could have been a bit shorter. This was a solid read and is a pick on the January 2021 Indie Next List. 4 star rating.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I generally finish a book in a day or two and this one took me over a week. In part that was because I initially found it difficult to become invested in the story when I found every character deeply unsympathetic even in the face of family tragedy. That never completely changed for me, I ended the book still disliking basically everyone . Curiosity drew me forward and I was eventually swept away by the writing. It was so vivid I would feel as if I was actually in 1970s Bangkok while I was reading. As events unfolded in both timelines I realized I cared very much about what happened to Phillip and the ripples his disappearance made in his already damaged family. I wanted peace for the characters I found so unlikeable. It is often that a book has an ending that I find truly satisfying but this one did not disappoint me.

This was an interesting book. It did have some slow parts but the ending made it worth it. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy literary fiction and don't mind a character-driven story.