This was a wonderfully atmospheric novel, set in Indonesia in the 1980s and England in modern days.

Claire moves to Jakarta with her family as a young girl, following her diplomat father. An only child, Claire, unlike her mother who suffers in the tropical climate, quickly integrates into life in Indonesia, regretting only that she will always be seen as other. The story of her childhood in Jakarta is beautiful and lyrical.

Years later, Claire, married with a young son, is living in England. She has recently lost her parents, and the floodgates of grief brings back painful memories of her shameful departure from Indonesia – and the guilt that plagues her.

I enjoyed the slow revealing of family secrets and guilt in this dual timeline novel, which was beautifully written, with lavish descriptions of life in Jakarta. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

"She may be white on the outside, but inside she is all the colours of a sunset."

I think this is the first English book that I see having 'Jakarta' on the title, so as an Indonesian who was born in the city (and lived in the neighboring area for years), I was intrigued. It tells about Claire who spends her childhood in the capital of Indonesia and looks back to what she did to her driver, Agus, years after. She always wanted her only child, James, to have siblings to accompany him, and coupled with health scare she decided to tried IVF. But as she meets with more and more failures, she knows it's time to go back to Jakarta and find forgiveness.

It surprises and amazes me that even though I'm quite familiar with Jakarta, I can see the city through Claire's eyes as if I just arrive there, noticing the best that the city offers, enjoying tropical fruits like I didn't just eat mangos minutes ago, even missing the nuisance like cicak or kecoak or kalajengking. The 80s setting helps too since my experience there began in the 1990s until 2010s. It's also interesting to be reminded that we used to drink and sell soda a lot (Fanta and Coca-Cola are crowd's favorite, packaged in a plastic bag with a straw) while now the trend shifts into more varied kind of beverages like matcha or iced coffee. It's like watching vintage Indonesian movies. I can almost hear Rina, Agus, and other drivers talk with Betawi or Java accent every time Claire mentions they talk in Bahasa Indonesia. It's comforting; it feels like home.

The now or present timeline has Claire and her family back in England, where Claire deals with series of unfortunate events like her health, her attempts to have a baby again, and James being bullied. The latter sends Claire into serious contemplation, that she has unfinished business in Jakarta and she needs to find a closure. I was skeptical with David at first, him being so busy and not fully supporting Claire's IVF decision, but he becomes more loving towards the end and cooperates well in raising James. Melissa, where do I begin. She is certainly made to be unlikeable—hated, even, but I like and finally accept how Claire and Agus come to conclusion with her. It's heartbreaking what happens to James and Claire, and I hope we'll be better in handling such matter.

The writing style is straightforward and detail, picturing the atmosphere just right without steering into purple prose territory. I really enjoy the author's depiction of the past; so vivid and flavorful like how Indonesia is. I find it contradictory with the present timeline, which I suppose to be more 'showing' and immediate, but instead it consists of more summary/fast-forward exposition. Maybe the author wants to highlight Jakarta, or maybe it is intended so it doesn't dwell on one position too much, but it made me not really connected with adult Claire unlike when she was a tween.

This book is a match if you want to read books with themes similar to "The Kite Runner" and want to experience late 80s-early 90s of Jakarta, Indonesia.

I had previously read a book by this author so was very keen to read this, especially as it was set in Jakarta and my best friend at school had spent her early years there

The dual timelines worked well, and there was a good sense of place but I found myself becoming exasperated with Claire in both timelines. The pace was also very slow and it could have done with tighter editing, although we knew there was going to be n event that was bad and caused her to leave Jakarta there wasn't really a sense of tension about it.

Overall this was a well written book, but lacked momentum.

This was a nicely written book. The story unfolds over dual timelines, one focused on Claires childhood in Jakarta and one of her current life in England. Claire wants to have a second child so her son does not need to grow up as an only child like she did. Whilst she goes through IVF, Claire reflects back on a devastating lie that was told when she was a teenager and much of the story is about her finding forgiveness and a way to move forward with her life as it is now.

The book has a nice pace and sets the scene of life in Jakarta albeit from a very privileged viewpoint. We get a sense of the sights, food and people. The story flows nicely and comes full circle. This was my first book by this author but I will definitely check out more of her work.

I loved the cover and the title. And I don't remember if I’ve ever read a book set in Jakarta/Indonesia. Reading multicultural books is intriguing.

This book is very well written, it creates lovely imagery. The story goes back and forth: from the present day when Claire lives in Surrey — a mother who yearns to have another child — to her childhood days in Jakarta.

I liked Claire's moments with her son, James. However the book is slow paced and a little repetitive in the middle. It tested my patience and I felt like giving up twice, but there was something about the writing or the setting or the characters —not sure but I kept reading it. And for me —an impatient reader —it’s a big thing.

I wasn't really impressed with the ending though. That one childhood incident (termed as scandal that was to be revealed later) and Claire's visit to Jakarta after twenty years and her meeting with Agus —everything seemed underwhelming. Maybe because it wasn't told in an interesting manner.

Not my favourite but overall, it was a nice interesting, read.

Very pretty book cover! 🩷

I rarely enjoy slow, self-analyzing books, but this one was brilliantly done. The book delivers what it says in the summary - it is very beautifully written. The back and forth between timelines built up the suspense pretty well. I read this in a single sitting as I couldn't bring myself to put the book down.

The descriptions of Jakarta seems so similar to the scenes one would see in India. The excerpt about monsoon in Indonesia had me feeling nostalgic - that is exactly how it is in my grandparents' place, Kerala 🥹.

The book deviates from the expected and it does not give an explosive ending, but that's what makes it good! I loved how things worked out for everyone in the ending. This is the first book I've read from the author and I'll definitely read more from her!

Haunted by the circumstances under which she left her beloved Jakarta many years ago, it is the death of Claire's parents that finally forces her to face up to the past. She makes a decision to return there and try to piece together what happened to her, so that she can finally come to terms with it.

The book does come with some trigger warnings including those related to the reason Claire left Jakarta.

This is a story that unfolds at its own pace and it lets the reader into its secrets gradually. There is a lush evocative description of the setting, which is almost a character in its own right. Worth checking out if the theme appeals to you.

I was eager to read about Jakarta and was a bit disappointed at first that the book alternates from flashbacks to Claire's time as a child in Indonesia to the present. when she is an adult thinking back on her childhood in that country.

By the last half of the book, I understood the reason for the flashback storytelling, but getting to the main point was slow and the book seemed to take too long to get to the heart of the matter. One has to patiently and deliberately continue the book to reach the main point of interest.

The story itself is interesting, of a child's mistake and her attempt at redemption to right a wrong. But then, Claire wonders if she had actually made a mistake in the first place and had not been in the wrong? Who can know the real truth, she wonders? Bringing this question to the front at the end of the book negates what Claire has been trying to do by returning to Indonesia. Claire confused and confounded me, and made me wonder why the author waited till the end of the book to bring up those questions.

I always loved slow-introspective stories, so this was the perfect book match for me. The subtle hints about the events that transpired in Claire’s past made me devour the book in a record time. The two timelines of Claire’s life and the jumps between the two were a bit jarring at first, but I soon got used to the style, and by the end I was a bit sad the story wasn’t longer. The only issue for me was the bullying - it is a triggering topic for me. Still I enjoyed the book immensely and will definitely look up the author’s other works.

This was a unique book that I was hesitant about, but I needn’t have worried as it was wonderful. And as beautiful as it was inside, look at the gorgeous cover!