Certainty - Hardcover

Thien, Madeleine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316834998 ISBN 13: 9780316834995

Publisher: Little Brown and Company, 2003

Synopsis

Madeleine Thien's stunning debut novel hauntingly retells a crucial moment in history, through two unforgettable love stories. Gail Lim, a producer of radio documentaries, is haunted by the mystery of her father's Asian past. As a child, Gail's father, Matthew Lim, lived in a Malaysian village occupied by the Japanese. He and his beloved Ani wandered the jungle fringe under the terrifying shadow of war. The war shattered their families, splitting the two apart until a brief reunion years later. Matthew's profound connection to Ani and the life-changing secrets they shared cast a shadow that, later still, Matthew's wife, Clara, desperately sought to understand. Gail's journey to unravel the mystery of her parents' lives takes her to Amsterdam, where she unearths more about this mysterious other woman. But as Gail approaches the truth, Ani's story will bring Gail face-to-face, with the untold mysteries of her own life. Vivid, poignant, and written in understated yet powerful prose, CERTAINTY is a novel about the legacies of loss, the dislocations of war, and the timeless redemption afforded by love.

About this title

Review:

'A boy and a girl, the best of friends, roam the war-torn land ... Thien expertly moves through their history.'
-- Sunday Business Post

'Examines an extraordinary family across five decades, shedding light on a fascinating and brutal front of the war in the Pacific.' -- Irish Times

Book Description:

Vivid, poignant, at once sweeping and intimate, Madeleine Thien's Certainty is a novel about the legacies of loss, the dislocations of war, the redemptive qualities of love and the elusive nature of certainty.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0316834998
• ISBN 13: 9780316834995
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 311