Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok| Published June 4th 2019 by William Morrow|  336 Pages | Goodreads

✅ REVIEW

This novel is part mystery, part family drama and revolves around the disappearance of Sylvie Lee, a young and successful attorney who flies back to the Netherlands to visit her dying grandmother. After a few days abroad, Sylvie’s whereabouts are unknown which sends her sister on a search for her.

The book explores family relationships, the immigration experience, identity, and is narrated from different points of view. Sylvie’s parents are Chinese immigrants and the the fact that she grew up between the Netherlands and North America adds layers of depth to the story.

I enjoyed it. There were some strange red herrings and a few sections that I could have gone without but overall I had a good reading experience.

✅ PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION

“A poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three women—two sisters and their mother—in one Chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears, and a series of family secrets emerge, from the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation

It begins with a mystery. Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother—and then vanishes.

Amy, the sheltered baby of the Lee family, is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie. Seven years older, Sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway, foreign place, and didn’t rejoin her family in America until age nine. Timid and shy, Amy has always looked up to her sister, the fierce and fearless protector who showered her with unconditional love.

But what happened to Sylvie? Amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers. Sylvie has always looked out for them. Now, it’s Amy’s turn to help. Terrified yet determined, Amy retraces her sister’s movements, flying to the last place Sylvie was seen. But instead of simple answers, she discovers something much more valuable: the truth. Sylvie, the golden girl, kept painful secrets . . . secrets that will reveal more about Amy’s complicated family—and herself—than she ever could have imagined.

A deeply moving story of family, secrets, identity, and longing, Searching for Sylvie Lee is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive portrait of an immigrant family. It is a profound exploration of the many ways culture and language can divide us and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someone—especially those we love.”

✅ BOOK SOURCE AND FORMAT

Loan from Miami-Dade’s Library Overdrive, audiobook