In the Fabled East

Schroeder's (Empress of Asia) latest is a historical adventure spanning from the late 19th century to the 1950s, set in the dramatic and mystical former French Indochina. Ad%C3%A9lie Tremier is a Parisian widow dedicated to her son Emanuel. An orphan herself, she resolves to stick by her son and survive her tuberculosis. She eventually leaves nine-year-old Emanuel behind to head East in seek of a cure, with hopes of returning in health. Decades later in Laos, Pierre Lazarie, an academic sent to Saigon, is hired by Emanuel to find his long-lost mother. Though the chances of her having survived seem slim, Pierre and his partner Henri LeDallic embark on a journey through the vivid and exotically illustrated East. The novel shifts between Ad%C3%A9lie and Pierre's points of view, with the storylines carefully building upon each other and conveying a sense of the search for the missing, ephemeral woman. Though Schroeder's considerable research is evident and the descriptions beautifully written, the abundance of information and sensory detail distract from the actual plot. The result feels more like a history lesson, and unfortunately keeps the reader at a distance. (Aug.)