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Karin Tanabe

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A Hundred Suns: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Karin Tanabe (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 647 ratings

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Named A Best Book of Spring 2020 by Real Simple · Parade · PopSugar· New York Post · Entertainment Weekly · Betches · CrimeReads · BookBub

"A transporting historical novel, and a smart thriller."— Washington Post

"A luscious setting combined with a sinister, sizzling plot." -EW

A faraway land.
A family’s dynasty.
A trail of secrets that could shatter their glamorous lifestyle.

On a humid afternoon in 1933, American Jessie Lesage steps off a boat from Paris and onto the shores of Vietnam. Accompanying her French husband Victor, an heir to the Michelin rubber fortune, she’s certain that their new life is full of promise, for while the rest of the world is sinking into economic depression, Indochine is gold for the Michelins. Jessie knows that the vast plantations near Saigon are the key to the family’s prosperity, and though they have recently been marred in scandal, she needs them to succeed for her husband’s sake—and to ensure that the life she left behind in America stays buried in the past.

Jessie dives into the glamorous colonial world, where money is king and morals are brushed aside, and meets Marcelle de Fabry, a spellbinding expat with a wealthy Indochinese lover, the silk tycoon Khoi Nguyen. Descending on Jessie’s world like a hurricane, Marcelle proves to be an exuberant guide to colonial life. But hidden beneath her vivacious exterior is a fierce desire to put the colony back in the hands of its people––starting with the Michelin plantations.

It doesn’t take long for the sun-drenched days and champagne-soaked nights to catch up with Jessie. With an increasingly fractured mind, her affection for Indochine falters. And as a fiery political struggle builds around her, Jessie begins to wonder what’s real in a friendship that she suspects may be nothing but a house of cards.

Motivated by love, driven by ambition, and seeking self-preservation at all costs, Jessie and Marcelle each toe the line between friend and foe, ethics and excess. Cast against the stylish backdrop of 1920s Paris and 1930s Indochine, in a time and place defined by contrasts and convictions, Karin Tanabe's A Hundred Suns is historical fiction at its lush, suspenseful best.

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Editorial Reviews

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Praise for Karin Tanabe: "Tanabe is a master of historical fiction." ––NPR

"Riveting...Tanabe pulls the reader in from page one, painting a lush, vibrant paradise with a dark side, and taking us along on a fast-paced, exquisitely layered, beautifully detailed ride to the end." ––Kristin Harmel, international bestselling author of The Room on Rue Amelie and The Winemaker's Wife

"A Hundred Suns has a cinematic quality...This view of French occupation in Indochina is replete with love affairs, revenge and secrets, not to mention a history lesson about the evils of colonialism.” -- Washington Post

"A luscious setting combined with a sinister, sizzling plot." -- EW

"Tanabe reveals secrets in exquisitely paced steps...A smart, riveting psychological thriller."-- Kirkus

"An impeccably researched historical novel that immerses readers completely in a beautiful and haunting place" --PopSugar

"Richly drawn...Tanabe transports readers to the beauty and danger of 1930s Indochina in this stirring, elegant romance...complete with multidimensional characters who gradually reveal their secrets. Fans of historical fiction will be enthralled."– Publishers Weekly

"Stylish, with a dash of noir and heaps of the exotic and elegant setting, A Hundred Suns flips the script of bored society ladies into something altogether more devious and delicious." – Booklist

“This psychological thriller is as twisty and darkly detailed as they come...Tanabe’s attention to historical detail and expert pacing of revelation make this a must-read.” — BookBub

"A lush and glamorous tale of intrigue and romance in 1930's Indochine." ––CrimeReads

"Riveting" ––Historical Novel Society

"This is beautifully written, historical fiction that includes some romance as well as a mystery/thriller twist — a trifecta."-- Columbus Magazine

"A haunting, evocative tale that left me both richly satisfied and deeply unsettled – yet another Tanabe triumph. Captivating, suspenseful, and full of surprises." —Fiona Davis, national bestselling author of The Masterpiece

"A Hundred Suns manages the near impossible: it's both a gripping, relevant page turner, and a searing historical examination--in this case, of the brutal atrocities of colonialism. You'll read, as I did, to find out who will win the game of cat and mouse, even as you come to understand that in Indochine in the 1930's--as it is anywhere that one group of people enslaves another--there was no 'winning.' " - Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet and June

About the Author

Karin Tanabe is the author of over half a dozen novels, including A Woman of Intelligence and The Gilded Years (soon to be a major motion picture, produced by Hello Sunshine/Reese Witherspoon). A former Politico reporter, her writing has also appeared in The Washington Post, Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, and Newsday. She has appeared as a celebrity and politics expert on Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and CBS Early Show. Karin is a graduate of Vassar College and lives in Washington, D.C.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07S7L635Z
Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (April 7, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 7, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 10008 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 406 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1250231477

Best Sellers Rank: #395,686 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,652 in Women's Divorce Fiction
- #1,952 in Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction
- #2,073 in Women's Historical Fiction

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4.3 647 ratings

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Karin Tanabe is a fiction writer and former Politico reporter whose writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, and The Washington Post among many other publications. Before turning to fiction, Karin worked as a journalist covering politics and lifestyle. She has made frequent appearances on Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition and CNN. A graduate of Vassar College, she lives in Washington D.C.

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4.3 out of 5

647 global ratings

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Sarah Hager

Beautifully written, thought provoking story line

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2020

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Tanabe is a master of prose. Her descriptions of people, time and place transport you to a different world. Her character dialogue is intelligent, witty and advances the story line at a snappy pace. The events in this book challenge a reader to examine their own biases, historical knowledge and beliefs related to colonialism, capitalism, communism and other cultures. Much in the same way her characters are forced to confront these issues as events unfold. But it is done in a way that does not preach or condemn, rather an invitation to self reflection. I can't recommend this book enough.

2 people found this helpful

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John A Meyer

Seeds of War

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2020

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Wealth, ambition and politics set in the turmoil of the French colony of Indochina during the 1930s form the themes of this very enjoyable novel. A member of the Michelin family moves to Hanoi to take over the supervision of the company’s enormous rubber plantations in SE Asia. The family lives in luxury, like most other European expats—an enormous home with many servants, membership in exclusive clubs, beautiful clothes and a decadent life style. But just beneath the opulent veneer lay the heartbreaking truth: The European companies, especially Michelin in conspiracy with the French government exploit the indigenous people and treat them like slaves. The conflict centers on a group of affluent idealists—communists and anti-colonialists—trying to avenge the death of a beloved friend, murdered because he was a communist. As I read the story it became very clear that these conditions were the seeds of the conflict that climaxed decades later in the Vietnam war.

15 people found this helpful

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Comanche

Great Historical Fiction

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2020

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Its not necessary you know anything about the French colonization of Vietnam, but it helps.

The author does a great job setting the main characters and their personalities when they lived in Paris. Shifting the focus to Hanoi, you begin to get the first hints that something is awry. I loved the way the plot unfolds in a very slow and complex way, as the reader never can quite figure out the ending. There are some good illustrations of what colonial life was like for both the French and their subjects - and in my reading, the descriptions are quite accurate.

Enjoy this page turner.

8 people found this helpful

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Blue in Washington (Barry Ballow)

A Hybrid Novel that Never Fully Convinces - 3-

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2020

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What I liked about this sprawling story is the relatively obscure time and location (Vietnam in the 1930s) and the genuflecting in the direction of social justice and political reality. It portrays a relatively honest picture of the French economic exploitation of the Indochina region; the raw brutality of the French industries (notably Michelin) in their treatment of local workers; and the repression of local businesses and cultural institutions in accordance with the French interest in a form of "mission civilatrice" for their Asian colonies. Also to be admired is the author's efforts to describe the physical appearance of Hanoi and environs in the 1930s.

What I found lacking in the novel was the absence of resolution to the various story threads that the author sets out at the beginning. The focus on two women who follow their businessmen husbands to Vietnam is interesting at the outset, but their motivations, relationship, and actions/reactions to local events are often not credible. And the women's characters, which are meant to represent good and not-so-good, come across as self-absorbed and manipulative. There are no heroes in this novel among the principals. In fact, there are only a few likable characters among the secondary cast.

The book chronicles a period when revolutionary feelings were running high in Vietnam/Indochina, but the author can't quite decide whether this is the main theme of the book or a mere backdrop for the more detailed descriptions of the main characters' self-indulgent, louche behavior at ex-pat clubs, obsession with proper clothing, food and drink, expensive autos, luxury hotels and transplanted European architecture. All of these descriptions have visual interest, but they seem to dominate the storyline and offer a weakened contrast to the physical torture and exploitation that was going on simultaneously. I have to add that when local culture, history, food, etc. are mentioned, there is never much detail. Weird, considering how interesting they are to this day.

One other aspect that I would call a misfire in "A Hundred Suns" is the semi-feminist theme that is a central part of the book. The two main characters are gradually revealed to be connivers in the extreme; this includes both the "good" woman and the "bad" one. The author leans toward an explanation that women striving for better lives had little choice but to "connive", but somehow that rationale wasn't persuasive with this reader.

It is arguably unfair to go further with the criticism--I will leave at this; this is a book with an intriguing basic structure and some excellent subplots and secondary characters, but most of the potential there is left fallow, which leaves the reader disappointed and frustrated.

18 people found this helpful

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Tazmania

Very Good and informative

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2020

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I wasn’t sure what to expect. In the end I learned a fair amount about the world of the colonies in Indochine. I found the back story of Jessie and Marlene great fun at times, unbelievable at other. Overall I was glad I read it.

One person found this helpful

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Lynda P.

Great value.

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2021

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I belong to a book club and like to have all the chosen books for the season ready to be read without having to wait for a copy from the library. Ordering through Goodwill has been an extremely satisfying experience as the description of the book condition has been accurate every time. I usually end up with books that look like they just came off a bookstore shelf. I am also happy to support the mission of Goodwill.

One person found this helpful

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s scott joplin

Loved this book

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2021

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I read a lot of historical fiction and this is one of the best novels that I have read in a while. The author beautifully describes what it was like to live in Viet Nam in the 1930's. And, in addition to the ambience that the author creates, she has written a very good story. Highly recommend.

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Debra A. Cassidy

Great historical fiction

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2020

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This book weaves the story of France's colonization of Vietnam, the story of the Michelin family's interest and influence, Communism, and some fictional intrigue and relationships. Unexpected plot twists keep the story moving.

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