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Searching for Sylvie Lee
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller (2019)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.
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.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2019
5167 people are currently reading
72305 people want to read
About the author
Jean Kwok
11 books2,296 followersJean Kwok is the award-winning, New York Times and international bestselling author of The Leftover Woman (coming 10/10/23), Girl in Translation, Mambo in Chinatown, and Searching for Sylvie Lee, which was a Read with Jenna Today Show Pick. Her work has been published in twenty countries and is taught in schools across the world.
She has been selected for numerous honors, including the American Library Association Alex Award, a Goodreads Choice Awards Semi-Finalist for Mystery & Thriller, the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award, an Orange New Writers title, and the Sunday Times Short Story Award international shortlist. She was one of twelve authors asked by the Agatha Christie estate to write an original, authorized Miss Marple story for the collection Marple: Twelve New Mysteries.
She immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was five and worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood. She received her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and earned an MFA from Columbia University. She divides her time between the Netherlands and New York City.
Learn more about Jean here:
www.jeankwok.com
https://www.facebook.com/JeanKwokAuthor
She has been selected for numerous honors, including the American Library Association Alex Award, a Goodreads Choice Awards Semi-Finalist for Mystery & Thriller, the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award, an Orange New Writers title, and the Sunday Times Short Story Award international shortlist. She was one of twelve authors asked by the Agatha Christie estate to write an original, authorized Miss Marple story for the collection Marple: Twelve New Mysteries.
She immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was five and worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood. She received her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and earned an MFA from Columbia University. She divides her time between the Netherlands and New York City.
Learn more about Jean here:
www.jeankwok.com
https://www.facebook.com/JeanKwokAuthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,147 reviews
March 29, 2020
Four full, surprising , heartbreaking ,mysterious ,twisty, tearful stars!
A real well written novel questions so many important issues from immigrant problems to partly racism, discrimination, from devoted love-hate sisterhood relationships to childhood crush, from inequality between men and women at work places to a husband’s betrayal and abuse!!!
It’s a real gripping story, told by two sisters and mother!
As soon as we read mother’s part, we realize that their own daughter’s have no idea about her feelings, her past, her anxiety about future. They don’t know the real her. And both sisters seem like having a tight bond between them, they’re jealous of each other!
Mother’s language is Chinese, Amy’s is English and Sylvie’s is Dutch! So mother and her daughters are literally having real communication problems! It’s not hard to see they keep everything bottomed inside and don’t share with each other!!!
And when Sylvie is disappeared, Amy realizes she doesn’t know her sister anymore! Sylvie is separated from her husband and before she was leaving for Netherlands to her important job task, she was actually fired and she left the country to see her dying grandmother who has raised her till she is 9!
As long as I keep reading I wish Sylvie could be found or she could have her HEA! I know it was too optimistic approach because this is heartbreaking, thrilling and mostly pessimistic book which hurts you too many times with the intense, angsty, emotional tests all three women have endured.
And the final revelations, the surprises, secrets, lies , twists that not so much foreseeable ( at least I couldn’t find it ! Mostly I’m a good detective! ) shake your world!!!
A great family drama/ mystery and thriller/ ugly cry women story!
The mystery about Sylvie was not concluded as I thought! That part was a little disappointed me so I cut the only star from that part. But mostly it’s remarkable, effective and one of the greatest books of the year!
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A real well written novel questions so many important issues from immigrant problems to partly racism, discrimination, from devoted love-hate sisterhood relationships to childhood crush, from inequality between men and women at work places to a husband’s betrayal and abuse!!!
It’s a real gripping story, told by two sisters and mother!
As soon as we read mother’s part, we realize that their own daughter’s have no idea about her feelings, her past, her anxiety about future. They don’t know the real her. And both sisters seem like having a tight bond between them, they’re jealous of each other!
Mother’s language is Chinese, Amy’s is English and Sylvie’s is Dutch! So mother and her daughters are literally having real communication problems! It’s not hard to see they keep everything bottomed inside and don’t share with each other!!!
And when Sylvie is disappeared, Amy realizes she doesn’t know her sister anymore! Sylvie is separated from her husband and before she was leaving for Netherlands to her important job task, she was actually fired and she left the country to see her dying grandmother who has raised her till she is 9!
As long as I keep reading I wish Sylvie could be found or she could have her HEA! I know it was too optimistic approach because this is heartbreaking, thrilling and mostly pessimistic book which hurts you too many times with the intense, angsty, emotional tests all three women have endured.
And the final revelations, the surprises, secrets, lies , twists that not so much foreseeable ( at least I couldn’t find it ! Mostly I’m a good detective! ) shake your world!!!
A great family drama/ mystery and thriller/ ugly cry women story!
The mystery about Sylvie was not concluded as I thought! That part was a little disappointed me so I cut the only star from that part. But mostly it’s remarkable, effective and one of the greatest books of the year!
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July 16, 2019
I'm so thankful for your interest in SEARCHING FOR SYLVIE LEE, which was an instant NYT bestseller and chosen as The Today Show Book Club Pick! Check out the recent NYT article (http://tiny.cc/dh926y), plus there's an excerpt (http://tiny.cc/JeanKwok) and a book club guide with discussion questions and recipes (http://tiny.cc/gd7r9y). Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and rate. I hope very much that you like it and I am so grateful to you for being my readers. :)
June 13, 2019
It is so hard to figure out why a book will resonate so greatly with some, and not others. This book is a case in point, it has garnered some terrific reviews, but there were some plot points that were for me, not realistic. A young Chinese woman disappears after returning to the Netherlands, when the grandmother that helped raise her, was dying. Although her parents lived in the United States, Sylvie herself lived in the Netherlands for her first nine years. Her younger sister, Amy, who thinks Sylvie perfect, flies to the Netherlands to find out what happened to her sister.
In alternating chapters we hear from Amy, Sylvie herself and their mother. Changing views of Sylvie are revealed from her own words. There are many family secrets, and a suspected hidden treasures passed down from mother to daughter. Jealousy, and its ill effects, an ugliness that spreads. The struggle for immigrants to assimilate. Yet, I had trouble connecting to the characters. We do find out what happened to Sylvie and why, though I didn't feel I was given enough reasons to find the ending credible.
ARC from librarything.
In alternating chapters we hear from Amy, Sylvie herself and their mother. Changing views of Sylvie are revealed from her own words. There are many family secrets, and a suspected hidden treasures passed down from mother to daughter. Jealousy, and its ill effects, an ugliness that spreads. The struggle for immigrants to assimilate. Yet, I had trouble connecting to the characters. We do find out what happened to Sylvie and why, though I didn't feel I was given enough reasons to find the ending credible.
ARC from librarything.
October 1, 2019
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok is a 2019 William Morrow publication.
A poignant family saga highlighting cultural, gender, and generational divides.
About Sylvie:
Sylvie is a thirty-three-year old woman of Chinese descent, who up until she was nine years old, lived in the Netherlands with her extended family- which included her maternal grandmother, her mother’s cousin, Helena, her husband, Willem Tan, and their son, Lukas. She is the daughter of ‘Ma and Pa’, the sister of Amy, the wife of Jim. She’s vibrant, focused, brilliant and highly successful… And… she’s missing.
Sylvie initially flew to Holland to care for her ailing grandmother. After her grandmother passes away, it was presumed Sylvie had returned to New York, but no one has seen her. Amy is alerted by Lukas that Sylvie has vanished, which sets off alarm bells in Amy’s mind. After checking the usual places, it becomes clear Sylvie never left the Netherlands. So, Amy travels to Holland to search for her, encountering her extended relatives for the first time.
She is immediately struck by their apathy towards Sylvie’s absence, the hostility she senses from Helena, and the mysterious behavior Sylvie exhibited before she disappeared. But her cousin’s blasé attitude is nothing compared to their demand that Amy not seek outside help- such as from the police. As Amy works to uncover the truth about her sister, she discovers a part of Sylvie she never knew existed.
The story is a very taut, suspenseful mystery, but not in the traditional sense. Where is Sylvie? Did she take off deliberately? Why would she do something so out of character?
While this mystery unfolds, at the core of the story is a very complex family drama. ‘Ma’ immigrated to the US, but the adjustment was very hard, leading her to take the Tans up on their kind offer to have Sylvie come live with them. She never intended for Sylvie to stay so long and had no idea how difficult things became for her before she returned home to New York to live with parents again.
Amy also has no idea what Sylvie’s life was like in the nine years she spent in Holland. She loves her sister dearly, but is also a little jealous of her, too. Could Sylvie be a bit envious of Amy, as well?
Besides the exploration of sisterly bonds, the story also addresses the hardships immigrants endure, the racism the family encountered, both in Holland and in New York. These events shaped them as a family unit and as individuals.
Amy’s persistent search for answers unveils layers of sorrow, secrets, resentments, and a host of bitter regrets.
The novel is fast paced, but everything remains shrouded in mystery until the very end, which tempted me to start over and read it again so I could view it from with an insider’s advantage.
The mysteries and revelations emerge slowly, but the atmosphere becomes increasingly puzzling and alarming. Once the mystery is resolved, one is left to reflect upon the characters, their motives, limitations, desires, fears, and the perception of oneself that others may view differently.
While this book is categorized as a mystery, I strongly urge those familiar with the genre not to expect anything like a criminal investigation here. This is the desperate search for a missing person without the help of any official agencies. But, rest assured, the mystery of Sylvie Lee’s disappearance deepens as the story progresses, leaving one feeling on edge with ever growing sense of urgency.
However, for me, the cultural struggles of immigrating to another country, and the absolute poison of racism humming beneath the surface, along with the complex family dynamics, is what I’ll remember most about the journey.
It’s a heart wrenching tale with a valuable lesson tucked inside these pages, one that should give us all something to contemplate. Empathy is evidently a rare strait and one we should all try harder to develop. You never really know what someone is going through until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes…
A poignant family saga highlighting cultural, gender, and generational divides.
About Sylvie:
Sylvie is a thirty-three-year old woman of Chinese descent, who up until she was nine years old, lived in the Netherlands with her extended family- which included her maternal grandmother, her mother’s cousin, Helena, her husband, Willem Tan, and their son, Lukas. She is the daughter of ‘Ma and Pa’, the sister of Amy, the wife of Jim. She’s vibrant, focused, brilliant and highly successful… And… she’s missing.
Sylvie initially flew to Holland to care for her ailing grandmother. After her grandmother passes away, it was presumed Sylvie had returned to New York, but no one has seen her. Amy is alerted by Lukas that Sylvie has vanished, which sets off alarm bells in Amy’s mind. After checking the usual places, it becomes clear Sylvie never left the Netherlands. So, Amy travels to Holland to search for her, encountering her extended relatives for the first time.
She is immediately struck by their apathy towards Sylvie’s absence, the hostility she senses from Helena, and the mysterious behavior Sylvie exhibited before she disappeared. But her cousin’s blasé attitude is nothing compared to their demand that Amy not seek outside help- such as from the police. As Amy works to uncover the truth about her sister, she discovers a part of Sylvie she never knew existed.
The story is a very taut, suspenseful mystery, but not in the traditional sense. Where is Sylvie? Did she take off deliberately? Why would she do something so out of character?
While this mystery unfolds, at the core of the story is a very complex family drama. ‘Ma’ immigrated to the US, but the adjustment was very hard, leading her to take the Tans up on their kind offer to have Sylvie come live with them. She never intended for Sylvie to stay so long and had no idea how difficult things became for her before she returned home to New York to live with parents again.
Amy also has no idea what Sylvie’s life was like in the nine years she spent in Holland. She loves her sister dearly, but is also a little jealous of her, too. Could Sylvie be a bit envious of Amy, as well?
Besides the exploration of sisterly bonds, the story also addresses the hardships immigrants endure, the racism the family encountered, both in Holland and in New York. These events shaped them as a family unit and as individuals.
Amy’s persistent search for answers unveils layers of sorrow, secrets, resentments, and a host of bitter regrets.
The novel is fast paced, but everything remains shrouded in mystery until the very end, which tempted me to start over and read it again so I could view it from with an insider’s advantage.
The mysteries and revelations emerge slowly, but the atmosphere becomes increasingly puzzling and alarming. Once the mystery is resolved, one is left to reflect upon the characters, their motives, limitations, desires, fears, and the perception of oneself that others may view differently.
While this book is categorized as a mystery, I strongly urge those familiar with the genre not to expect anything like a criminal investigation here. This is the desperate search for a missing person without the help of any official agencies. But, rest assured, the mystery of Sylvie Lee’s disappearance deepens as the story progresses, leaving one feeling on edge with ever growing sense of urgency.
However, for me, the cultural struggles of immigrating to another country, and the absolute poison of racism humming beneath the surface, along with the complex family dynamics, is what I’ll remember most about the journey.
It’s a heart wrenching tale with a valuable lesson tucked inside these pages, one that should give us all something to contemplate. Empathy is evidently a rare strait and one we should all try harder to develop. You never really know what someone is going through until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes…
May 31, 2021
This was not what I expected.
I do not want to say what, exactly, was such an unpleasant turn of events that I felt the ripple effects of it through the following days if not weeks, for spoiler reasons.
But I will say that unless you have the most grotesque mind on the face of our humble planet, or you have been already told what goes down in these pages by a good samaritan and you have chosen to subject yourself to the unholy contents within anyway, there is no way you can predict the direction this goes in.
I did not enjoy this reading experience top to bottom, except for a few very brilliant and stirring moments, due to the fact that every relationship between two characters feels like a goddamn minefield and there's this weird tension throughout that never EVER GOES AWAY FOR EVEN ONE SECOND.
Bad vibes like this made me unable to like characters either obviously.
I would like for Jean Kwok to write a book that does not make me want to scrub my brain out with hot water and steel wool, so I can read that and get her excellent observations on the immigrant experience without her perspective on family making me want to make an exchange at the consciousness store.
That's all I'll say on that!
Bottom line: BLEH.
------------
pre-review
what...did i just read.
review to come / 1.5 stars SORRY
------------
currently-reading updates
give me all the literary mysteries please and thanks
------------
taking lily's idea and reading only books by asian authors this month!
book 1: the incendiaries
book 2: last night at the telegraph club
book 3: dear girls
book 4: sigh, gone
book 5: frankly in love
book 6: emergency contact
book 7: your house will pay
book 8: convenience store woman
book 9: on earth we're briefly gorgeous
book 10: we are not free
book 11: searching for sylvie lee
I do not want to say what, exactly, was such an unpleasant turn of events that I felt the ripple effects of it through the following days if not weeks, for spoiler reasons.
But I will say that unless you have the most grotesque mind on the face of our humble planet, or you have been already told what goes down in these pages by a good samaritan and you have chosen to subject yourself to the unholy contents within anyway, there is no way you can predict the direction this goes in.
I did not enjoy this reading experience top to bottom, except for a few very brilliant and stirring moments, due to the fact that every relationship between two characters feels like a goddamn minefield and there's this weird tension throughout that never EVER GOES AWAY FOR EVEN ONE SECOND.
Bad vibes like this made me unable to like characters either obviously.
I would like for Jean Kwok to write a book that does not make me want to scrub my brain out with hot water and steel wool, so I can read that and get her excellent observations on the immigrant experience without her perspective on family making me want to make an exchange at the consciousness store.
That's all I'll say on that!
Bottom line: BLEH.
------------
pre-review
what...did i just read.
review to come / 1.5 stars SORRY
------------
currently-reading updates
give me all the literary mysteries please and thanks
------------
taking lily's idea and reading only books by asian authors this month!
book 1: the incendiaries
book 2: last night at the telegraph club
book 3: dear girls
book 4: sigh, gone
book 5: frankly in love
book 6: emergency contact
book 7: your house will pay
book 8: convenience store woman
book 9: on earth we're briefly gorgeous
book 10: we are not free
book 11: searching for sylvie lee
June 20, 2019
I was a big fan of Girl in Translation so I jumped right on this new novel by Jean Kwok. The first half (maybe even 2/3) was interesting and held forth much promise. Then something terrible happened. All I can figure is that a cheesy soap opera writer stole her manuscript and finished it. Even the language was gussied up and over the top. But worse yet was the plotting. No spoilers so I’ll just say that there were far too many coincidences and the “mystery” aspect of it was lame.
October 18, 2019
3.5 stars.
While its title suggests this book is a mystery, and certainly there is a mystery component, Jean Kwok's Searching for Sylvie Lee is also a study of family dynamics and an exploration of how secrets can destroy relationships.
Sylvie Lee is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. When she was very young, her parents were too poor to raise her in America, so they allowed her to be raised by cousins and her maternal grandmother in the Netherlands. Life wasn't easy there for Sylvie—an awkward child, she faced a lot of ridicule as well as racism, being one of very few Chinese among her Dutch classmates and neighbors.
While Sylvie's grandmother and her cousin Willem treated her with love, Willem's wife Helena took an instant dislike to her, and seemed to single her out for mistreatment. Sylvie didn't understand why she was deserving of such cruelty, but she took comfort in her relationship with Willem and Helena's son, Lukas.
At age nine, Sylvie returns home to the U.S. She now has a younger sister, Amy, for whom she becomes a protector, and despite there being a seven-year age difference, the two forge a very close relationship. Sylvie encourages Amy at every turn, gives her the courage and support to do anything she wants, since their parents spend most of their time working to make ends meet.
Years later, Sylvie returns to the Netherlands when she learns her grandmother is dying. As much as she has changed from the awkward, ugly girl to a beautiful, intelligent woman, returning to the Netherlands reopens old resentments with Helena, and confuses her heart. And then Sylvie vanishes. Her Dutch cousins assumed she was on her way home; her family in America thought she was still in the Netherlands.
"That had always been Sylvie's role, to go forth and have adventures. My job was to wait for her to return home safely. Now the country mouse has been forced into the great devouring world."
As Amy tries to figure out what happened to Sylvie, she begins uncovering secrets that Sylvie kept hidden from them all, things that showed her life wasn't as successful and happy as she had led everyone to believe. When Amy travels to the Netherlands—her first time traveling anywhere, much less internationally—she finds herself in the midst of the tensions of her Dutch relatives, and discovers that in the Netherlands, things for Sylvie were confusing and painful beyond simply grieving for her grandmother.
What happened to Sylvie? Did she simply need to take a break from it all, as some suggested, or was something more nefarious at play? Did someone harm her? Is someone responsible for her disappearance and perhaps her death? Amy is a stranger in an unfamiliar country surrounded by people with secrets, and yet there's even more she doesn't know.
Searching for Sylvie Lee is narrated by Amy, Sylvie, and their mother, and shifts back and forth through time. Through each woman's eyes you see things that go unsaid, emotions that are hidden, and fear of the truth being exposed. There are some powerful emotions in this story, and so many places where if only people had spoken up, things could have been different.
I'm always a fan of stories about family dysfunction, and this is certainly one of those! Kwok is a very talented storyteller; I read one of her previous books, Girl in Translation , a number of years ago, and her skills have gotten even stronger since then. Even though there is a great deal of melodrama in the plot, none of what occurs seems far-fetched or unrealistic.
I definitely figured out some of the mystery before it was revealed, and while I wasn't necessarily surprised by how things ultimately unfolded, I had hoped for a different conclusion. At times, too, the book's pacing was very slow, and I wanted less flashbacks and more focusing on Sylvie's disappearance.
If you're looking for a mystery, I don't know that this will foot the bill, but if you're looking for a well-told story of a family shattered by secrets, Searching for Sylvie Lee may be just the book for you.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
While its title suggests this book is a mystery, and certainly there is a mystery component, Jean Kwok's Searching for Sylvie Lee is also a study of family dynamics and an exploration of how secrets can destroy relationships.
Sylvie Lee is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. When she was very young, her parents were too poor to raise her in America, so they allowed her to be raised by cousins and her maternal grandmother in the Netherlands. Life wasn't easy there for Sylvie—an awkward child, she faced a lot of ridicule as well as racism, being one of very few Chinese among her Dutch classmates and neighbors.
While Sylvie's grandmother and her cousin Willem treated her with love, Willem's wife Helena took an instant dislike to her, and seemed to single her out for mistreatment. Sylvie didn't understand why she was deserving of such cruelty, but she took comfort in her relationship with Willem and Helena's son, Lukas.
At age nine, Sylvie returns home to the U.S. She now has a younger sister, Amy, for whom she becomes a protector, and despite there being a seven-year age difference, the two forge a very close relationship. Sylvie encourages Amy at every turn, gives her the courage and support to do anything she wants, since their parents spend most of their time working to make ends meet.
Years later, Sylvie returns to the Netherlands when she learns her grandmother is dying. As much as she has changed from the awkward, ugly girl to a beautiful, intelligent woman, returning to the Netherlands reopens old resentments with Helena, and confuses her heart. And then Sylvie vanishes. Her Dutch cousins assumed she was on her way home; her family in America thought she was still in the Netherlands.
"That had always been Sylvie's role, to go forth and have adventures. My job was to wait for her to return home safely. Now the country mouse has been forced into the great devouring world."
As Amy tries to figure out what happened to Sylvie, she begins uncovering secrets that Sylvie kept hidden from them all, things that showed her life wasn't as successful and happy as she had led everyone to believe. When Amy travels to the Netherlands—her first time traveling anywhere, much less internationally—she finds herself in the midst of the tensions of her Dutch relatives, and discovers that in the Netherlands, things for Sylvie were confusing and painful beyond simply grieving for her grandmother.
What happened to Sylvie? Did she simply need to take a break from it all, as some suggested, or was something more nefarious at play? Did someone harm her? Is someone responsible for her disappearance and perhaps her death? Amy is a stranger in an unfamiliar country surrounded by people with secrets, and yet there's even more she doesn't know.
Searching for Sylvie Lee is narrated by Amy, Sylvie, and their mother, and shifts back and forth through time. Through each woman's eyes you see things that go unsaid, emotions that are hidden, and fear of the truth being exposed. There are some powerful emotions in this story, and so many places where if only people had spoken up, things could have been different.
I'm always a fan of stories about family dysfunction, and this is certainly one of those! Kwok is a very talented storyteller; I read one of her previous books, Girl in Translation , a number of years ago, and her skills have gotten even stronger since then. Even though there is a great deal of melodrama in the plot, none of what occurs seems far-fetched or unrealistic.
I definitely figured out some of the mystery before it was revealed, and while I wasn't necessarily surprised by how things ultimately unfolded, I had hoped for a different conclusion. At times, too, the book's pacing was very slow, and I wanted less flashbacks and more focusing on Sylvie's disappearance.
If you're looking for a mystery, I don't know that this will foot the bill, but if you're looking for a well-told story of a family shattered by secrets, Searching for Sylvie Lee may be just the book for you.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
June 13, 2019
I’m between 3.5 and 4 stars on this one so I’ll round up.
This was a compelling story about a Chinese immigrant family and the struggles they go through to create a life for themselves in a new country where, despite their best efforts, they never truly feel that they belong. Sylvie Lee is the beautiful and successful older daughter who was sent off to live with her grandmother and her cousin’s family in the Netherlands when she was only a few months old -- despite being reunited with her parents when she turned nine, the time away unfortunately had a lasting effect on Sylvie’s relationship with her parents – especially with her mother. Amy Lee is the baby of the family – only 2 years old when Sylvie returned to her parents, Amy’s timid and shy nature contrasted sharply with Sylvie’s bold and fearless personality, yet the two sisters developed an unbreakable bond. To Amy, Sylvie was her fiercest protector, a sister she adored and looked up to and, in some ways, became more of a mother to her than their own parents, who were constantly absent due to work. One day, after flying back to the Netherlands to pay their dying grandmother one final visit, Sylvie vanishes without a trace. Distraught, yet determined to find her sister, Amy flies to the Netherlands and retraces Sylvie’s steps -- she soon discovers that there was another side to her sister she never knew about. At the same time, the awkwardness of her cousin’s family leads Amy to believe that they might be hiding something, perhaps having to do with Sylvie. In her desperation to find her sister and convinced that she is racing against time, Amy ramps up her search, which leads her to discover a devastating family secret – one that, when ultimately revealed, threatens to tear the family apart. What happened to Sylvie Lee? And what role, if any, did her family have in her disappearance?
The first half of the story definitely had me enthralled and kept me turning the pages, not wanting to put the book down for even a minute. Being a Chinese immigrant myself, I was definitely able to resonate with the various challenges that the Lee family went through as they tried to assimilate to life in the U.S. – the cultural divide between the parents and the children due to the drastically different environments in which they were raised, the impact of language and the communication barriers that can arise within the family as a result of differences in language, the never-ending struggle to prove yourself, to show that your parents’ sacrifices were not in vain, the frustrations of constantly having to deal with the bias, prejudices, and preconceived stereotypes of a society that is less welcoming to those who are different from them, the sense that you will never truly “belong” no matter how successful you become or how well you are able to align yourself with your surroundings. This was the side of the story that drew me in the most and I felt it was very effective to have the narration alternate between Amy, Sylvie, and their mother, as we get to understand this family and each of the characters much more in depth.
With all that said though, the middle section was where things started to drag a little and while it did pick back up in the end, I had actually already figured out most of the story by then, so it unfortunately made the ending anti-climactic for me. I also felt that the parts of the story related to the “mystery” aspect, specifically dealing with Sylvia’s disappearance, felt a bit detached and lacked the emotional pull I expected – when we do eventually find out “what happened” and “why,” it felt rushed and the emotional aspect seemed like it was glossed over a bit...this was especially so during the “big reveal” scene at the very end. In a way, I felt like perhaps there was a bit too much going on plot-wise in the second half of the book, which caused the narrative to unravel a bit as the story headed toward its end. As a mystery/thriller novel, I felt this didn’t work too well, as the suspense part was a bit weak in my opinion – I never really got the “edge-of-your-seat” / “hold-on-for-the-ride” feel from this one. The cultural elements were well-done though and I feel like those elements, along with the writing, were what made this story well-worth reading, plus the fact that I was able to get a good feel for the characters and connect with them.
Overall, this was a thought-provoking read and even though I wasn’t too keen on the mystery / suspense aspect, I felt it did a good job exploring the challenges of being both an immigrant and a woman of color in today’s world. This is my first time reading Jean Kwok’s work and of course it won’t be my last – I’ve had both of her previous novels on my TBR for quite some time already and I definitely intend to get to them at some point. After I finished this book, I did some follow up research and found out that Kwok’s inspiration for the story came from her own family background as well as the tragedy her family experienced losing her older brother Kwan in a plane crash 10 years ago. Channeling the pain and grief from that experience, plus her own story of immigrating from Hong Kong to the U.S. as a child and later moving to the Netherlands, Kwok was able to deliver a poignant, culturally resonant story, one that I definitely recommend!
Received ARC from William Morrow (HarperCollins) via Edelweiss.
This was a compelling story about a Chinese immigrant family and the struggles they go through to create a life for themselves in a new country where, despite their best efforts, they never truly feel that they belong. Sylvie Lee is the beautiful and successful older daughter who was sent off to live with her grandmother and her cousin’s family in the Netherlands when she was only a few months old -- despite being reunited with her parents when she turned nine, the time away unfortunately had a lasting effect on Sylvie’s relationship with her parents – especially with her mother. Amy Lee is the baby of the family – only 2 years old when Sylvie returned to her parents, Amy’s timid and shy nature contrasted sharply with Sylvie’s bold and fearless personality, yet the two sisters developed an unbreakable bond. To Amy, Sylvie was her fiercest protector, a sister she adored and looked up to and, in some ways, became more of a mother to her than their own parents, who were constantly absent due to work. One day, after flying back to the Netherlands to pay their dying grandmother one final visit, Sylvie vanishes without a trace. Distraught, yet determined to find her sister, Amy flies to the Netherlands and retraces Sylvie’s steps -- she soon discovers that there was another side to her sister she never knew about. At the same time, the awkwardness of her cousin’s family leads Amy to believe that they might be hiding something, perhaps having to do with Sylvie. In her desperation to find her sister and convinced that she is racing against time, Amy ramps up her search, which leads her to discover a devastating family secret – one that, when ultimately revealed, threatens to tear the family apart. What happened to Sylvie Lee? And what role, if any, did her family have in her disappearance?
The first half of the story definitely had me enthralled and kept me turning the pages, not wanting to put the book down for even a minute. Being a Chinese immigrant myself, I was definitely able to resonate with the various challenges that the Lee family went through as they tried to assimilate to life in the U.S. – the cultural divide between the parents and the children due to the drastically different environments in which they were raised, the impact of language and the communication barriers that can arise within the family as a result of differences in language, the never-ending struggle to prove yourself, to show that your parents’ sacrifices were not in vain, the frustrations of constantly having to deal with the bias, prejudices, and preconceived stereotypes of a society that is less welcoming to those who are different from them, the sense that you will never truly “belong” no matter how successful you become or how well you are able to align yourself with your surroundings. This was the side of the story that drew me in the most and I felt it was very effective to have the narration alternate between Amy, Sylvie, and their mother, as we get to understand this family and each of the characters much more in depth.
With all that said though, the middle section was where things started to drag a little and while it did pick back up in the end, I had actually already figured out most of the story by then, so it unfortunately made the ending anti-climactic for me. I also felt that the parts of the story related to the “mystery” aspect, specifically dealing with Sylvia’s disappearance, felt a bit detached and lacked the emotional pull I expected – when we do eventually find out “what happened” and “why,” it felt rushed and the emotional aspect seemed like it was glossed over a bit...this was especially so during the “big reveal” scene at the very end. In a way, I felt like perhaps there was a bit too much going on plot-wise in the second half of the book, which caused the narrative to unravel a bit as the story headed toward its end. As a mystery/thriller novel, I felt this didn’t work too well, as the suspense part was a bit weak in my opinion – I never really got the “edge-of-your-seat” / “hold-on-for-the-ride” feel from this one. The cultural elements were well-done though and I feel like those elements, along with the writing, were what made this story well-worth reading, plus the fact that I was able to get a good feel for the characters and connect with them.
Overall, this was a thought-provoking read and even though I wasn’t too keen on the mystery / suspense aspect, I felt it did a good job exploring the challenges of being both an immigrant and a woman of color in today’s world. This is my first time reading Jean Kwok’s work and of course it won’t be my last – I’ve had both of her previous novels on my TBR for quite some time already and I definitely intend to get to them at some point. After I finished this book, I did some follow up research and found out that Kwok’s inspiration for the story came from her own family background as well as the tragedy her family experienced losing her older brother Kwan in a plane crash 10 years ago. Channeling the pain and grief from that experience, plus her own story of immigrating from Hong Kong to the U.S. as a child and later moving to the Netherlands, Kwok was able to deliver a poignant, culturally resonant story, one that I definitely recommend!
Received ARC from William Morrow (HarperCollins) via Edelweiss.
June 22, 2019
This book started out so promising, a beautifully written immigrant story playing out across two different continents with elements of a mystery/thriller woven in. Sadly, the shifting narratives and timelines grew tedious after awhile, and the “big reveal” felt like a cheap, and super predictable cop out. Once my suspicions about what happened to Sylvie were sadly confirmed correct, it was a real struggle to finish this book.
Sigh. Yet another promising novel that turned out to be a huge disappointment. Nothing makes me more bummed than when an author struggles to stick the landing. My 2019 reading CHALLENGE is really living up to the name lately!
Sigh. Yet another promising novel that turned out to be a huge disappointment. Nothing makes me more bummed than when an author struggles to stick the landing. My 2019 reading CHALLENGE is really living up to the name lately!
July 11, 2025
What happens when a sister is suddenly missing?
As a reader, my experience with this book can be described in a few short thoughts…Entrancing. Thought-provoking. Emotional.
Beautifully written characters.
This book surprised me.
I was not expecting a suspenseful plot, or to be caught up in a web of relationships that grew more complex with secrets revealed as each chapter unfolded.
I did not want to put this book down…but I did each night, because I also wanted to savor it, fearful that once the book ended, I would have no library book left to appreciate. Yes, this was one of my last library books left for me to read (that I was able to check out before they closed because of the pandemic).
Told from three points of view, leading to an ultimate climax and reveal, the reader gets to experience the grief and longing of the characters, complicated family dynamics, cultural challenges, and the need to be accepted – and eventually an understanding as to why this is so important.
Oh, and for mystery lovers, this is not a traditional mystery book. That is what makes this an even better story.
As a reader, my experience with this book can be described in a few short thoughts…Entrancing. Thought-provoking. Emotional.
Beautifully written characters.
This book surprised me.
I was not expecting a suspenseful plot, or to be caught up in a web of relationships that grew more complex with secrets revealed as each chapter unfolded.
I did not want to put this book down…but I did each night, because I also wanted to savor it, fearful that once the book ended, I would have no library book left to appreciate. Yes, this was one of my last library books left for me to read (that I was able to check out before they closed because of the pandemic).
Told from three points of view, leading to an ultimate climax and reveal, the reader gets to experience the grief and longing of the characters, complicated family dynamics, cultural challenges, and the need to be accepted – and eventually an understanding as to why this is so important.
Oh, and for mystery lovers, this is not a traditional mystery book. That is what makes this an even better story.
July 29, 2019
I absolutely loved Searching for Sylvie Lee, the engrossing new fiction novel by Jean Kwok, the author of Girl in Translation. Not only is is written with great description of the Netherlands, NY and Venice, but the build up to an unsolved mystery is addictive and compelling. At the end of many of the chapters I had to catch my breath!
A perfect combination of literary fiction and suspense, in Searching for Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok lets us inside the minds of Chinese immigrant sisters Sylvie, Amy and their Ma. Smart, pretty and accomplished, Sylvie is the golden child in the family. Having grown up with her grandmother in the Netherlands, she felt compelled to return there when Grandma became ill. Younger sister, Amy, is shy and insecure. When Amy hears that Sylvie has mysteriously disappeared, she has to pull it together to be strong, and travel overseas to find out what happened to her beloved big sister.
Ma’s relationships with her daughters are complicated; she immigrated to NYC when she and Pa were young and she was pregnant. They were very poor and worked many jobs to stay afloat. Once Sylvie was born they sent her to the Netherlands to be cared for by Ma’s mother, as they thought it would be a better life for her. The feeling of rejection had a huge impact on Sylvie and her other relationships. She stayed in Amsterdam for more than 8 years, and when Ma and Pa had another daughter, Sylvie returned to NY, yet she felt she was called home to be a babysitter for her younger sister, Amy.
Communication barriers and lack of understanding add to the tension of this story and is often the case with immigrant families. The relationship with children can be strained and sacrificed when coming to a new country as the parents have a hard time learning the ways of the new home yet the kids haven’t lived any other way.
Ma’s communication skills are limited because she only speaks broken English, but her thoughts in Chinese are clear and strong. Sylvie spent her formative years in Dutch culture, feeling loved by her Grandma and cousin and on unsettled ground with her aunt and uncle, and Amy was from NY, had hard working, supportive parents but struggled with a stutter and had a hard time expressing herself.
Searching For Sylvie Lee is a story of love…the beauty and the pitfalls, the joy and the heartbreak. An unexpected disappearance becomes a full on mystery, and pain, confusion and misunderstandings are the results of buried family secrets – unintentional hurt is inflicted all around, but does the truth come out too late?
A Chinese immigrant experience in NY and Amsterdam, Searching For Sylvie Lee is full of suspense and wonderful writing. This is one of my favorite books of the year!
The idea to write about a missing person was inspired by author Jean Kwok’s brother. Learn more about the devastating disappearance of Jean Kwok’s brother at https://booknationbyjen.com/2019/07/2...
Q & A with Jean Kwok
Q: What inspires you to write and how do you decide the format and genre?
A: I always write about issues that mean a great deal to me personally. Searching for Sylvie Lee was inspired by the real-life disappearance of my.... full Q & A on Book nation by Jen (https://booknationbyjen.com/2019/07/2...)
A perfect combination of literary fiction and suspense, in Searching for Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok lets us inside the minds of Chinese immigrant sisters Sylvie, Amy and their Ma. Smart, pretty and accomplished, Sylvie is the golden child in the family. Having grown up with her grandmother in the Netherlands, she felt compelled to return there when Grandma became ill. Younger sister, Amy, is shy and insecure. When Amy hears that Sylvie has mysteriously disappeared, she has to pull it together to be strong, and travel overseas to find out what happened to her beloved big sister.
Ma’s relationships with her daughters are complicated; she immigrated to NYC when she and Pa were young and she was pregnant. They were very poor and worked many jobs to stay afloat. Once Sylvie was born they sent her to the Netherlands to be cared for by Ma’s mother, as they thought it would be a better life for her. The feeling of rejection had a huge impact on Sylvie and her other relationships. She stayed in Amsterdam for more than 8 years, and when Ma and Pa had another daughter, Sylvie returned to NY, yet she felt she was called home to be a babysitter for her younger sister, Amy.
Communication barriers and lack of understanding add to the tension of this story and is often the case with immigrant families. The relationship with children can be strained and sacrificed when coming to a new country as the parents have a hard time learning the ways of the new home yet the kids haven’t lived any other way.
Ma’s communication skills are limited because she only speaks broken English, but her thoughts in Chinese are clear and strong. Sylvie spent her formative years in Dutch culture, feeling loved by her Grandma and cousin and on unsettled ground with her aunt and uncle, and Amy was from NY, had hard working, supportive parents but struggled with a stutter and had a hard time expressing herself.
Searching For Sylvie Lee is a story of love…the beauty and the pitfalls, the joy and the heartbreak. An unexpected disappearance becomes a full on mystery, and pain, confusion and misunderstandings are the results of buried family secrets – unintentional hurt is inflicted all around, but does the truth come out too late?
A Chinese immigrant experience in NY and Amsterdam, Searching For Sylvie Lee is full of suspense and wonderful writing. This is one of my favorite books of the year!
The idea to write about a missing person was inspired by author Jean Kwok’s brother. Learn more about the devastating disappearance of Jean Kwok’s brother at https://booknationbyjen.com/2019/07/2...
Q & A with Jean Kwok
Q: What inspires you to write and how do you decide the format and genre?
A: I always write about issues that mean a great deal to me personally. Searching for Sylvie Lee was inspired by the real-life disappearance of my.... full Q & A on Book nation by Jen (https://booknationbyjen.com/2019/07/2...)
September 13, 2020
Sylvie Lee is missing. She is Amy’s bright, beautiful and highly successful older sister who returned to Holland because their grandmother was gravely ill. See, Sylvie, along with her grandmother, was sent to live with her aunt and uncle, Helena & Willhem Tan, when she was a baby and rejoined her family in New York when she was nine and Amy was two. Her grandmother subsequently died and Sylvie was expected back home a week ago but no one seems to know where she is. Amy departs for Holland to try and find her, learning so much along the way to make her question whether she truly ever knew the sister she reveres.
This is a multigenerational story that is about so much more than locating a missing person, which is what I thought this would be. We’re provided three narratives: Amy, the younger sister; Sylvie Lee; and, Ma, their mother. There are a host of secondary characters who are part of this frame and instrumental in shaping all three women. The most impactful aspect of the story is the ever evolving identity of Sylvie Lee. She’s driven by a number of forces that’s made her excel in everything she’s ventured and things appear to have shifted. Those shifts provide textured layers to what I had first believed to be a fairly two-dimensional story.
My book club selected this for discussion and after our meeting, I raised my rating. There are deep themes that I hadn’t considered, giving the story so many additional angles to consider. We had a robust discussion about the Dutch and Asian cultures, racism, immigration, abandonment and displaced affections among others. Even the title has a more nuanced meaning. While I found the transitions between narratives often choppy and awkward, they didn’t lessen the power of the characterizations and messages. I’m glad three narrators were used for the audio version because they delivered their characters’ voices in the cultural aspects of where they were most formed. I have to believe it was deliberate as it was effective. This is a complicated story with really interesting, culturally diverse and complex characters.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
This is a multigenerational story that is about so much more than locating a missing person, which is what I thought this would be. We’re provided three narratives: Amy, the younger sister; Sylvie Lee; and, Ma, their mother. There are a host of secondary characters who are part of this frame and instrumental in shaping all three women. The most impactful aspect of the story is the ever evolving identity of Sylvie Lee. She’s driven by a number of forces that’s made her excel in everything she’s ventured and things appear to have shifted. Those shifts provide textured layers to what I had first believed to be a fairly two-dimensional story.
My book club selected this for discussion and after our meeting, I raised my rating. There are deep themes that I hadn’t considered, giving the story so many additional angles to consider. We had a robust discussion about the Dutch and Asian cultures, racism, immigration, abandonment and displaced affections among others. Even the title has a more nuanced meaning. While I found the transitions between narratives often choppy and awkward, they didn’t lessen the power of the characterizations and messages. I’m glad three narrators were used for the audio version because they delivered their characters’ voices in the cultural aspects of where they were most formed. I have to believe it was deliberate as it was effective. This is a complicated story with really interesting, culturally diverse and complex characters.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
March 6, 2021
"Searching for Sylvie Lee" by Jean Kwok was the book that led me back to being a dedicated reader! I loved this book!
This is a mystery because Sylvie is missing, but also reads like a family drama for it's deep dive into Sylvie's Chinese-American family dynamics. It's not about beautiful, successful Sylvie so much as it's about shy, stuttering younger sister, Amy hunting for her missing older sister, Sylvie. But it's definitely a "sister story"!
Because of so little money when Sylvie's parents first came to America from China, she spent the first nine years of her life living with extended family in the Netherlands. Her maternal grandmother was one of the relatives who cared for her during this time. Upon hearing that her grandmother was gravely ill, Sylvie immediately flew to the Netherlands to be at her beside to help care for her. Shortly after her grandmother's death Sylvie mysteriously disappears. Amy is chosen by her parents as the one to travel to the Netherlands to search for her sister.
What I loved about the writing of this novel were the chapters narrated in the first person through alternating perspectives of Sylvie before she disappeared, Amy while she is searching for her sister and Ma as she saw her life before and after coming to America.
We hear the deep bond between the two sisters, how deeply they loved one another, often only having each other. But there is so much they don't tell each other - each of the sisters holds the other in high regard while thinking very little of themselves - each wants to be more like the other - each one feels the other sister is more loved. All remains hidden, never spoken about, never shared with the other sister.
As Amy searches the family secrets continue to surface, the suspicious characters pile up and the mystery about Sylvie's disappearance continues to mount.....
I highly recommend this book!
This is a mystery because Sylvie is missing, but also reads like a family drama for it's deep dive into Sylvie's Chinese-American family dynamics. It's not about beautiful, successful Sylvie so much as it's about shy, stuttering younger sister, Amy hunting for her missing older sister, Sylvie. But it's definitely a "sister story"!
Because of so little money when Sylvie's parents first came to America from China, she spent the first nine years of her life living with extended family in the Netherlands. Her maternal grandmother was one of the relatives who cared for her during this time. Upon hearing that her grandmother was gravely ill, Sylvie immediately flew to the Netherlands to be at her beside to help care for her. Shortly after her grandmother's death Sylvie mysteriously disappears. Amy is chosen by her parents as the one to travel to the Netherlands to search for her sister.
What I loved about the writing of this novel were the chapters narrated in the first person through alternating perspectives of Sylvie before she disappeared, Amy while she is searching for her sister and Ma as she saw her life before and after coming to America.
We hear the deep bond between the two sisters, how deeply they loved one another, often only having each other. But there is so much they don't tell each other - each of the sisters holds the other in high regard while thinking very little of themselves - each wants to be more like the other - each one feels the other sister is more loved. All remains hidden, never spoken about, never shared with the other sister.
As Amy searches the family secrets continue to surface, the suspicious characters pile up and the mystery about Sylvie's disappearance continues to mount.....
I highly recommend this book!
June 4, 2019
I found Searching for Sylvie Lee an enthralling, thought-provoking and emotional read. This book combines gorgeous, literary prose with a powerfully suspenseful plot. As the characters navigate multiple languages and cultures, and the web of relationships that holds them together grows more complex, the novel's insights about family, culture, gender and love rise to the surface, surprising and delighting the reader.
The book begins as Amy discovers that something has gone terribly wrong with her gorgeous, successful older sister Sylvie and embarks on a journey to try and piece together the mystery. As Amy traces Sylvie's footsteps across the world to the Netherlands, the country in which her sister was raised for the first few years of her life, she begins to uncover secrets and deceptions with far-reaching consequences for herself and her family, as well as discovering new potential and new abilities of her own.
I particularly loved the delicate and nuanced depiction of the relationships between the two sisters, Sylvie and Amy, their mother, and their aunt and the questions this depiction raised for me about the faces we show to family and the parts of ourselves that we choose to -- or try to -- keep hidden from those we love.
This is a novel which captures an entire world within its pages. It was an absolute joy to read!
The book begins as Amy discovers that something has gone terribly wrong with her gorgeous, successful older sister Sylvie and embarks on a journey to try and piece together the mystery. As Amy traces Sylvie's footsteps across the world to the Netherlands, the country in which her sister was raised for the first few years of her life, she begins to uncover secrets and deceptions with far-reaching consequences for herself and her family, as well as discovering new potential and new abilities of her own.
I particularly loved the delicate and nuanced depiction of the relationships between the two sisters, Sylvie and Amy, their mother, and their aunt and the questions this depiction raised for me about the faces we show to family and the parts of ourselves that we choose to -- or try to -- keep hidden from those we love.
This is a novel which captures an entire world within its pages. It was an absolute joy to read!
June 17, 2020
This much-anticipated novel from the author of Girl in Translation is part suspenseful mystery, part family drama, and inspired by a real-life tragedy in Kwok’s past.
The story begins when her family discovers Sylvie—the beautiful, confident golden child of the family—visits the Netherlands to see her dying grandmother, and then falls off the radar. As her family searches for her, we learn about their complicated past and Sylvie’s own upbringing as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, first in Netherlands, then in New York. The pursuit reveals a series of increasingly startlingly secrets, but no easy answers.
Compulsively readable, with an ending I didn’t see coming. For fans of Everything Here is Beautiful and Everything I Never Told You.
The story begins when her family discovers Sylvie—the beautiful, confident golden child of the family—visits the Netherlands to see her dying grandmother, and then falls off the radar. As her family searches for her, we learn about their complicated past and Sylvie’s own upbringing as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, first in Netherlands, then in New York. The pursuit reveals a series of increasingly startlingly secrets, but no easy answers.
Compulsively readable, with an ending I didn’t see coming. For fans of Everything Here is Beautiful and Everything I Never Told You.
February 24, 2019
I love a domestic drama and I love a multi-perspective one even more. Until the last third or so this was very much right in my wheelhouse. I suspect the things that dropped it down a star for me may not matter that much to other readers. (Or maybe they'll matter even more! Who's to say?)
I particularly enjoy a domestic drama that takes me to a new place with interesting characters. This book definitely delivered. The Lee family is more complicated than you'd expect. While in some ways they are the immigrant family you've seen before, there is one major difference: Sylvie, the oldest child, spent the first 9 or so years of her life living with relatives in Holland, while her parents were in New York. And it is while she's in Holland for the last days of her Grandmother's life that Sylvie goes missing and her sister Amy sets out to find her.
The story is made up of Amy's story trying to figure out where her sister is, Sylvie's story from the weeks before she disappeared, and occasional interludes from their Mother's point of view at various points in time. Amy, who is still a young adult, realizes through her search that she has never really considered the specific pressures and traumas Sylvie has experienced, from being separated from her family to her constant successes in education and career. I really enjoyed getting to see Amy open up her ideas about her sister.
Besides the ending, the main issue I had with the last third of the book is that by that point I cared much more about Sylvie's story than Amy's. I actually began to lose sight of Amy all together, since so much of her story is about Sylvie, she begins to blend into the background. While this is a story about Sylvie, Amy's perspective and voice is crucial and loses some of its best qualities for me. Finally, one of the reveals in the actual ending is my Absolute Least Favorite Plot Twist. If I hadn't encountered this particular twist before I would probably be more forgiving, after all, I feel like this book handles the twist better than any other story I've seen. It's actually earned here rather than thrown in gratuitously. But even that earning of it makes it pretty obvious ahead of time, so I spent a long time hoping that would not be the reveal and then the rest being mad that this was the reveal. The actual reveal itself is sloppy and didn't ring true to me, either. And the reveal itself in Amy's story turns into something you'd see at the end of a mystery novel where everyone elaborately explains everything to you and we lose a lot of action for expository dialogue. Structurally the last third feels pretty flawed to me, which is a bigger deal in a book where there's a big central question than in a lot of others.
I particularly enjoy a domestic drama that takes me to a new place with interesting characters. This book definitely delivered. The Lee family is more complicated than you'd expect. While in some ways they are the immigrant family you've seen before, there is one major difference: Sylvie, the oldest child, spent the first 9 or so years of her life living with relatives in Holland, while her parents were in New York. And it is while she's in Holland for the last days of her Grandmother's life that Sylvie goes missing and her sister Amy sets out to find her.
The story is made up of Amy's story trying to figure out where her sister is, Sylvie's story from the weeks before she disappeared, and occasional interludes from their Mother's point of view at various points in time. Amy, who is still a young adult, realizes through her search that she has never really considered the specific pressures and traumas Sylvie has experienced, from being separated from her family to her constant successes in education and career. I really enjoyed getting to see Amy open up her ideas about her sister.
Besides the ending, the main issue I had with the last third of the book is that by that point I cared much more about Sylvie's story than Amy's. I actually began to lose sight of Amy all together, since so much of her story is about Sylvie, she begins to blend into the background. While this is a story about Sylvie, Amy's perspective and voice is crucial and loses some of its best qualities for me. Finally, one of the reveals in the actual ending is my Absolute Least Favorite Plot Twist. If I hadn't encountered this particular twist before I would probably be more forgiving, after all, I feel like this book handles the twist better than any other story I've seen. It's actually earned here rather than thrown in gratuitously. But even that earning of it makes it pretty obvious ahead of time, so I spent a long time hoping that would not be the reveal and then the rest being mad that this was the reveal. The actual reveal itself is sloppy and didn't ring true to me, either. And the reveal itself in Amy's story turns into something you'd see at the end of a mystery novel where everyone elaborately explains everything to you and we lose a lot of action for expository dialogue. Structurally the last third feels pretty flawed to me, which is a bigger deal in a book where there's a big central question than in a lot of others.
April 3, 2021
The cover is perfect for this atmospheric mystery. There is a calmness and quietness throughout the story that really drew me in from the beginning.
Sylvie Lee is missing. She traveled to her childhood home in the Netherlands and didn't return back to New York. Her sister Amy is commited to finding her, so she travels to the Netherlands in search of answers. As the story evolves, the plot thickens and there are more questions than answers. Many secrets come to light and the list of suspects to the disappearance is Sylvie grows.
This is a story about family, jealousy, betrayal, and belonging. The story is told from the point of view of Sylvie, Amy, and their mom. Unfortunately, the last 15% or so took a turn that made it more soap opera and than mystery. Overall, I liked the story but wish the ending would've been different.
Sylvie Lee is missing. She traveled to her childhood home in the Netherlands and didn't return back to New York. Her sister Amy is commited to finding her, so she travels to the Netherlands in search of answers. As the story evolves, the plot thickens and there are more questions than answers. Many secrets come to light and the list of suspects to the disappearance is Sylvie grows.
This is a story about family, jealousy, betrayal, and belonging. The story is told from the point of view of Sylvie, Amy, and their mom. Unfortunately, the last 15% or so took a turn that made it more soap opera and than mystery. Overall, I liked the story but wish the ending would've been different.
May 26, 2022
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Despite the many moments of poignancy that appear throughout the course of Searching for Sylvie Lee, the novel is ultimately diminished by unnecessary melodrama and convoluted (yet predictable) soap-opera-ish twists.
At its heart Searching for Sylvie Lee is a family drama about long-held family secrets. The narrative switches between three points of view: a mother and her two daughters. On the surface, Sylvie Lee, the eldest daughter, is the more successful and accomplished of the two Lee daughters. She’s married to a wealthy man and has a solid career. Unlike her younger sister, Sylvie did not spend her first years with her parents and in fact, grew up in the Netherlands with her grandmother and some cousins of her mother. At age nine she finally joins her parents and younger sister in America. While Sylvie shows open affection towards Amy, not seeming to resent her for being the one who got to stay with their parents, she is unable and or unwilling to grow closer to either her mother or her father, in fact, her relationship with her father is fraught indeed. When news that her beloved grandmother is dying reaches her Sylvie rushes to the Netherlands. Weeks after Amy receives a worrying call from the son of her mother’s cousins (the people who Sylvie was raised by). Sylvie has vanished.
Overcome by anxiety Amy too flies to the Netherlands where she stays with her cousins. Here she picks up on the weird atmosphere that suggests that not everyone was as in awe of Sylvie as she was. Her mother’s cousin is hostile and contemptuous about anything concerning Sylvie and her husband is rather creepy. Their son, Sylvie’s best friend, is also being somewhat cagey.
As time goes by Amy’s image of Sylvie as this perfectly put-together adult begins to shatter as more of her secrets come to the light. Apparently, both her marriage and her work life were far from idyllic.
Sylvie’s chapters reveal her month in the Netherlands and give us insight into her childhood there. Her bond with her cousin and another man also play way too much of a role in the story. There is a quasi-love triangle that feels kind of icky and unconvincing. The reveals we get at the end were entirely too predictable and yet the way these are disclosed struck me as profoundly anticlimactic. There is also way too much time spent on Sylvie's trip to Venice alongside these two men and a friend of theirs (Sylvie is not much a friend to her tbh given that she goes behind her back and shows little remorse about doing so). Here the author goes out of her way to describe the classic lightning trip to Venice, name-checking the various sites etc. Yet, here she also makes a big gaffe by writing in cursive what she must have thought was orange juice in Italian but it was in fact, French. This small detail irked me as to why then spend so much time showcasing how ‘knowledged’ you are about Venice? And then you just try to make the setting more ‘vivid’ by throwing unnecessary untranslated terms in italic? And getting them wrong? Orange juice is also not really a Venetian speciality. This is the North of Italy…not exactly orangeville. Anyway, this whole trip lacked tension and the argument(s) between the male characters felt very rehearsed. I also did not appreciate how the one gay character is portrayed (unhappily married and in love with his straight possibly homophobic friend who will never reciprocate his feelings and is willing to sabotage his friend's relationship because of jealousy).
I would have liked less time spent on the shitty men orbiting Sylvie’s life and more time on her bond with Amy and her relationship with her mother. I also could have done without the over the top dodgy cousins. It would have been nice if Amy had been given more of her own personal arc. Nevertheless, the author does incorporate compelling themes within her narrative: she describes the experiences of immigrant families both in America and in the Netherlands, and how class plays into it, emphasizing the fallacy of the American dream. Another key aspect of the novel is how appearances can be deceptive and how one’s image of someone (for example Amy seeing her sister as perfect) can stop you from truly seeing that person.
All in all, this was a rather mixed bag. If there had been less melodrama and more moments of introspection I would have probably liked this one better. Still, I would probably read more by this author.
Despite the many moments of poignancy that appear throughout the course of Searching for Sylvie Lee, the novel is ultimately diminished by unnecessary melodrama and convoluted (yet predictable) soap-opera-ish twists.
At its heart Searching for Sylvie Lee is a family drama about long-held family secrets. The narrative switches between three points of view: a mother and her two daughters. On the surface, Sylvie Lee, the eldest daughter, is the more successful and accomplished of the two Lee daughters. She’s married to a wealthy man and has a solid career. Unlike her younger sister, Sylvie did not spend her first years with her parents and in fact, grew up in the Netherlands with her grandmother and some cousins of her mother. At age nine she finally joins her parents and younger sister in America. While Sylvie shows open affection towards Amy, not seeming to resent her for being the one who got to stay with their parents, she is unable and or unwilling to grow closer to either her mother or her father, in fact, her relationship with her father is fraught indeed. When news that her beloved grandmother is dying reaches her Sylvie rushes to the Netherlands. Weeks after Amy receives a worrying call from the son of her mother’s cousins (the people who Sylvie was raised by). Sylvie has vanished.
Overcome by anxiety Amy too flies to the Netherlands where she stays with her cousins. Here she picks up on the weird atmosphere that suggests that not everyone was as in awe of Sylvie as she was. Her mother’s cousin is hostile and contemptuous about anything concerning Sylvie and her husband is rather creepy. Their son, Sylvie’s best friend, is also being somewhat cagey.
As time goes by Amy’s image of Sylvie as this perfectly put-together adult begins to shatter as more of her secrets come to the light. Apparently, both her marriage and her work life were far from idyllic.
Sylvie’s chapters reveal her month in the Netherlands and give us insight into her childhood there. Her bond with her cousin and another man also play way too much of a role in the story. There is a quasi-love triangle that feels kind of icky and unconvincing. The reveals we get at the end were entirely too predictable and yet the way these are disclosed struck me as profoundly anticlimactic. There is also way too much time spent on Sylvie's trip to Venice alongside these two men and a friend of theirs (Sylvie is not much a friend to her tbh given that she goes behind her back and shows little remorse about doing so). Here the author goes out of her way to describe the classic lightning trip to Venice, name-checking the various sites etc. Yet, here she also makes a big gaffe by writing in cursive what she must have thought was orange juice in Italian but it was in fact, French. This small detail irked me as to why then spend so much time showcasing how ‘knowledged’ you are about Venice? And then you just try to make the setting more ‘vivid’ by throwing unnecessary untranslated terms in italic? And getting them wrong? Orange juice is also not really a Venetian speciality. This is the North of Italy…not exactly orangeville. Anyway, this whole trip lacked tension and the argument(s) between the male characters felt very rehearsed. I also did not appreciate how the one gay character is portrayed (unhappily married and in love with his straight possibly homophobic friend who will never reciprocate his feelings and is willing to sabotage his friend's relationship because of jealousy).
I would have liked less time spent on the shitty men orbiting Sylvie’s life and more time on her bond with Amy and her relationship with her mother. I also could have done without the over the top dodgy cousins. It would have been nice if Amy had been given more of her own personal arc. Nevertheless, the author does incorporate compelling themes within her narrative: she describes the experiences of immigrant families both in America and in the Netherlands, and how class plays into it, emphasizing the fallacy of the American dream. Another key aspect of the novel is how appearances can be deceptive and how one’s image of someone (for example Amy seeing her sister as perfect) can stop you from truly seeing that person.
All in all, this was a rather mixed bag. If there had been less melodrama and more moments of introspection I would have probably liked this one better. Still, I would probably read more by this author.
January 2, 2020
im in between a 3.5 and 4 right now and i can't really explain why.
- this book did a lot of things and it did them well. to start, there's this very strong theme of family and heritage and immigration
- but that's just the beginning cause this book is loaded with secrets, betrayals, and tragedies that revolve around one family
- *give us the family dramaaaaaa*
- i LOVE reading stories that take place in unique settings & this takes place (mainly) in holland. the setting is described vividly and is a relevant part of the story
- the relationship between sylvie and amy 😭😭
- i was decidedly creeped out by william (is that the spelling?) and lukas from the moment i met them boi byeeee
- the story/mystery is told to us chronologically and the more you find out, the more the tension and conflict builds and then, the book does NOT allow you to put it down
- the writing is absolutely gorgeous. it's filled with metaphors, imagery, and so much emotion
- it's definitely page-turning and while there are many clues and hints given along the way, the ending really turned out as a shock to me
- i don't entirely know how to feel about the ending, it was SOMETHING
- the revelations for the twists were really unexpected and left me feeling empty and hurt but it also felt a little,,,,,,dramatic
- if you liked Everything I Never Told You or The Night Tiger, i think you'd really enjoy this book
- this book did a lot of things and it did them well. to start, there's this very strong theme of family and heritage and immigration
- but that's just the beginning cause this book is loaded with secrets, betrayals, and tragedies that revolve around one family
- *give us the family dramaaaaaa*
- i LOVE reading stories that take place in unique settings & this takes place (mainly) in holland. the setting is described vividly and is a relevant part of the story
- the relationship between sylvie and amy 😭😭
- i was decidedly creeped out by william (is that the spelling?) and lukas from the moment i met them boi byeeee
- the story/mystery is told to us chronologically and the more you find out, the more the tension and conflict builds and then, the book does NOT allow you to put it down
- the writing is absolutely gorgeous. it's filled with metaphors, imagery, and so much emotion
- it's definitely page-turning and while there are many clues and hints given along the way, the ending really turned out as a shock to me
- i don't entirely know how to feel about the ending, it was SOMETHING
- the revelations for the twists were really unexpected and left me feeling empty and hurt but it also felt a little,,,,,,dramatic
- if you liked Everything I Never Told You or The Night Tiger, i think you'd really enjoy this book
August 12, 2024
i have so many feelings, and nowhere to direct them.
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May 24, 2020
Many thanks to William Morrow for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review
The heart of another is a dark forest, always, no matter how close it has been to one's own. -Willa Cather
Searching For Sylvie Lee is more of a family drama than a thriller. While it did have its unsettling scenes, I felt that this novel went deeper into family and siblings than the mystery itself. Though it was, in my opinion, marketed incorrectly, it was still enjoyable.
♠Sylvie - Sylvie Lee is the perfect girl that almost everyone is jealous of. She's a straight-A student. She gets along with everyone and always dresses impeccably. She has not a problem in the world. Or does she? While Sylvie appears to have her sh*t together, she is actually struggling just as much as many other girls her age. The pressure from her family is hard enough but she is also trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. This combined with her interesting love story made for an interesting, albeit slightly annoying, character.
♠ Amy - Amy feels like the dud. She does not possess the talent and finesse that her sister has. Of course, she's not awful. She loves baking and has a kind heart. Even so, she's constantly living in her sister's shadow which is very frustrating for her. She is extremely jealous of Sylvie, which is ironic because Sylvie is jealous of Amy for getting scot-free of the pressure and responsibility of being the perfect girl
Family Drama - As I mentioned above, this book really isn't a thriller, even though it was marketed as one. For example, Paula Hawkins blurbed it which made me super to read it because she almost never blurbs anything. And because she blurbed it, I went into it expecting something along the lines of the books she writes. As I said, there are thriller-y bits but not nearly enough to make this an "official" thriller. No, this book is much more of a family drama. Secrets, lies, incest. You know the drill. I personally don't mind family drama but I like it in a much more positive, humorous light. Think, Crazy Rich Asians. I felt like the book was trying too hard to be thrilling and spooky when it had so much juicy drama to work with. Just drop the thrill and take the contemporary/humor and this book would have gotten five stars instead of three and a half. Finally, fact-check your genres. I'm surprised that no one piped up saying this wasn't a thriller.
CEO: So guys, this book is a thriller.
Staff #1-10: *Nods in agreement*
Intern: I mean, is it? It's more of a family drama
CEO: Shut up, Carl. You're fired.
Let's focus on the positive - Marketing aside, this was still generally enjoyable. Yes, I gave it 3.5 stars but I think that it will be a five-star read for others. It was well paced, in my opinion. I loved how the author used time to her advantage. Using multiple time jumps, hopping backward and forwards and then back again kept me constantly excited to know what happened next. All in all, I did enjoy this book. Not enough to warrant four stars or higher but enough to not get a low rating.
Bottom Line:
3.5 Stars
Rating: [ PG-13 ]
TW:
Cover: 3/5 ~ Plot: 4/5 ~ Characters: 3/5 ~ Audio: ⅗
Publication Date: June 4th, 2019
Publisher: William Morrow
Best Format: Hardcover/Paperback
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April 13, 2019
Sylvie Lee is a successful, beautiful woman. Her younger sister, Amy, idolizes her. When news reaches them that their grandmother is dying in the Netherlands, Sylvie flies there to be with her. Sylvie grew up in the Netherlands. Her parents were too poor to take care of her when she was born and sent her to live with her grandmother and the Tan family. Sylvie didn’t return to the US and her parents until she was 9 years old. But now Sylvie has returned to the place she thinks of as home. But Amy and her parents become deeply upset when Sylvie disappears and they are unable to get any answers as to what happened. Shy Amy must find the courage to go find her sister. Her search for Sylvie uncovers long concealed family secrets.
The book fluctuates between chapters detailing Amy’s search for Sylvie and Sylvie telling her story starting a month earlier when she leaves for the Netherlands and occasionally a chapter from their mother’s point of view. The character development in this book is very good and I cared about this family. The author does a particularly good job of detailing the cultural differences and problems this immigrant family faced and the racism shown to the Chinese in the Netherlands. But I was disappointed in some respects and felt parts of the books were too much like a soap opera. I did not feel that the ending rang true at all and it felt out of place to me.
This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.
The book fluctuates between chapters detailing Amy’s search for Sylvie and Sylvie telling her story starting a month earlier when she leaves for the Netherlands and occasionally a chapter from their mother’s point of view. The character development in this book is very good and I cared about this family. The author does a particularly good job of detailing the cultural differences and problems this immigrant family faced and the racism shown to the Chinese in the Netherlands. But I was disappointed in some respects and felt parts of the books were too much like a soap opera. I did not feel that the ending rang true at all and it felt out of place to me.
This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.
August 6, 2019
A book that follows Amy Lee, a young Chinese woman who searches for her older sister Sylvie, who disappeared after returning to the Netherlands to care for the grandmother who raised for. I liked how Searching for Sylvie Lee captures the cost of immigration. The sections about what Sylvie’s parents, especially her mother, sacrificed and how that affected their relationship with Sylvie felt heart wrenching and true. The emotions of grief, longing, and mystery all resonated too, perhaps because Jean Kwok drew from her own experience of grief as indicated in her author’s note at the end of the book.
I wanted more from the book though, especially in terms of emotional resonance. The book had so much going on – the dynamic between sisters Amy and Sylvie, Sylvie’s fraught relationship with Jim, the family dynamics between Helena and Sylvie and Amy and everyone else, etc. While I liked that Kwok tried to take on so much, I felt that the emotional core of each conflict or relationship in the book needed more development. I dislike writing this but by the end of the book I struggled to care or connect with any of the characters or what happened to them because I did not develop that emotional attachment while reading the earlier sections of the book. I am unsure what specifically would have helped, maybe focusing on a couple of the conflicts or relationships instead of trying to capture so many, or maybe providing even more flashbacks that showed the hearts of these characters.
I loved Kwok’s Girl in Translation when I read it about over a decade ago or so, so I hope she continues to write. While this book did not impress me too much I would still recommend it to those who find its synopsis intriguing.
I wanted more from the book though, especially in terms of emotional resonance. The book had so much going on – the dynamic between sisters Amy and Sylvie, Sylvie’s fraught relationship with Jim, the family dynamics between Helena and Sylvie and Amy and everyone else, etc. While I liked that Kwok tried to take on so much, I felt that the emotional core of each conflict or relationship in the book needed more development. I dislike writing this but by the end of the book I struggled to care or connect with any of the characters or what happened to them because I did not develop that emotional attachment while reading the earlier sections of the book. I am unsure what specifically would have helped, maybe focusing on a couple of the conflicts or relationships instead of trying to capture so many, or maybe providing even more flashbacks that showed the hearts of these characters.
I loved Kwok’s Girl in Translation when I read it about over a decade ago or so, so I hope she continues to write. While this book did not impress me too much I would still recommend it to those who find its synopsis intriguing.
January 12, 2021
I loved this story of Amy, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, who goes to the Netherlands on a quest to find out what happened to her older sister who disappeared. This book is both a page turner and a heart wrenching family story and you will love it.
June 4, 2019
4 complicated family relationship stars
This complex book is chronicled by two sisters – Amy and Sylvie – and their mother. I hardly know how to start to explain this one. This Chinese immigrant family has ties to the Netherlands and New York. Sylvie was raised by her grandmother and other relatives in the Netherlands before she is reunited with her parents in New York at age 9. She never quite feels at home anywhere and has developed a beautiful successful persona that she hides behind. Her grandmother is dying, so Sylvie heads to the Netherlands to say goodbye and then mysteriously disappears.
Amy begins the desperate search and ends up finding deep family secrets. Amy wants to track down her beloved older sister Sylvie and the suspense builds as we read about Sylvie’s time reuniting with family and old friends before everyone loses track of her.
I enjoyed the chapters narrated by the mother and it becomes clear that her daughters don’t know her very well. In fact, the whole family seems to hold things in reserve and keeps secrets. There is also the complicated theme of identity and this family never quite seems at home, either in New York or the Netherlands.
What has happened to Sylvie is at the heart of the story and as you near the end of the book, strong feelings collide, and the truth finally emerges. These characters stayed in my subconscious as I had a dream about them! I recommend this one if you like character-driven fiction and strong writing.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jean Kwok, and Harper Collins for an advanced copy to read in exchange for a review.
This complex book is chronicled by two sisters – Amy and Sylvie – and their mother. I hardly know how to start to explain this one. This Chinese immigrant family has ties to the Netherlands and New York. Sylvie was raised by her grandmother and other relatives in the Netherlands before she is reunited with her parents in New York at age 9. She never quite feels at home anywhere and has developed a beautiful successful persona that she hides behind. Her grandmother is dying, so Sylvie heads to the Netherlands to say goodbye and then mysteriously disappears.
Amy begins the desperate search and ends up finding deep family secrets. Amy wants to track down her beloved older sister Sylvie and the suspense builds as we read about Sylvie’s time reuniting with family and old friends before everyone loses track of her.
I enjoyed the chapters narrated by the mother and it becomes clear that her daughters don’t know her very well. In fact, the whole family seems to hold things in reserve and keeps secrets. There is also the complicated theme of identity and this family never quite seems at home, either in New York or the Netherlands.
What has happened to Sylvie is at the heart of the story and as you near the end of the book, strong feelings collide, and the truth finally emerges. These characters stayed in my subconscious as I had a dream about them! I recommend this one if you like character-driven fiction and strong writing.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jean Kwok, and Harper Collins for an advanced copy to read in exchange for a review.
January 5, 2020
As I read this book, the quote by Sir Walter Scott, "Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive", was all that kept coming to mind. Even though Sir Walter Scott had nothing to do with this story, the deceptions that come to light and their consequences, brought this famous quote to mind for me over and over.
Sylvie and Amy are sisters, separated by their parents in which Sylvie, the older sister is raised in the Netherlands, by relatives, while Amy grew up in New York City with her biological parents. Each chapter is alternating between their mother, Sylvie and Amy. The reader slowly gains insight into the many facets of Sylvie and we find out what happens to her through her words and those of Amy and her mother.
Besides the deception that comes out in the end, we also have an ongoing theme of not belonging and the need to be loved. When everything unravels in this dysfunctional family, we are left with the answer to what happened to Sylvie. The themes of love, wanting to belong and excellent writing, along with the mystery surrounding her made this a dark, suspenseful, and riveting read.
Sylvie and Amy are sisters, separated by their parents in which Sylvie, the older sister is raised in the Netherlands, by relatives, while Amy grew up in New York City with her biological parents. Each chapter is alternating between their mother, Sylvie and Amy. The reader slowly gains insight into the many facets of Sylvie and we find out what happens to her through her words and those of Amy and her mother.
Besides the deception that comes out in the end, we also have an ongoing theme of not belonging and the need to be loved. When everything unravels in this dysfunctional family, we are left with the answer to what happened to Sylvie. The themes of love, wanting to belong and excellent writing, along with the mystery surrounding her made this a dark, suspenseful, and riveting read.
August 20, 2022
Loved all the Dutch references!
September 3, 2019
I listened to the Amazon Audible production of “Searching For Sylvie Lee”. It a story of a Chinese immigrant family that is told from Sylvie’s POV and her sister Amy’s POV. Sylvie goes missing while she visits her dying grandmother in the Netherlands.
Sylvie was raised by her Grandmother in the Netherlands when she was a child. Her parents, who lived in NYC couldn’t afford raising her and sent her to live with her Grandmother who lived with Sylvie’s cousin and family. Sylvie grew a close bond with her second cousin, Lucas, while in the Netherlands. Lucas’s mother, Helena, was a cruel woman to Sylvie. Author Jean Kwok writes of the race issues both Lucas and Sylvie encountered as children growing up as Asian in the Netherlands. It was living through those experiences together that formed a rare bond.
Because Sylvie’s hardships, she became an overachiever when she returned to the USA. She still experiences racism but managed to graduate from the ivy’s and obtain a high-powered job. She married a wealthy man and seemed to have it all, at least to her little sister Amy.
Amy receives a troubling message from Lucas that Sylvie is missing and the novel takes the reader through Sylvie’s life, which isn’t as glamorous as Amy thought.
The first half of the novel was interesting for me. The reader learns of Sylvie’s many hardships with her cousin at home in addition to all the energy she endeared to be a perfect daughter/sister/ wife. Throughout the novel I enjoyed learning about the Chinese culture.
The second half, well, I lost interest in Sylvie’s well-being. The mystery of what happened to Amy grew taxing towards the end. Maybe it was the narrator, for I thought Sylvie as a whiny character that did not garner sympathy from me. Sadly, I can’t say I’d recommend this one.
Sylvie was raised by her Grandmother in the Netherlands when she was a child. Her parents, who lived in NYC couldn’t afford raising her and sent her to live with her Grandmother who lived with Sylvie’s cousin and family. Sylvie grew a close bond with her second cousin, Lucas, while in the Netherlands. Lucas’s mother, Helena, was a cruel woman to Sylvie. Author Jean Kwok writes of the race issues both Lucas and Sylvie encountered as children growing up as Asian in the Netherlands. It was living through those experiences together that formed a rare bond.
Because Sylvie’s hardships, she became an overachiever when she returned to the USA. She still experiences racism but managed to graduate from the ivy’s and obtain a high-powered job. She married a wealthy man and seemed to have it all, at least to her little sister Amy.
Amy receives a troubling message from Lucas that Sylvie is missing and the novel takes the reader through Sylvie’s life, which isn’t as glamorous as Amy thought.
The first half of the novel was interesting for me. The reader learns of Sylvie’s many hardships with her cousin at home in addition to all the energy she endeared to be a perfect daughter/sister/ wife. Throughout the novel I enjoyed learning about the Chinese culture.
The second half, well, I lost interest in Sylvie’s well-being. The mystery of what happened to Amy grew taxing towards the end. Maybe it was the narrator, for I thought Sylvie as a whiny character that did not garner sympathy from me. Sadly, I can’t say I’d recommend this one.
April 15, 2021
The truth is, it is impossible to hide from yourself. Another truth: it is possible to find yourself anywhere.
this book hurt my heart.
the unravelling of amy lee, sylvie lee, and their mother begins with a trip. when sylvie receives word that their grandmother is dying in the netherlands, she flies back to visit the country that nurtured her for nine years.
except sylvie vanishes. without a word, without a trace.
it falls to sheltered, shy amy to retrace sylvie’s steps from new york city to amsterdam and beyond. what she discovers along the way will shift everything she believes she knows—about her sister, her mother, the generations of women in her family. why was sylvie so fiercely despised by the woman who raised her? why was she so fiercely loved by two men who had no business loving her this much? what happened in that dutch home, both two decades earlier and in the present day, to drive sylvie to disappear?
For so many years, I had loved someone who did not exist.
this quote comes to define the complex emotions at the crux of searching for sylvie lee, and at the centre of each character’s heartbreak. each of the characters finds themselves loving a fantasy of a person who never existed: and when this is revealed for each individual, the repercussions reverberate throughout the web of people entangled in this mystery.
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
searching for sylvie lee captures such nuances of culture and everyday life in both new york city and the netherlands, and particularly from the perspective of first- and second-generation chinese immigrants.
this is an ownvoices story to its core, drawing inspiration from the many facets of jean kwok’s life—as a girl, when her family immigrated from hong kong to new york; as an adult woman living and writing in the netherlands. she is trilingual, speaking english, dutch, and chinese fluently. each word in her novel is imbued with this intimacy, this knowledge; each of the book’s three narrator’s (amy, sylvie, and ma) speak with a native tongue that corresponds to each of those three languages.
with that being said: i didn’t love every part of this novel. i found the beginning (maybe first 40-50%) extremely slow and hard to get into—but as soon as the story picked up with sylvie and amy in the netherlands, i became riveted. also, for each part that genuinely touched me, there would be another that i found somewhat canned and melodramatic, really playing up the mystery/thriller tone—akin to my feelings for white ivy by susie yang.
and the thing is, i didn’t particularly connect with or like amy or sylvie. not that i despised them, either; i found myself somewhere in the middle, somewhere in the realm of indifference. on the one hand, this made parts of the story quite dry; i was not invested in sylvie’s life in new york, for example, and her romance with jim held no stakes for me. on the other hand, it didn’t necessarily matter how much i liked or connected with them: the raw emotionality of each character’s grief and desire was such that it leapt off the page at you, wormed into your heart, regardless of how well (or not well) you jibed with them.
◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
lastly, i want to say that there were certain points in this novel where jean kwok’s prose really touched me in a profound and vulnerable way. one instance was when sylvie, lukas, and grandma debated what to do with grandma's priceless gold and jewels. she wished to bestow these to sylvie as her rightful inheritance, as has been done for generations—except that lukas’ mother, the scared and spiteful helena, craved these jewels for herself. lukas suggests to grandma, how about formally drawing up a will to legally bequeath the jewels to sylvie, as is the dutch tradition?
to which grandma replies: “We are not Dutch, my heart stem. That would hurt her more than anything else I could do. I am not able to be a human being in such a way.”
i am not able to be a human being in such a way.
i am not able to be a human being in such a way.
this is not an indictment of other ways of being: rather, it is a recognition that one’s own way of being cannot be supplanted by that of another. and this was one of the most simple yet cut-straight-to-my-heart true articulations of culture i have ever read.
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