🌷Just Released!!
#qotd❤️ How exciting is it when the protagonist of a book 📖 is relatable?!! Do you remember a read wherein you cound relate to it at many levels? If not, tell me, how are you doing today?

⚘When in Vanuatu: a novel
by
Nicki Chen.

⚘Nicki Chen is the author of two novels, Tiger Tail Soup and When in Vanuatu, the latter of which grew out of her experiences during the twenty years she lived with her husband and their three daughters in the Philippines and the South Pacific. 

⚘301 pages & a simple but engaging narrative, makes it a quick read.

Synopsis:
When Diana quit her job and followed her husband to Manila, she believed the move would work for both of them: Jay would finally have his dream job, and she would take time off from her accounting career to start a family.

Four years later, however, she’s still not pregnant. Her fertility doctor advises her to relax—an undertaking that is easier said than done in one of the noisiest, most crowded cities in the world. Nevertheless, Diana tries. She takes up yoga and meditation. She buys goldfish. Then one day, while Jay is away on business, a violent coup d’etat erupts. The rebels bomb the presidential palace and occupy parts of the city.

Clearly, Diana decides, something needs to change. Determined to have a baby while she’s still young enough, she convinces Jay to transfer to the small South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, said to be “the most relaxing place on earth.” It isn’t long before she realizes that the island’s tropical beauty hides dangers and disappointments that will test her courage, her marriage, and her ability to open herself up to new possibilities.

🤎 LIFE UPDATE: I have recently moved to a new location..completely new for me, & I am so so excited.. Husband's transfer.. Although it's tiring, still I am hopeful for a great experience, new people, new cuisine, new culture, new home, new friends..everything new!
There's still a lot of unpacking to do & i have decided to take it easy & not get all worked up!

I could relate to it w.r.t this aspect.
🌼I have read, if you want to experience life, travel as much as you can.
Annnd if you want to travel, without physically..

Diana had followed her husband Jay to Manila, hoping to start a family together. Four years later, after a violent coup d'etat, Diana convinces Jay to get a transfer to the peaceful island of Vanuatu so they can have the family she dreamed of. Vanuatu is beautiful, but there are still dangers and disappointments.

Diana is overwhelmed at the beginning of the book, intent on getting pregnant, then feeling abandoned when her husband and a coworker arrange for transfers without consulting anyone else so that she'd lose her best friend. Some of the tension is the ghost of Jay's first wife hanging between them, as well as Diana's driven nature that wouldn't allow her to actually relax. With the book taking place in 1989, it's just assumed that women would follow their husbands wherever they chose to go, and that included Diana. She was deemed helpless, just as other wives were, and it probably doesn't help that she has little to occupy herself other than trying to get pregnant.

With this backdrop, When in Vanuatu is more of a character study for Diana and the relationships around her, past and present. The move to Vanuatu doesn't even happen until after the halfway mark, but it's a choice that Diana made and campaigned for. She starts coming into herself then, though her insistence on having a baby continued. This probably spoils an aspect of the ending, but this could be a very emotionally-laden topic for readers. Diana does get pregnant but eventually miscarries. She and Jay grieve together, but this doesn't devastate her or drive her so far into her grief that she can't get out of it. Life is outside of her control, and this is a lesson that finally takes by the end of the novel. I felt terrible for her and Jay, for the losses and defeats they had along the way, and satisfied by the conclusion. While they can't control life, they can support each other through everything.

During this time when international travel is something we can only daydream about, the best some of us can do is let the books we read transport us to faraway places. When in Vanuatu was everything that I needed, in order to escape.

I’ve always considered myself a traveler, my home in Sydney just a temporary hub for me to come back to when I wasn’t out exploring the world and all it has to offer. My bucket list long and full of items I’ve been slowly ticking off. When in Vanuatu was everything that I needed to get that spark of wanderlust going again, after so long away from a plane.

I absolutely fell in love with the very detailed descriptions of the cities in this book! The scenery of Manila and Vanuatu were so vivid. The brief descriptions of Bali, Korea and Pakistan; their gorgeous fabrics, foods and the idyllic way in which they were described made me eager to see all of these countries for myself. And oh, the food! I wanted to taste everything that was eaten, their descriptions were absolutely mouth-watering.

I loved how immersive and wonderful the travel element of this book was, which contrasted drastically with the issue of Diana’s difficulty falling pregnant, which led to some incredibly emotional scenes. Her struggles with her identity, and what it means to be the wife of an expat was another theme that was heavily explored, along with many other gender issues. This book does a great job fleshing out these important topics, as well as telling a great story.

Since I finished this book, I’ve been doing nothing but staring at the world map on my wall, daydreaming about all the countries I’ve been to and loved. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book.

Wow, I was really impressed with this book. At first I wasn’t so sure about it but I kept on reading and truly enjoyed it. The character was very interesting.

𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭. 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐢.

Diana is living in Manilla with her husband Jay, after being swayed by the freedom to finally start a family and take time off. This move was Jay’s chance at his dream job, everything would line up for them both, even if it meant giving up American luxuries. It has been 4 years and Diana is still yearning to get pregnant and nearing the age of 35, she knows time is of the essence. Both are perfectly healthy, so why is she unable to conceive? Is it the stress of the Philippines? Truly when they were newly arrived, they were happy to join their friends on trips to vacation spots on the beach or in the mountains, but that was before the dangerous coup attempts after the People Power Revolution. Is it the mounting tensions they have no control over or is that just an excuse to explain away the fading charm of the island? With Diana’s fertility doctor assuring her there isn’t anything wrong, that she just needs to relax considering stress has a negative impact on conception, Diana is resolved to be the most relaxed person her friends know. She starts with her own little aquarium of fish. Anything to keep her mind off of anti-American demonstrations, the strain between she and Jay, and her longings for a child. Maybe the prescription of yoga and meditation will be the cure, but how is one meant to truly “relax” when they are consumed with the need to relax or when Diana can’t stop thinking about getting pregnant? Too, there is Jay’s constant worry and caring watchful eyes, deeply rooted in the tragic loss of his first wife. How is a woman meant to let things happen naturally when nature isn’t taking it’s course in a timely manner? How is a wife to enjoy herself when she has to sneak around just to get out of her own head?

When Diana’s best friend Abby learns of her own husband’s job opportunity it means a move to Vanuatu, an island country located in the South Pacific. Diana is sad to be losing her companion and Abby is adamant she won’t go, sick of conceding her own desires In the end, she and the children follow her husband. Diana is surprised when Abby’s angry letters change to happier missives, reminding Diana about how she once felt about discovering all the new delights of Manilla. It gets her thinking that after four years of living Jay’s dream, it’s time for her own. She wants to move to Vanuatu, even if it means putting her foot down with her husband.

Vanuatu might just be the place where she can feel joy again, soothed by the beauty of their surroundings and an escape from the dangers of Manilla, but nothing ever goes to plan. She finds herself thinking about Jay’s first wife, wondering if she is competing with her memory. Then she is threatened in an unusual incident. Just when it seems like things are finally happening for she and Jay, hard times hit. Will they be able to move past their sorrows together here in paradise? Is happiness about one’s location? Will she ever escape her own worries and losses?

The novel is about the things we want in life and the things life wants from us. When In Vanuatu is quiet story about the expat life, what we take with us despite the places we leave behind and how it changes a marriage. It is about the pressures of a woman’s body, her own power over it when the clock is ticking and the conflict between going with the flow and fighting the tide through our desires.

Publication Date: April 27, 2021

SheWritesPress

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I remember the anticipation of waiting to get pregnant. It is so hard not to be stressed and nervous. My heart broke for Dianne as her anxiety built up to get pregnant. How does one relax when you want something soo badly? I liked the character development.. I really became attached to Diane and Jay. The world was their oyster with so many opportunities! I am going to recommend to my book club. I would love to discuss all my thoughts and feeling about the book with my friends.