Cover Image: What Could Be Saved

What Could Be Saved

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Member Reviews

An intricate, multiple timeline family saga filled with lies and intrigue. I really enjoyed this story of the Preston family set in both Bangkok in the 70's and present day Washington D.C. The mystery of what really happened within the family keeps you going to the very end.

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I had a hard time connecting with this story. Maybe because I did the audio version, I don’t know. The premise was interesting, a brother who went missing, reunited with his family as an adult, unearthing more questions than answers. While this aspect of the story was interesting, it alternates between the past and the present. When it journeyed into the past, the focus shifts a bit. This is where the book lost me. Other readers loved the past narrative more though, so maybe it’s just me.

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I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

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First off, beautiful cover and interesting storyline. However, I started and stopped this book many times. For historical fiction I have to be in the right headspace and slow starts do not help matters. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, but I am putting it aside for now. If I do pick it back up, I will update my review.

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This was a slow-burn, but once it picked up, I could not put it down! Usually I struggle to find my rhythm with multiple POVs, but this one was written so well, it was not hard to transition. Such a deeper story than I expected as well. Definitely recommend!

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What Could Be Saved was even more than I was hoping it would be. It was a stunning mix of genres with picturesque details of the events and characters. I felt like I was captivated the entire time and still wonder about the dynamic characters after finishing the story. It would make a great movie or Netflix series. Definitely recommend this book! Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book.

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This was an incredible novel. I really loved the premise and it did not disappoint. The switch between POVs/timelines was seamless.

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Loved it! I wish I could read this book over and over again. Tell your friends! This book is great. Have you been looking for a good book to recommend? You have found it.

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What Could Be Saved
Author, Liese O'Halloran Schwarz

What Could Be Saved is easily one of the best books that I've read so far in 2021! I finished reading this complex novel back in August, but I needed time to process it all and then I was worried that I wouldn't be able to put together my thoughts well enough for a review worthy of this novel- let's see how I do..

Told in dual timelines from Bangkok in 1972 to Washington DC in the present of 2019, we begin with Laura Preston receiving a phone call from a stranger who claims to be her missing brother, Phillip, who disappeared 40 years ago while the Preston family lived in Thailand. Naturally, Bea, Laura's older sister, advises her that this is just a scam and tells her to just move on already. But Laura still hasn't given up hope- she hasn't seen Phillip since she was seven years old. What happened to her dear brother all those years ago? Then she receives another call from a woman who now claims that Phillip is living in her house and wants to Skype with her to prove his relation. Laura agrees and believes that she finally may be reunited with this strange, yet familiar man. Despite her doubting sister, and her mother, Genevieve's, cognitive decline, Laura travels alone to Thailand in hopes to bring home her brother and to learn the truth of what happened to Phillip so many years ago.

What follows is the gripping story of the Preston family's time while living in Bangkok. What was supposed to be a one year assignment for Robert Preston turns into four years. The Preston's fall into an exotic and privileged lifestyle with a beautiful home, a myriad of Thai servants, catered parties, and numerous activities for the children. And yet, Genevieve is unhappy, longs to return home to the US, and gets distracted by another man. Robert has a few secrets of his own- he's not really assisting in the construction of a dam and he may be making some new local friends as well. Meanwhile, their children are being chauffeured around unattended in a foreign country by dismissive servants- my heart was aching for what inevitably happens next to this family- this family that will never be the same again.

Told from multiple points of view, we learn of each characters' experiences, memories, and how these events brought them to where they are today. The suspense and how each individual's narration wove so intricately together made this read mysterious and an intense page turner. The vivid and atmospheric descriptions of Bangkok ranged from the culture and food to poverty and racism. And while there is some uncomfortable content that I would consider a spoiler if shared, nothing was overly graphic or detailed. The dramatic ending and how O'Halloran Schwarz brings this story together was a unforgettable journey of secrets, twists, and tragedies. Truly a complex family saga exposing the power of sibling bonds and how our past can define our present. An unforgettable and moving story of hope, resilience, and love that will stay with me for a long time.

I loved it so much that I bought myself a hard copy and also bought the author's first novel, The Possible World. I highly recommend What Could Be Saved and look forward to anything Liese O'Halloran Schwarz writes in the future.

Thank you NetGalley, Washington Square Press, and author Liese O'Halloran Schwarz for the opportunity to read and review this incredible e- ARC. I am so grateful.

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I had not heard anything about this book prior to reading, however am glad that I stuck with it. It was definitely a long read, but also an extremely rewarding one. It did take me a while to really get enthralled with this book,, however once I was there, I could not stop reading. This is definitely a family saga and covers each member of the Preston family back and forth in time. The dual timeline aspect really made this book shine and worked extremely well in telling the story. I really wish there would have been better development regarding the sister's lives and about what it was the father did for a living. I think these items could have really strengthened the book. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley. This is definitely a triumph.

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This book was so much more than I was expecting. It was outside my normal read lately, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. One I would definitely recommend to others to pick up and read at least once in your lifetime.

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Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of What Could Be Saved by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz.

Laura is a fifty something artist who is slowly sinking into obscurity, when she gets a phone call that changes her life. It's a man, claiming to be her brother who was lost in Bangkok after forty years. Despite the protestations of her sister, Laura flies to Thailand to meet this person with the hopes that her fracturing family can be a little more whole.

But how exactly did her brother go missing in the first place? Was it just a simple runaway case, or something much more sinister.

This took me a second to get into, but once I did I was totally hooked. Such a unique story with a different setting. The characters and plot were complex and well woven.

CW: mentions of sexual abuse towards a child

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Excellent story! Totally engrossing!. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down!

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This is the first book I have read from this author and it did not disappoint. This is a fabulously done dual timeline novel that spans a family through generations. This gives us two very different story lines and both are equally as wonderful and eye opening. As you read through this hefty 400 pages, you slowly begin to unravel these family secrets and learn so much about this family. Highly recommend!

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This book was one of those that looks amazing from the description, and actually delivers. It sort of reminded me of a tropical Kate Morton novel, where things unfold deliciously slow and then when all the threads come together you are left speechless and breathless and heartbroken. But even though there is loss, this is one of those books that you must read. It was evocative and gorgeous and the descriptions brought Thailand to life for me (I have always wanted to live there). It shows the effects of the history of colonization and includes the CIA's business in Asia and their fight to stop the spread of communism. Overall, a fantastic book that should be on everyone's shelf and read in every book club.

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This book started strong- loved the immediate long lost brother attempting to contact the family. I got into it really quickly and didn’t want to put it down. Then it slowed, almost to the point where I didn’t finish it. The life of the family in Thailand moved too slowly for my liking and I kept finding myself longing for the present time characters. Overall, It was enjoyed!

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This book.... wow. (side note- I accidentally showed up for a salon appt 45 minutes early yesterday so I went across the street to browse in the bookstore while I waited and struck up a conversation with a woman while looking at the "new books" selection. I pointed to What Could Be Saved and told her that it's one of those emotionally exhausting but completely unputdownable books I wish I could read for the first time all over again! I left before she did but she was holding it like she would buy it.) Anyway, this book was soooo good!!!!! I definitely look forward to more from this author!!

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I enjoyed this book and it was a quick read. I will say that I had a hard time getting into the book initially but then it picked up from there. The characters were good, I just wish there was more to them, some fell a little flat.

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Absolutely epic. I think I’ve only just stopped holding my breath, 3 days after finishing this book. Beautiful prose in an intricately woven and immersive story of family secrets, a mystery to unravel, privilege and colonialism, and a deep dive into the ways trauma manifests itself so differently across individuals. A slow start with an even slower middle almost lost me, but the END! I am so glad I stuck with it to see it through to the end. #WhatCouldBeSaved is a masterfully written gut punch that really hit me hard and brought up some complex emotions and self-reflections (especially thanks to the supplemental questions and materials provided at the end of the book).

📕 Synopsis: ➖Washington, DC, 2019: Laura Preston is a reclusive artist at odds with her older sister Bea as their elegant, formidable mother slowly slides into dementia. When a stranger contacts Laura claiming to be her brother who disappeared 40 years earlier when the family lived in Bangkok, Laura ignores Bea’s warnings of a scam and flies to Thailand to see if it can be true. But meeting him in person leads to more questions than answers.
➖Bangkok, 1972: Genevieve and Robert Preston live in a beautiful house behind a high wall, raising their 3 children with the help of a cadre of servants. Genevieve strives to create a semblance of the privileged life she would have had at home in the US. But not all is as it seems, and their seemingly serene household is vulnerable to unseen dangers in a rapidly changing world and a country they don’t really understand.
➖Alternating between past and present as secrets are revealed, What Could Be Saved is an unforgettable novel about a family shattered by loss and betrayal, and the beauty that can exist even in the midst of brokenness.

❗️CW for those sensitive to themes of sex work, trafficking, abuse, violence, death.

Thanks to @atriabooks and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. The paperback edition will be released August 31st!

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Oh, my heart…

What Could Be Saved is a story of loss and tragedy, but also of self-discovery and the destruction that can often lie in its wake.

This is a story that unfolds over decades, but feels somehow urgent. It is the story of family - what it takes to be one and what it means to lose it. And in the end, what can be saved?

This was haunting, eerie, and smart. Written like a brilliant puzzle we feel compelled to complete.

5/5 ✨

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