Sylvie was raised by a secondary family, and then moved in with her primary family when she was much older. My thoughtsĪs a person who has moved to many different countries, this book hit close to home, a bit too much in fact. Yet the story keeps its pace going as revelation after revelation is made until the entire puzzle is complete. We all know how Searching for Sylvie Lee ends by the time we get through the middle of the book. In the centre is Sylvie, who has had a profound effect on every single of the characters in the two families. Along with that, family secrets, rivalries, and grudges are revealed, painting a picture where no one is innocent. Sylvie may seem like an awe-inspiring woman as we begin but upon reading a few more chapters, we learn of the bitter struggles that she had to go through. Things are getting tense as our more relatable protagonist Amy makes her way to Holland to investigate and find out what really is going on. Amy receives a phone call from the Netherlands, where Sylvie had gone on a business trip, telling her that Sylvie is missing. It may seem a bit too good to be true for Sylvie.

She is someone that Amy, a more dim and awkward girl, looked up to. She was still the picture-perfect Asian daughter: beautiful and elegant, has an Ivy League alma mater, an attractive and charming husband, and a successful career. As she grows up Sylvie is shown to be ambitious, hard-working, and from what I felt, a bit calculative and cold-hearted.

She was sent to be raised by her aunt’s family in the Netherlands, who were wealthier and could provide for Sylvie better.

Sylvie is the elder daughter of two Chinese immigrants in the USA. Searching for Sylvie Lee is told from the perspective of three women in separate chapters: Amy Lee, her sister Sylvie Lee, and their mother, referred to as Ma throughout the novel. The author made sure the realities of being a foreigner and struggling with identity are shown while maintaining a well-paced narrative that keeps you going back to the book. I thought the novel was deeply moving, as it is about family secrets, longing, identity, loneliness, and the difficulties of immigration.

I first picked up the book because I loveee thrillers concerning missing people (thanks to Gone Girl). Searching for Sylvie Lee is an intricate tale of two families and the fascinating Sylvie Lee, the bridge connecting the two families.

Searching for sylvie