Inheritors

More about the book

From the O. Henry Prize-winning author comes a heartbreaking exploration of lives fragmented by the Pacific side of World War II. Spanning over 150 years and set in various colonial and postcolonial locations in Asia and the United States, the narrative paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of characters grappling with legacies of loss, imperialism, and war. Written from diverse perspectives and styles, the interconnected stories challenge assumptions and illuminate the complex ways we experience and pass on our histories. A retired doctor confronts the horrific moral consequences of his wartime actions, while an elderly woman reveals a fifty-year-old murder during an interview, exposing its shattering aftermath. In the final days of a doomed war, a prodigal son, who enlisted against his parents' wishes, survives the American invasion of his island outpost, only to face a daunting sacrifice. The characters navigate the devastating realities of war alongside the mundane needs of everyday life, struggling to reconcile their experiences with a changing world. This meditation on suppressed histories and the relationship between history, memory, and storytelling stands alongside the works of Lisa Ko, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Min Jin Lee.