Synopsis: "Persephone Wilder, a displaced genius posing as the wife of an American diplomat in Namibia, takes her job as a representative of her country seriously and comes up with an intricate set of rules to survive a range of problems: how to dress in hundred-degree weather without showing too much skin, how not to look drunk at embassy functions, and how to eat roasted oryx with grace. She also suspects her husband is not actually the ambassador’s general counsel but instead a secret agent in the CIA. Ever the embassy wife, she takes the new trailing spouse, Amanda Evans, under her wing.
Amanda Evans has just arrived in Namibia, mere weeks after giving up her Silicon Valley job, as her husband, Mark, has accepted a Fulbright. But once they arrive in the sub-Saharan desert, it becomes clear that Mark, who lived in Namibia two decades earlier, had other reasons for returning. Their marriage, which seemed solid in the safety of home, feels tenuous in the glaring heat of the Kalahari. Mark, it seems, has secrets born twenty years ago, and this journey is actually a quest to find a woman he left behind. When Amanda’s daughter becomes involved in an actual international conflict, lines are drawn in the sand, and it is clear that her own government won’t stand up for her or her daughter.
Propulsive and provocative, this satirical page-turner compellingly explores the limits of human resiliency and loyalty."<!-- wp:more -->
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This book is satirical and, I think, that aspect of the story must be understood to appreciate the intricacies of the story that focuses on three women in Namibia. Amanda arrives with her husband, Mark, who is working on a Fulbright project, and their daughter. While she's supportive of her husband, Amanda isn't particularly excited to leave her life and job in Silicon Valley. Once in Namibia, Amanda realizes that his Fulbright might not be the only reason that Mark wants to be in Namibia. Persephone is the wife of an American diplomat and she appears to others as a bit dense or out of touch, but she has a depth that no one realizes.
Sharply observed, crackling with dark humor, and poking fun of Americans who think they know best, this story illuminates how ignorance manifests and warps and affects others. It is light-hearted and operates with an acute level of superficiality that underscores the messaging of the book -- absurd American behavior abroad.
I think, however, that if readers fail to recognize the satirical nature of the story, they may think it tone-deaf or superficial, or disrespectful. That being said, I thought it was well executed and engaging despite some slow points.
Read It Like Rory 