A Wife in Bangkok: A Novel

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

When Crystal's husband, Brian, suddenly announces that his company is sending him to manage its Bangkok office and that he expects her and their children to come along, she reluctantly acquiesces. She doesn't want to leave the job she loves and everything familiar in their small Oklahoma town; it's 1975, however, and Crystal, a woman with traditional values, feels she has to be a good wife and follow her husband. Crystal finds beauty in Thailand, but also isolation and betrayal. Fighting intense loneliness and buffeted by a series frightening and shocking events, she struggles to adapt to a very different culture and battle a severe depression-and, ultimately, decide whether her broken relationship with her husband is worth saving.

Reviews

2021 Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award Finalist
2021 Eric Hoffer da Vinci Eye Award Finalist
2021 Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize Short List
2021 Eric Hoffer Book Award First-Runner Up in General Fiction
2020 Readers' Favorite Book Awards Finalist in Fiction - Cultural
2020 International Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Multicultural

"Over the course of this novel, Lav presents an ambitious tale about overstepping cultural boundaries and losing one's autonomy within a marriage. . . . an unusual glimpse of life in Thailand in the aftermath of the Vietnam War."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Iris Mitlin Lav's story excels in its survey of emotional condition and growth. . . . The growth process she experiences by being an American wife transplanted to the alien culture and conditions of Bangkok makes for a mesmerizing story that follows the logical progression of her evolution with an astute attention to detail and psychological development."
--Midwest Book Review

"A Wife in Bangkok by Iris Mitlin Lav was a very interesting read, and certainly well-researched as evident by the author's own time in Thailand. . . . Overall, the novel itself was well-written and delivered at a steady pace that made me feel an attachment to the characters. I would definitely read another book by this author in the future."
--Readers' Favorite 5-star review

"A thoughtful portrayal of a major depressive episode in a wife and mother leaving everything behind in the 1970s to follow her husband to a foreign country for his career, also known as 'trailing spouse syndrome.' Culture clash and resentment ensue, leading to her treatment in a Houston psychiatric facility, which is illustrated in a sensitive way without stigma."
--Karen B. Rosenbaum, MD, psychiatrist and faculty at NYU and Weill Cornell Medical College

"Only someone with a deep understanding of Thailand could have written this book. The adept handling of the main character's conflict and the redeeming nature of love are matched only by the rich descriptions of the land, the people, and the culture. Indeed, Thailand is the other main character in this fascinating novel of a US family in that 'faraway country' of 1975."
--Jean P. Moore, award-winning author of Water on the Moon and Tilda's Promise

"This novel examines in great detail what it might be like to be uprooted from one's comforts and culture and plunged into the unknown. The novel is an intricate and wholly well-informed presentation of the complexities of Thai life and culture; a well-plotted adventure of corporate intrigue; a close examination of the structure of an uncommunicative and weak marriage; and an exploration of the effects on Crystal's psyche of obsession, self-doubt, loneliness, and situational depression. Finally, the novel suggests the possibility of healing and redemption."
--Bruce J. Berger, author of The Flight of the Veil

Author Bio

Iris Mitlin Lav grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. She moved to Washington, DC, with her husband in 1969, where they raised three children. She is retired from a long, award-winning career of policy analysis and management with an emphasis on improving policies for low- and moderate-income families. She has traveled extensively in the US and abroad, and she lived in Thailand for two years in the 1970s. She and her husband now live in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with Mango, their goldendoodle, and with grandchildren nearby.