The Majesties

October 7, 2019
Tsao (The Oddfits) cannily pulls back the gilded surface from a wealthy Indonesian family, revealing a rotten core. The novel opens in the aftermath of an extravagant birthday party for the Sulinado family patriarch, during which a young woman, Estella, has poisoned her entire extended family. The only survivor, Estella’s sister Gwendolyn, narrates the events leading up to the mass murder from her hospital bed, where she lies in a comatose state. These include the disastrous devolution of Estella’s brief marriage, as well as the sisters’ recent attempts to reconnect in the U.S. with a fun-loving aunt whom they had believed, until recently, to be dead. The sisters share a close bond, though each successive revelation about how their morally corrupt family intervened in these personal affairs drives a wedge further between them. The plot takes a while to hit its stride, but once it does, the narrative unfolds in a manner that’s both suspenseful and creepily claustrophobic. The novel also prompts readers to consider the cultural relativism of stereotypes, contrasting outsider perceptions of those with Chinese heritage in both Indonesia and the U.S. Tsao depicts a family whose fabulous wealth and privilege not only blind them to the needs of others but also engender cruelty and self-destruction. This is a bold and dramatic portrayal of characters on the cusp of an impossible choice between complicit self-preservation and total annihilation.

Nancy Wu uses an arch, knowing tone to narrate this family saga steeped in drama and danger. Gwendolyn and Estella are the spoiled sisters of an upper-class Asian family who must confront past secrets if they hope to survive. Wu perfectly captures the sisters' privileged existence in Indonesia. We are taken into a world of luxury and jealousy, of competition between families and among their members. Wu carries us along the unfolding tension as Estella turns on everyone--including Gwendolyn. Keeping us hanging onto every word, Wu makes us eager to find out what happens next. Well paced by an expert narrator, this roller-coaster story intrigues and entertains. M.R. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine