Overview

• The novel spans Serk’s World War II-era childhood under Japanese rule through Louisa’s years as a college student in Europe and mother in Los Angeles.
• Serk’s unexplained disappearance from a Japanese beach in 1978 sets Louisa on a journey defined by displacement, silence and enduring questions.
• Choi integrates her own family history by depicting her grandfather’s controversial advocacy under Japanese occupation alongside North Korea’s covert abduction operations.
• The narrative’s fractured timeline and intimate psychological portraits reflect the characters’ dislocation and generational trauma.
• Events supporting the novel’s June release include a June 6 presentation at Skylight Books featuring Viet Thanh Nguyen.