A Hundred Suns by Karin Tanabe
American Jessie Lesage and her wealthy French husband Victor arrive in Vietnam in 1933, where they will oversea the Michelin rubber plantations. As the Indochine sinks into an economic depression, the Europeans in charge of the plantations continue to live thrilling lives of luxury at others' expense.
As Jessie finds out more about her husband's family and the colonial world they inhabit, she meets Marcelle de Fabry, an expat who reveals the devastating truth behind the plantations and its workers. Jessie is caught between loyalty to her husband and the life she has grown accustomed to, and her love for the people of Vietnam.
Why I Loved It: The detail was incomparable, the setting magical, the writing precise as a knife. A sheer marvel of historical fiction.