Certitudes by Madeleine Thien , Translated by Hélène Rioux
Gail Lim, a producer of radio documentaries in present-day Vancouver, finds herself haunted by events in her parents’ past in war-torn Asia, a past that – despite its mystery – fiercely grips her imagination.
As a child – under the terrifying shadow of war in Japanese-occupied Sandakan, Malaysia – Gail’s father, Matthew, wandered the Leila Road and the jungle fringe with his friend Ani, and their bond affects him for years to come. After the war shatters their families and splits them apart, they reunite years later, only to be separated once more. The legacy of their connection is later inherited by Matthew’s wife, Clara, in unexpected ways.
Gail’s journey to unravel the mystery of her parents’ lives takes her to Amsterdam, where she meets the war photographer Sipke, who tells his story of Ani and their relationship, which began in Jakarta, a story that will bring Gail face-to-face with the complications in her own life and lead her closer to the truth.
At once sweeping and intimate, Certainty is a novel about the legacies of loss, about the dislocations of war and the redemptive qualities of love.
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