Yun's Reviews > What Could Be Saved

Intricate, poignant, and completely captivating, What Could Be Saved knocked me over and left me wanting more.

Laura Preston is a struggling artist living in Washington DC when, out of the blue, she's contacted by a stranger claiming to be her missing brother Philip. He had vanished without a trace four decades ago when the family lived in Bangkok in 1972. Since then, Laura, her sister Beatrice, and their mother have forged a complicated relationship, none of them quite able to come to terms with the loss of Philip. Told in dual timelines, we follow the family through their loss in 1972 and again now in the present as they hope for healing and a second chance.

Gosh, this story just grabbed me and refused to let go. Reading it felt like being transported to a different life and time and location. Initially, it took me a few chapters to get into it, but once I did, I was fully immersed. It's one of those reading experiences where the story feels so vivid and alive, my real life became pale in comparison. Every moment I wasn't reading, I was thinking about it and looking forward to the next time I could pick it up again.

It's hard for me to describe what this story is about because it's about so many things. It's a character study, with each person chasing their own dreams, living out their lives as best as they can. They each have flaws, and the flaws make them complex and interesting. It's also a story about sibling and familial bonds, which can stretch and decay, but can also strengthen and become resilient. It's a story of hard choices and redemption and facing one's own demons.

With dual timelines, I'm always a bit wary that one of them will be less interesting than the other. But in this story, both were equally compelling and important. It helps that we don't switch back and forth constantly, but rather, each storyline is given ample time and space to come to fruition.

This is a story that will stay with me for a long time. Now that I'm done, I don't feel like I'm ready to leave this world and this family that Liese O'Halloran Schwarz has so expertly crafted. I just want to start over on page one and savor it all over again. This is my first book by Schwarz, and it definitely won't be my last.

My heartfelt thanks for the copy that was provided for my honest and unbiased review.