Liese O'Halloran Schwarz

LOSS AND THE HUMAN NEED FOR CONNECTION. Three stories, one a young woman named, Lucy, an ER doctor, reeling from a failing marriage. A young boy, named Ben, who insisted he be called Leo, arrives in the ER, the victim of a terrible crime, and a horrific personal tragedy. Lastly, Claire, in a senior center, soon to celebrate her 100th birthday, and her story is both wonderful and heartbreaking. When the story first opens, we hear from all three of these characters, their stories unraveling as show more we read. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how these stories were going to line up, merge, and fit together.

From the beginning I trusted this author, that she would reveal what I needed to know, when it fit. I was intrigued, and loved not knowing exactly how this would go, it was a unique experience. Usually I'm trying to fit everything together, guess what would happen, not here, I sat back and read, waited. It was sad, lovely, and everything in between. The human need for touch connection, the passing of time and what can change, what cannot, is fully exemplified in this novel. A connection made in the past, that needs to be fulfilled in the present. Possible? Who knows, I certainly don't, but in this authors deft hands, all things seem possible.

A little bit different, a little bit wonderful.

ARC from Edelweiss. show less

In the first pages, I wasn't sure I would continue with this story. There seemed to be just too many consumer and class signifiers—references to neighborhoods and shops, the sort of thing that can be off-putting. I always think, Let's get to the story and hope it stands on its own. But this is a novel about a rather affluent family, whose home is in a leafy, exclusive part of D.C., so those details weren't really superfluous. And very quickly I was entranced.

An American family goes to show more Bangkok in the early 70s, when the Vietnam War is still raging next door. They're not exactly in the diplomatic corps: Dad is supposedly involved in the planning for construction of a dam. But they live the luxurious life of U.S. diplomats in underdeveloped places: Big house in a walled garden, a retinue of servants, frequent parties, bridge afternoons at the club for Mom. And what is Dad's job, exactly? Their planned one-year stay drags on and on, the dam never seems to get built...and then one of the kids disappears.

It's possible I ended up so entranced and loving this novel for very personal reasons. I grew up in a different leafy, affluent neighborhood of D.C., and my father was a Foreign Service officer. We lived in Taiwan in the late 50s. And I am about to have a novel published (Lily Narcissus, from Unsolicited Press) derived somewhat from that experience. My story is about a family similar to (but not) mine, who also end up staying in Asia long after that first posting, whose father is also up to something clandestine, whose mother may also be having an affair with another shady diplomat. (And there the similarities of the two books end, in terms of plot, if not so much in atmosphere.)

Schwarz's book is terrific. Family saga, international intrigue, mystery; many rich, conflicted and intertwined characters; an accurate historical background evolving over five decades. Apparently the author's family did live in Bangkok when she was a kid, but it's clear to me that this story is the product of her brilliant imagination. show less

The Possible World by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz is a highly recommended emotional novel that deals with loss and the bonds between people.

In Providence, Rhode Island, a six-year-old boy, Ben, witnesses the aftermath of a brutal multiple murder, including that of his mother, while at a birthday party. When found alive and uninjured in the carnage, Ben insists on being called Leo, but otherwise remembers nothing. He is traumatized and almost mute. The police are hoping he can remember something show more about the crime, but for now he is sent to the pediatric psych unit.

Dr. Lucy Cole is an emergency room doctor who checked Ben over when he came in and later realizes that he is the son of a colleague who was murdered. She is perpetually overworked and dealing with turmoil in her personal life. Lucy finds herself thinking of Ben and continues to visit him.

Clare is an elderly woman living in a nursing home. She is lucid and doing well, but she is about to turn one-hundred-years-old. Clare has carried her life story and it's many secrets for a long time, but may finally feel like it is time to tell her story to a new resident.

The Possible World is well written and the characters are fully developed and complicated. The narrative rotates between the main three characters, Ben, Lucy, and Clare, and later a fourth, a young boy from Clare's past named Leo. The thoughts, emotions, and the lives of these people are explored and revealed, culminating in a reunion of sorts. It is a very compelling novel and will hold your attention throughout.

I had two qualms with the novel. The first is the myriad of ER details Lucy shares. This make sense, she is an ER Dr. as is the author Liese O'Halloran Schwarz, but I wasn't reading this as a medical novel and soon grew a bit weary of all the ER action. Readers are also required to believe/accept the idea that reincarnation is real and that Ben used to be a boy named Leo. It felt too contrived for me to totally accept this plot pretense and the final scene. However, the quality of the writing is never in dispute.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Scribner.
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Being invited to a birthday party isn‘t something that comes easy for Ben. Too many things can happen, all is so unpredictable with other boys, but his mother can convince him to go nevertheless. And then, the most unexpected happens: a murderer comes to the party and kills the two mothers in the house as well as all of the kids, except for Ben. In hospital, Lucy can only determine that he hasn’t been hurt physically, but there seems to be a kind of trauma since Ben wants to be called show more Leo and remembers life with a certain Clare. At an elderly home somewhere in town, Clare is fighting again against having to socialise. Her life alone in a recluse hut and later with her foster child Leo has simply been perfect. How come Ben remembers being Clare’s son Leo?

Liese O‘Halloran Schwarz‘ novel is one of the rare books that you just open and then get completely lost in. I read it in just one sitting because I simply did not want to get away from her characters. It is bittersweet, often melancholic, but you see the good heart the characters have and you are convinced that there must be something good coming from them. It is a perfect feel-good book, even though it tells harsh reality in an emergency room and the story of a child given away by his mother.

I liked the alternate narration of the three protagonists, even though it did not completely make sense at the beginning, you slowly manage to put together the puzzle pieces that form a new and complete picture. All three are very sensitive characters, misunderstood by the people around them and therefore lonely. I guess these kind of people recognize each other what helps them to find each other. What also links them is the fact that they are highly intelligent and question the world: why do the things have to be the way they are and why don’t people change something about it?

A beautifully written story about non-mainstream characters who can easily be overlooked. show less