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Bridging history from 1890s Aix-en-Provence to American involvement in 1950s Vietnam, "In the Fabled East" is a timeless love story and riveting adventure, charting the loss of innocence of both individuals and the world at large.
Adelie Tremier, a turn-of-the-century widower and socialite suffering from tuberculosis, flees Paris flees for French-occupied Indochina, to seek out a fabled spring of immortality in the Laotian jungle that might allow her to return to her nine-year-old son. Years later, Pierre Lazarie, a young academic turned Saigon bureaucrat, is sent by Adelie's grown son, now an army captain, to find this mysterious woman. Although his mission fulfills Pierre's fantasy to travel up the exotic Mekong, he is saddled with his colleague Henri LeDallic, who would rather glory in booze and his loutish past than hunt for ghosts. This mismatched pair stumbles through the lush jungle in the faded footsteps of Adelie, where history and fable are intertwined.
About the author
Adam Lewis Schroeder completed a Master's degree in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia and has since traveled extensively. He is the author of the story collection Kingdom of Monkeys and the novel Empress of Asia. He lives in the Okanagan, British Columbia with his wife and two sons.
Summary
Bridging history from 1890s Aix-en-Provence to American involvement in 1950s Vietnam, In the Fabled East is a timeless love story and riveting adventure, charting the loss of innocence of both individuals and the world at large.
Adélie Tremier, a turn-of-the-century widower and socialite suffering from tuberculosis, flees Paris flees for French-occupied Indochina, to seek out a fabled spring of immortality in the Laotian jungle that might allow her to return to her nine-year-old son. Years later, Pierre Lazarie, a young academic turned Saigon bureaucrat, is sent by Adélie's grown son, now an army captain, to find this mysterious woman. Although his mission fulfills Pierre’s fantasy to travel up the exotic Mekong, he is saddled with his colleague Henri LeDallic, who would rather glory in booze and his loutish past than hunt for ghosts. This mismatched pair stumbles through the lush jungle in the faded footsteps of Adelie, where history and fable are intertwined.
Additional text
Shortlisted in the for the 2011 regional Commonwealth Writers' Prize
An Indie Next selection
"An unforgettable tour of colonial Vietnam, connecting characters and storylines from 1870s France to the aftermath of Dien Bien Phu with skill and authority, moving with insight and wit from the ordinary to the mythological without a seam. A fabulous piece of writing."Karl Marlantes, author of Matterhorn
"A novel of profound intelligence and wit, deftly weaving history and myth, male and female, East and West, agony and splendour. In the Fabled East is a stunning book."Annabel Lyon, author of The Golden Mean
“Schroeder's considerable research is evident and the descriptions beautifully written” Publishers Weekly
“an imaginative and symbolic novel that stimulates all of the senses” St. Louis Today
“The author demonstrates a strong sense of place with well-written descriptive passages that make readers feel they are right there in colonial Indochina with the protagonists.”Library Journal Express
