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Exiles
Suspenseful and thought-provoking, Exiles is an extraordinary debut in which East meets West at the point where lives hang in the balance.
Opening the door to a Nepal few Westerners have encountered, Exiles tells the haunting story of an American doctor and his teenage daughter caught in the midst of a civil war.
Fleeing the messy dissolution of his marriage, cardiologist Peter Scanlon decides to take a risk and move with his seventeen-year-old daughter to Kathmandu, where he will volunteer in a free health clinic. But once there, he finds that he failed to anticipate the hardships and austere living conditions; a chronic shortage of medical supplies; diseases he has never encountered before; the sexual trafficking of young girls; and political instability and an encroaching civil war. At the same time, his friendship and philosophical discussions with a Tibetan Buddhist lama challenge and invigorate Scanlon, and his contentious relationship with the Nepali nurse who works with him gives way to deeper feelings. His daughter, in the meantime, flourishes as she quickly adapts to the new culture and falls in love for the first time. But when Scanlon is summoned to the scene of an accident on Mt. Annapurna, their lives become a nightmare of violence and fear.
Set within an extreme landscape of both beauty and peril, Exiles takes the reader on a gripping adventure that asks profound questions about the nature of our beliefs—and how far we are willing to go to defend them.
Opening the door to a Nepal few Westerners have encountered, Exiles tells the haunting story of an American doctor and his teenage daughter caught in the midst of a civil war.
Fleeing the messy dissolution of his marriage, cardiologist Peter Scanlon decides to take a risk and move with his seventeen-year-old daughter to Kathmandu, where he will volunteer in a free health clinic. But once there, he finds that he failed to anticipate the hardships and austere living conditions; a chronic shortage of medical supplies; diseases he has never encountered before; the sexual trafficking of young girls; and political instability and an encroaching civil war. At the same time, his friendship and philosophical discussions with a Tibetan Buddhist lama challenge and invigorate Scanlon, and his contentious relationship with the Nepali nurse who works with him gives way to deeper feelings. His daughter, in the meantime, flourishes as she quickly adapts to the new culture and falls in love for the first time. But when Scanlon is summoned to the scene of an accident on Mt. Annapurna, their lives become a nightmare of violence and fear.
Set within an extreme landscape of both beauty and peril, Exiles takes the reader on a gripping adventure that asks profound questions about the nature of our beliefs—and how far we are willing to go to defend them.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
35 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
Cary Groner
2 books63 followersCary Groner’s new novel, “The Way,” launched in the U.S. in December 2024, and will come out in the U.K. in March 2025. Cary's debut novel, “Exiles,” was a Chicago Tribune favorite book of 2011. His short stories have won numerous awards, including the Glimmer Train Fiction Open, and have appeared there and in other venues that include American Fiction, Mississippi Review, Salamander, Southern California Review, Sycamore Review, Tampa Review, and Zymbol. Cary earned his MFA from the University of Arizona in 2009, and has taught fiction writing there, at UCLA online, and at the Berkeley Writing Salon. He lives with his wife in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
February 12, 2012
This book was difficult to put down! I read it in three sittings.
The story centers around an American cardiologist and his seventeen year-old daughter who go to Nepal for a year, after the girl's parents divorce. Their time in Nepal is fascinating. Many Americans tend to romanticize that part of the world, but Croner made it interesting and at the same time made clear the dangers to the cardiologist and his daughter. In other words, he kept it realistic!
The characters are wonderful, the location exotic, and the reading quick and easy. If you enjoy exotic locales or liked "Murder in the High Himalaya" by Jonathan Green, you should read this book!
The story centers around an American cardiologist and his seventeen year-old daughter who go to Nepal for a year, after the girl's parents divorce. Their time in Nepal is fascinating. Many Americans tend to romanticize that part of the world, but Croner made it interesting and at the same time made clear the dangers to the cardiologist and his daughter. In other words, he kept it realistic!
The characters are wonderful, the location exotic, and the reading quick and easy. If you enjoy exotic locales or liked "Murder in the High Himalaya" by Jonathan Green, you should read this book!
May 4, 2020
This book is much like the oft used Nepali image of the lotus which grows from the muck of wet earth. There are a few lovely moments. Mostly mud.
Placed in the time of the civil war between the elitist ruling class and monarchy vs the Maoists, this father and daughter who - we are to believe - chose to move to Nepal with a dart throw, land in Kathmandu with little understanding of anything about their new home.
The best parts are an ongoing discussion between the father (a cardiologist from the SF Bay Area) and a Tibetan Buddhist lama who he meets because heis sent into the Himalayas to diagnose the teacher with heart failure. It is all probably basic to those who understand Buddhism, but I can always use the wisdom told here second-hand. Unfortunately, these sweet bits are separated by pedantic, pedestrian story telling. This happened, then this did, then this…
The romance does not feel authentic, the language stilted.
My favorite bit of wisdom was not from the Lama, but the Maoist commander:
“Here we say that those in the middle of the road get hit from both directions.”
One extra star for mentioning “Olga from Sausalito” - a real woman who has changed Nepal - via Nepalis, of course - see
https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/
Placed in the time of the civil war between the elitist ruling class and monarchy vs the Maoists, this father and daughter who - we are to believe - chose to move to Nepal with a dart throw, land in Kathmandu with little understanding of anything about their new home.
The best parts are an ongoing discussion between the father (a cardiologist from the SF Bay Area) and a Tibetan Buddhist lama who he meets because heis sent into the Himalayas to diagnose the teacher with heart failure. It is all probably basic to those who understand Buddhism, but I can always use the wisdom told here second-hand. Unfortunately, these sweet bits are separated by pedantic, pedestrian story telling. This happened, then this did, then this…
The romance does not feel authentic, the language stilted.
My favorite bit of wisdom was not from the Lama, but the Maoist commander:
“Here we say that those in the middle of the road get hit from both directions.”
One extra star for mentioning “Olga from Sausalito” - a real woman who has changed Nepal - via Nepalis, of course - see
https://www.nepalyouthfoundation.org/
September 21, 2013
This core of this exotic fusion of mainstream and literary fiction is defined by the eponymous title-- displacement, exclusion, alienation, and even expulsion. The exquisite, poetic first chapter thrusts the reader immediately into a remote setting in Kathmandu 2006, where American cardiologist, Peter Scanlon and his seventeen-year-old daughter, Alex, face a guerilla death squad in the Himalayas. The reader is instantly spellbound with the story, where survival and danger coalesce in a taut, tense thriller that examines contrasts in exile: spirituality within human suffering, inner peace outside of war, and prosperity beyond pestilence.
Backtrack to 2005, and the events that shaped the current peril of the Scanlons. Peter, forced to expel his troubled daughter from proximity to her meth addict mother, removes her from the U.S. to start a new life. At his persuasion, Alex pitches a dart at an atlas to select a new home, which lands on Kathmandu, a deep valley surrounded by colossal mountains, and a politically sensitive and turbulent place marred by outlaws, massacres and instability. Peter gets a job at a volunteer health clinic, where diseases he has never seen and cries he has never heard permeate the city and pierce his cynical American heart.
Warring Maoists pervade the mountainside and threaten the life of citizens, and the lawless and nihilistic underworld controls the corrupt police and politicians. Moreover, the clinic's acquisition of life-saving drugs depends a lot on the negotiation with these syndicate bosses of the city, specifically a savage man who runs a huge sex trafficking ring of young females, many who are sick with STD's. Peter's desire to save these girls threatens his MD's license and his personal safety, and his frustration to cure the sick is challenged by the powerful epidemics that are resistant to antibiotics.
Peter and Alex live in relative comfort compared to the natives, but without heat and in extreme temperatures. Peter's boss at the clinic has arranged for a housekeeper/cook, Sangita, a Tibetan woman whose daughter, Devi, is Alex's age. Alex and Devi bond instantly, and Santiga's maternal instincts are a welcome energy to the household. Mina, the nurse at the clinic who functions more like an agitating partner, vexes Peter, as well as beguiles him.
Ailments, treachery, and poverty permeate the city like the thick, grey fog and charcoal sky that hovers over the inhabitants. A feeling of dread snakes through the narrative, yet a soulful backbone of human stout-heartedness and endurance surprises the reader at each descent of gravity. Groner's exuberant prose imbues the story with keen paradoxes and nimble dialogue that flow with sharp, pointed wit. The pace is quick, thrilling and cinematic; you will probably finish this novel in a few sturdy sittings.
The disadvantage of this hybrid genre of fiction is the tendency to inject the main characters with staggering puissance. They wear their courage a little too easily, including the teenagers. There are also several convenient and predictable plot turns that are too facile, giving the narrative a rushed simplicity at times. Also, although Peter is out of his element, he steadily challenges pernicious criminals with a force and conniving that periodically flouts credibility.
Mina, who enters as an intriguing individual, flattens out as her contentious nature is mitigated. Sangita turns out to be a straw character, as are several other players in this drama. Buddhist practices lend a warm and exalted glow to the story, but almost tips into precious territory at intervals.
However, this is a potent story that, despite some inorganic elements, never fails to fill the reader with wonder. The magic arises from the immaculate prose and imagery, as well as luminous, cosmic turns of phrase, and the ties that bind humanity. This is a novel ripe with quotable passages, with a landscape of flourishing detail. As a story of exile, it lures and invites the reader within its foreign enclosures to a map that contours the human heart.
"Fatherhood held at its heart a sweet, paradoxical masochism, the self-abnegation of one willing to die for another. Why else would he have come to this place?"
Backtrack to 2005, and the events that shaped the current peril of the Scanlons. Peter, forced to expel his troubled daughter from proximity to her meth addict mother, removes her from the U.S. to start a new life. At his persuasion, Alex pitches a dart at an atlas to select a new home, which lands on Kathmandu, a deep valley surrounded by colossal mountains, and a politically sensitive and turbulent place marred by outlaws, massacres and instability. Peter gets a job at a volunteer health clinic, where diseases he has never seen and cries he has never heard permeate the city and pierce his cynical American heart.
Warring Maoists pervade the mountainside and threaten the life of citizens, and the lawless and nihilistic underworld controls the corrupt police and politicians. Moreover, the clinic's acquisition of life-saving drugs depends a lot on the negotiation with these syndicate bosses of the city, specifically a savage man who runs a huge sex trafficking ring of young females, many who are sick with STD's. Peter's desire to save these girls threatens his MD's license and his personal safety, and his frustration to cure the sick is challenged by the powerful epidemics that are resistant to antibiotics.
Peter and Alex live in relative comfort compared to the natives, but without heat and in extreme temperatures. Peter's boss at the clinic has arranged for a housekeeper/cook, Sangita, a Tibetan woman whose daughter, Devi, is Alex's age. Alex and Devi bond instantly, and Santiga's maternal instincts are a welcome energy to the household. Mina, the nurse at the clinic who functions more like an agitating partner, vexes Peter, as well as beguiles him.
Ailments, treachery, and poverty permeate the city like the thick, grey fog and charcoal sky that hovers over the inhabitants. A feeling of dread snakes through the narrative, yet a soulful backbone of human stout-heartedness and endurance surprises the reader at each descent of gravity. Groner's exuberant prose imbues the story with keen paradoxes and nimble dialogue that flow with sharp, pointed wit. The pace is quick, thrilling and cinematic; you will probably finish this novel in a few sturdy sittings.
The disadvantage of this hybrid genre of fiction is the tendency to inject the main characters with staggering puissance. They wear their courage a little too easily, including the teenagers. There are also several convenient and predictable plot turns that are too facile, giving the narrative a rushed simplicity at times. Also, although Peter is out of his element, he steadily challenges pernicious criminals with a force and conniving that periodically flouts credibility.
Mina, who enters as an intriguing individual, flattens out as her contentious nature is mitigated. Sangita turns out to be a straw character, as are several other players in this drama. Buddhist practices lend a warm and exalted glow to the story, but almost tips into precious territory at intervals.
However, this is a potent story that, despite some inorganic elements, never fails to fill the reader with wonder. The magic arises from the immaculate prose and imagery, as well as luminous, cosmic turns of phrase, and the ties that bind humanity. This is a novel ripe with quotable passages, with a landscape of flourishing detail. As a story of exile, it lures and invites the reader within its foreign enclosures to a map that contours the human heart.
"Fatherhood held at its heart a sweet, paradoxical masochism, the self-abnegation of one willing to die for another. Why else would he have come to this place?"
May 26, 2011
I won this book through the Goodreads First-Reads giveaway.
While I appreciated the look into Nepalese culture and the war, as horrifying as it was, the fact that the primary POV character and protagonist was a white American male was frustrating to me. Why was it that the tale could not have been told from the perspective of Devi, the Tibetan girl who features prominently in nearly ever chapter? Did the central conflict of morality and belief have to be told from the western point of view in order to prevent western readers from feeling alienated from the realities of the situation? There have been well-received novels written in the past few years that do not require a white American male protagonist to convey the horrors of the world.
I did enjoy the relationship between Devi and the protagonist's daughter, one of the saving graces of this book. The other part that I found truly engaging were the letters between the protagonist and the Lama Padma, as well as the insights into Buddhist practices and beliefs. The medical details were also well-written, if very, very graphic.
While I appreciated the look into Nepalese culture and the war, as horrifying as it was, the fact that the primary POV character and protagonist was a white American male was frustrating to me. Why was it that the tale could not have been told from the perspective of Devi, the Tibetan girl who features prominently in nearly ever chapter? Did the central conflict of morality and belief have to be told from the western point of view in order to prevent western readers from feeling alienated from the realities of the situation? There have been well-received novels written in the past few years that do not require a white American male protagonist to convey the horrors of the world.
I did enjoy the relationship between Devi and the protagonist's daughter, one of the saving graces of this book. The other part that I found truly engaging were the letters between the protagonist and the Lama Padma, as well as the insights into Buddhist practices and beliefs. The medical details were also well-written, if very, very graphic.
June 24, 2011
I looked forward to reading Exiles a story of a father and daughter who felt the only way to move past his dissolution of marriage and of a broken family is to go away and start over. With his daughter feeling lost confused and eager to get away from the very difficult situation they become excited at the thought of a fresh start, new place and new friends. Nepal, now who wouldn’t want a new beginning in Nepal, right? After all he’s a doctor his ex-wife took him to the cleaners but he has a little, they can live cheap in Nepal and make a difference.
After arriving in Nepal he soon finds he should have done a great deal more research first before making this decision.
This is one book that will keep you on the edge of your seat and take you on a ride that will force you to hold on as they encounter hardships and dangers which include primitive living conditions, shortage of medical supplies, diseases Peter has no knowledge of, they see sexual trafficking of young girls, and the political instability and an encroaching civil war is frightening.
The characters are realistic, the descriptions are decisive and you feel you are in this relocation with them and wonder more than once “what have I done”.
Thanks Goodreads!
After arriving in Nepal he soon finds he should have done a great deal more research first before making this decision.
This is one book that will keep you on the edge of your seat and take you on a ride that will force you to hold on as they encounter hardships and dangers which include primitive living conditions, shortage of medical supplies, diseases Peter has no knowledge of, they see sexual trafficking of young girls, and the political instability and an encroaching civil war is frightening.
The characters are realistic, the descriptions are decisive and you feel you are in this relocation with them and wonder more than once “what have I done”.
Thanks Goodreads!
October 10, 2012
After only a few pages, I'm hooked and want to read more.
Well, I've finished and it is a 4 star book. There aren't too many novels set in Nepal, the story was believable as well as interesting, the writing competent, I cared about the characters, and the ending was more realistic than in a lot of books. A satisfying read.
Well, I've finished and it is a 4 star book. There aren't too many novels set in Nepal, the story was believable as well as interesting, the writing competent, I cared about the characters, and the ending was more realistic than in a lot of books. A satisfying read.
February 18, 2020
I couldn't finish this book. The premise of it sounded very good. Middle aged divorced doctor goes to Nepal, takes teenage daughter with him to start life over again. It seemed to pull out all the silly stops on it's characters though. The lonely divorced doctor divorced from bad wife, rebellious teen lesbian daughter who just happens to be a genius at learning languages, who meets, guess what...a lesbian Tibetan girl almost immediately, the cantankerous cook, who is the Tibetan girl's mother, the pouty beautiful female doctor with angry flashing eyes, etc. You get the picture. I found myself little by little not going back to the book. Ultimately, I lost total interest in it, and when I returned this ebook by accident, I let it go. It was kind of like reading a corny soap opera, with cardboard characters.
February 26, 2018
Not a travelogue for Nepal
I’ve spent time in Kathmandu and hiked in the Annapurnas. So has this author, and I get the feeling that’s as far as he’s gone toward understanding Nepal. Not a believable tale. American doctor takes his 17 year old daughter to Nepal to save the Third World. Corrupt officials, sex slavery, kidnapping. The hero and his daughter miraculously make it back to Utopian Marin County, but, of course, he makes the U.S. appear as evil as any 3W dictatorship. He not only saves his daughter, but gets Visas for his lover and the waif he saves from prostitution. Yea!
I’ve spent time in Kathmandu and hiked in the Annapurnas. So has this author, and I get the feeling that’s as far as he’s gone toward understanding Nepal. Not a believable tale. American doctor takes his 17 year old daughter to Nepal to save the Third World. Corrupt officials, sex slavery, kidnapping. The hero and his daughter miraculously make it back to Utopian Marin County, but, of course, he makes the U.S. appear as evil as any 3W dictatorship. He not only saves his daughter, but gets Visas for his lover and the waif he saves from prostitution. Yea!
February 25, 2025
For the most part, I found “Exiles” to be a fascinating read. Along with well-rounded and believable characters throughout the book, Groner kept the plot moving at a fast clip. For that matter, it was mesmerizing to read about the beauty and dangers of Nepal, where the protagonist, an American cardiologist, has abruptly moved with his 17-year old daughter. In addition, the unexpected twists and turns of the story caught me off guard any number of times. Even so, I’ve knocked a star off my rating, as I felt that the author moved off track from the overall plot far too many times in order to give a lengthy lesson in Buddhism.
February 24, 2018
I liked this book very much. I found the characters to be human and sympathetic. I loved the descriptions of the people, monks, lama, scenery, and hardships. I learned, to my sadness, that the guerillas who are fighting the Chinese in Nepal are as dangerous to and feared by the native population as the Chinese and with good reason. I loved Devi, Lama Padma, and the enlightened little old lady in the mountains. I have to say, I found it brave, but very foolish of this father/daughter team to venture into the Himalayas at all. In fact, I would hesitate to go to Kathmandu myself. Way too dangerous with little or no safety net.
February 4, 2020
Life goes on.
When I started the book I wondered where the Arthur was going with the story. As I continue used I aS fascinated with his search for life in himself. He introduced characters that were unique. His main character was fascinating because he had to learn about himself, his daughter and other people. He had to let go of judgement of others as well as himself. Plenty of action and intrigue.
When I started the book I wondered where the Arthur was going with the story. As I continue used I aS fascinated with his search for life in himself. He introduced characters that were unique. His main character was fascinating because he had to learn about himself, his daughter and other people. He had to let go of judgement of others as well as himself. Plenty of action and intrigue.
February 24, 2018
This book was good, but not what I was expecting. Sometimes it felt light-hearted, but then things happen that are dark and depressing and I felt like those two didn’t mix well. I did enjoy the book though, which was refreshing considering I gave up on 3 books and should have given up on a 4th before I read it, so I was due for a good read.
July 28, 2018
Clearly written by someone who had spent time in Kathmandu Nepal. A Contemporary American story that contrasts the many differences of lifestyles and cultures between the two countries as seen through a father and a teenage daughter. The story also includes a few tense and dangerous situations.
May 23, 2025
Another Exile!
I've read two novels in the past two months both titled Exiles and both were a treat for the eyes. This one involves a daughter and dad on a medical mission to Tibet and the dangers of such a trip are so common these days.
I've read two novels in the past two months both titled Exiles and both were a treat for the eyes. This one involves a daughter and dad on a medical mission to Tibet and the dangers of such a trip are so common these days.
March 19, 2020
Exciting. I wanted to experience a story of Nepal, and it delivered. Great story!
June 20, 2011
This core of this exotic fusion of mainstream and literary fiction is defined by the eponymous title-- displacement, exclusion, alienation, and even expulsion. The exquisite, poetic first chapter thrusts the reader immediately into a remote setting in Kathmandu 2006, where American cardiologist, Peter Scanlon and his seventeen-year-old daughter, Alex, face a guerilla death squad in the Himalayas. The reader is instantly spellbound with the story, where survival and danger coalesce in a taut, tense thriller that examines contrasts in exile: spirituality within human suffering, inner peace outside of war, and prosperity beyond pestilence.
Backtrack to 2005, and the events that shaped the current peril of the Scanlons. Peter, forced to expel his troubled daughter from proximity to her meth addict mother, removes her from the U.S. to start a new life. At his persuasion, Alex pitches a dart at an atlas to select a new home, which lands on Kathmandu, a deep valley surrounded by colossal mountains, and a politically sensitive and turbulent place marred by outlaws, massacres and instability. Peter gets a job at a volunteer health clinic, where diseases he has never seen and cries he has never heard permeate the city and pierce his cynical American heart.
Warring Maoists pervade the mountainside and threaten the life of citizens, and the lawless and nihilistic underworld controls the corrupt police and politicians. Moreover, the clinic's acquisition of life-saving drugs depends a lot on the negotiation with these syndicate bosses of the city, specifically a savage man who runs a huge sex trafficking ring of young females, many who are sick with STD's. Peter's desire to save these girls threatens his MD's license and his personal safety, and his frustration to cure the sick is challenged by the powerful epidemics that are resistant to antibiotics.
Peter and Alex live in relative comfort compared to the natives, but without heat and in extreme temperatures. Peter's boss at the clinic has arranged for a housekeeper/cook, Sangita, a Tibetan woman whose daughter, Devi, is Alex's age. Alex and Devi bond instantly, and Santiga's maternal instincts are a welcome energy to the household. Mina, the nurse at the clinic who functions more like an agitating partner, vexes Peter, as well as beguiles him.
Ailments, treachery, and poverty permeate the city like the thick, grey fog and charcoal sky that hovers over the inhabitants. A feeling of dread snakes through the narrative, yet a soulful backbone of human stout-heartedness and endurance surprises the reader at each descent of gravity. Groner's exuberant prose imbues the story with keen paradoxes and nimble dialogue that flow with sharp, pointed wit. The pace is quick, thrilling and cinematic; you will probably finish this novel in a few sturdy sittings.
The disadvantage of this hybrid genre of fiction is the tendency to inject the main characters with staggering puissance. They wear their courage a little too easily, including the teenagers. There are also several convenient and predictable plot turns that are too facile, giving the narrative a rushed simplicity at times. Also, although Peter is out of his element, he steadily challenges pernicious criminals with a force and conniving that periodically flouts credibility.
Mina, who enters as an intriguing individual, flattens out as her contentious nature is mitigated. Sangita turns out to be a straw character, as are several other players in this drama. Buddhist practices lend a warm glow to the story, but tips into precious territory at intervals, and is watered down, giving it a pre-packaged and shrink-to-fit platform of platitudes.
However, this is a potent story that, despite some inorganic elements, never fails to fill the reader with wonder. The magic arises from the immaculate prose and imagery, as well as luminous, cosmic turns of phrase, and the ties that bind humanity. This is a novel ripe with quotable passages, with a landscape of flourishing detail. As a story of exile, it lures and invites the reader within its foreign enclosures to a map that contours the human heart. 3.5
"Fatherhood held at its heart a sweet, paradoxical masochism, the self-abnegation of one willing to die for another. Why else would he have come to this place?"
Backtrack to 2005, and the events that shaped the current peril of the Scanlons. Peter, forced to expel his troubled daughter from proximity to her meth addict mother, removes her from the U.S. to start a new life. At his persuasion, Alex pitches a dart at an atlas to select a new home, which lands on Kathmandu, a deep valley surrounded by colossal mountains, and a politically sensitive and turbulent place marred by outlaws, massacres and instability. Peter gets a job at a volunteer health clinic, where diseases he has never seen and cries he has never heard permeate the city and pierce his cynical American heart.
Warring Maoists pervade the mountainside and threaten the life of citizens, and the lawless and nihilistic underworld controls the corrupt police and politicians. Moreover, the clinic's acquisition of life-saving drugs depends a lot on the negotiation with these syndicate bosses of the city, specifically a savage man who runs a huge sex trafficking ring of young females, many who are sick with STD's. Peter's desire to save these girls threatens his MD's license and his personal safety, and his frustration to cure the sick is challenged by the powerful epidemics that are resistant to antibiotics.
Peter and Alex live in relative comfort compared to the natives, but without heat and in extreme temperatures. Peter's boss at the clinic has arranged for a housekeeper/cook, Sangita, a Tibetan woman whose daughter, Devi, is Alex's age. Alex and Devi bond instantly, and Santiga's maternal instincts are a welcome energy to the household. Mina, the nurse at the clinic who functions more like an agitating partner, vexes Peter, as well as beguiles him.
Ailments, treachery, and poverty permeate the city like the thick, grey fog and charcoal sky that hovers over the inhabitants. A feeling of dread snakes through the narrative, yet a soulful backbone of human stout-heartedness and endurance surprises the reader at each descent of gravity. Groner's exuberant prose imbues the story with keen paradoxes and nimble dialogue that flow with sharp, pointed wit. The pace is quick, thrilling and cinematic; you will probably finish this novel in a few sturdy sittings.
The disadvantage of this hybrid genre of fiction is the tendency to inject the main characters with staggering puissance. They wear their courage a little too easily, including the teenagers. There are also several convenient and predictable plot turns that are too facile, giving the narrative a rushed simplicity at times. Also, although Peter is out of his element, he steadily challenges pernicious criminals with a force and conniving that periodically flouts credibility.
Mina, who enters as an intriguing individual, flattens out as her contentious nature is mitigated. Sangita turns out to be a straw character, as are several other players in this drama. Buddhist practices lend a warm glow to the story, but tips into precious territory at intervals, and is watered down, giving it a pre-packaged and shrink-to-fit platform of platitudes.
However, this is a potent story that, despite some inorganic elements, never fails to fill the reader with wonder. The magic arises from the immaculate prose and imagery, as well as luminous, cosmic turns of phrase, and the ties that bind humanity. This is a novel ripe with quotable passages, with a landscape of flourishing detail. As a story of exile, it lures and invites the reader within its foreign enclosures to a map that contours the human heart. 3.5
"Fatherhood held at its heart a sweet, paradoxical masochism, the self-abnegation of one willing to die for another. Why else would he have come to this place?"
July 16, 2011
While I am grateful to have been offered an early chance to read this book through goodreads.com's 'first reads' giveaways program, and while parts of this story were certainly interesting, enlightening, or moving, I cannot honestly say that I enjoyed it as a whole. It was a fairly quick read and it was certainly never dull. I thoroughly enjoyed getting a chance to experience another country, (Nepal), and really appreciated the way the complexities of the 'proper' role of a single American (and, by extension, the United States) were explored through Peter's and his daughter's first-hand experiences witnessing severe poverty, needless medical suffering, human trafficking, kidnapping, and corruption. This fictional story seems to be asking many questions about the universe and man's role in it, one of them being, if the system is corrupt, is the right thing to do to fight the corruption, or to take part in it to leverage some decent medical supplies to hundreds of people who might otherwise die? There isn't an easy answer, and this book doesn't pretend to give one.
What I didn't like was the insistence on making political statements through the main character. When a Buddhist lama asks the doctor about the implications the evolutionary theory has on morality, Peter's answer is limited to a rant about organized religion's disapproval of certain sexual behaviors that don't lead to procreation. When a revolutionary figure asks if Americans would be sympathetic to a cause that's attempting to equalize extremely disparate incomes, Peter says no, America has these incredibly wealthy beings called corporations that live above the law just like a monarchy, so Americans are in fact complacent to such injustice. I feel like both of these responses are oversimplifications of issues that are themselves complex, indicative of someone looking for a chance to stand on a soapbox and not at all what I would expect a person's natural first reaction to these questions would be. These parts stood out, but were not the only times I felt the author was lecturing his American audience on what he perceives as the flaws in our society. It's the author's prerogative to do so, but it's the reader's prerogative to both disagree and find the thinly veiled one-sided political debates jarring me out of the storyline.
As for the construction of the story itself, on the one hand I appreciated the riveting first pages, the flashback and slow yet highly interesting development back to that point. It was, as I said, never a dull read. On the other hand, I felt the action was woven together in a rather obvious way that let me see the threads, and there were little knots of unnecessary back-story clumsily stated, rather than shown, when it could have been altogether snipped away entirely. Perhaps the extra space could have gone to developing the romance a bit more. I liked their relationship when they didn't like each other and when they had declared their love, but the declaration felt very sudden to me. I think it should have been developed a little more. Don't tell me "he missed her" all those weeks they were apart right before he tells her, drop a hint that's he's missing her while they're separated!
What I didn't like was the insistence on making political statements through the main character. When a Buddhist lama asks the doctor about the implications the evolutionary theory has on morality, Peter's answer is limited to a rant about organized religion's disapproval of certain sexual behaviors that don't lead to procreation. When a revolutionary figure asks if Americans would be sympathetic to a cause that's attempting to equalize extremely disparate incomes, Peter says no, America has these incredibly wealthy beings called corporations that live above the law just like a monarchy, so Americans are in fact complacent to such injustice. I feel like both of these responses are oversimplifications of issues that are themselves complex, indicative of someone looking for a chance to stand on a soapbox and not at all what I would expect a person's natural first reaction to these questions would be. These parts stood out, but were not the only times I felt the author was lecturing his American audience on what he perceives as the flaws in our society. It's the author's prerogative to do so, but it's the reader's prerogative to both disagree and find the thinly veiled one-sided political debates jarring me out of the storyline.
As for the construction of the story itself, on the one hand I appreciated the riveting first pages, the flashback and slow yet highly interesting development back to that point. It was, as I said, never a dull read. On the other hand, I felt the action was woven together in a rather obvious way that let me see the threads, and there were little knots of unnecessary back-story clumsily stated, rather than shown, when it could have been altogether snipped away entirely. Perhaps the extra space could have gone to developing the romance a bit more. I liked their relationship when they didn't like each other and when they had declared their love, but the declaration felt very sudden to me. I think it should have been developed a little more. Don't tell me "he missed her" all those weeks they were apart right before he tells her, drop a hint that's he's missing her while they're separated!
November 24, 2014
I won this book through the Goodreads giveaway program. It was interesting to get a gritty, close up of Nepalese living--even if the point-of-view came from a western doctor and even if the events were dramatic (aka unrealistic). I still feel as though I gleaned a little more information about that part of the world.
Croner creates a fast-paced story about an American doctor and his older teen daughter who are running away from trouble back in the States. Soon they discover they have more trouble in Nepal than they imagined. They expected primitive conditions at the medical clinic, crushing poverty in the city, and horrible sanitation for their patients. But the doctor and his daughter were unaware of the levels of corruption they would encounter and unaware of the danger of the political situation. The Chinese soldiers have been a menacing presence for the locals, but soon the doctor and his daughter find themselves in big trouble.
While this book does have adventure, it's not without insight. The doctor reflects on events by using theoretical lenses from psychology, sociology, evolutionary psychology and theology. Yes, the book has a lot going on both on the surface and beneath. At times, I found the book overambitious in scope and depth, but I was interested enough to finish it and to mull over the characters' choices, personalities and theoretical frameworks.
Croner creates a fast-paced story about an American doctor and his older teen daughter who are running away from trouble back in the States. Soon they discover they have more trouble in Nepal than they imagined. They expected primitive conditions at the medical clinic, crushing poverty in the city, and horrible sanitation for their patients. But the doctor and his daughter were unaware of the levels of corruption they would encounter and unaware of the danger of the political situation. The Chinese soldiers have been a menacing presence for the locals, but soon the doctor and his daughter find themselves in big trouble.
While this book does have adventure, it's not without insight. The doctor reflects on events by using theoretical lenses from psychology, sociology, evolutionary psychology and theology. Yes, the book has a lot going on both on the surface and beneath. At times, I found the book overambitious in scope and depth, but I was interested enough to finish it and to mull over the characters' choices, personalities and theoretical frameworks.
July 28, 2011
What would you do if your wife left you for her ex; her ex-lover, her ex-way of life? What would you do to protect your teenage daughter from the pain that the lose has caused her? What if every decision you make is wrong; especially the decision to practice as a visiting doctor in Kathmandu? A story within a story, this novel gives the reader a look inside the Napali lifestyle most Americans could never imagine. The socio-economic plight of millions, the political prowess of the leaders; the complexity of a religious culture unknown to most, mix with the mistakes of a father longing to do the best for his daughter, leading the innocent teenager into a realm of terror that most will never kow.
This would not have been a book I would have chosen on my own, Thanks so much to goodreads for this site and the advance copies of the book.
This would not have been a book I would have chosen on my own, Thanks so much to goodreads for this site and the advance copies of the book.
March 12, 2012
I enjoyed this glimpse into Nepalese culture. It was an entertaining read; the narrative carried me along and didn't drag. I didn't love it though because the storyline felt predictable. A lot of the hints at relationships to come were heavy handed rather than subtly brought on. So I didn't feel like the story was naturally unfolding, but was being thrown at me in an obvious way. I thought it could have been much more powerfully written. Regardless, I enjoyed it and it didn't take very long to read. Probably a few hours (5?).
May 3, 2017
A California cardiac surgeon, Peter Scanlon divorces his wife who is addicted to meth. He decides to take his daughter and leave the country to serve in a clinic overseas. He lands in Nepal. He and his daughter must adapt to ever changing conditions. The country is involved in a civil war and the people suffer greatly. One of the things I especially liked about this story is the relationship between father and daughter. They go through enormous trials together and their lives will never be the same.
October 16, 2011
Dr. Peter Scanlon takes his teenage daughter away from a drug addict mother and goes to Tibet/Napal (because they threw a dart at a map and that was where it landed). The trip was supposed to be an exile from a failed marriage and a disfunctional mother/ex-wife. It turns out during their time in the Himalayas that a different kind of danger follows Scanlon and his daughter.
Peter's fatherhood is put to the test in this tale full of tension and thought provoking material.
Peter's fatherhood is put to the test in this tale full of tension and thought provoking material.
March 2, 2013
I have journeyed to Nepal and was looking forward to revisiting some of the special experience that is Nepal. I thought the story started out quite slow & was going to put the book down but kept reading. The story gripped me & I couldn't put it down. Overall I liked the book especially for the look into Tibetan & Nepalese Buddhist life, inner peace, life in the Himalaya.....the beauty & hardship of it all. Thumbs up. More than a 3...not quite a 4.
July 5, 2011
I chose this because I like books set in Nepal and I needed something that was captivating and totally fiction. I did not find it as exhilarating or suspenseful as it claimed to be but nevertheless found it a good light read.
August 9, 2011
Even though I only gave it 3 stars, I recommend it for a quick, but engaging read. Good but a bit simplistic - but I was in a simplistic mood so this book worked for me on many levels. Better than most in this genre.
September 8, 2011
Debut novel by Gary Groner, great suspense read. Father (physician) and daughter find themselves in Nepal, volunteering in a health clinic. The country is caught up in a civil war. A story of life, love and survival.
October 11, 2011
I liked this book a lot ... although less at the end as the story moved away from Nepal, and seemed a trifle less engaging to me.
Read Eliot Pattison's novels that are set in Tibet for more on the completely different world view in that part of the world.
Read Eliot Pattison's novels that are set in Tibet for more on the completely different world view in that part of the world.
July 18, 2016
I love Nepal and I liked the view of it Groner presents, tho one needs to figure a little for bending seasons and reality (teaching rock climbing under gunfire?), but a good read that challenges western values.
August 17, 2016
An amazing and haunting tale of a father and daughter beautifully told. The story is set in the exquisite, yet unforgivingly harsh landscape of the Himalayas during a regional conflict. I highly recommend it. You will be transported.
July 2, 2011
Excellent book definitely worth reading. Can't say more or I'll spoil to much and get up on my soap box and trust me nobody wants that.
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