Abroad: A Novel of Cross-Cultural Encounters

by Greyson Bryan

"Sweet and supremely readable, ABROAD is a celebration of travel and all ways it can lead us to rediscover ourselves and relearn the true meaning of love."

--Imbolo Mbue, Author of How Beautiful We Were

“[A]n ambitious, globe-crossing narrative of interconnected lives and loves. . . . Bryan dramatizes the ways that cultural capital can help build lifelong connections that teach us how we deal with ourselves and those outside our experience.”
–-Booklife

ABROAD chronicles the loves, losses, and friendships of Skip, his best friend, Maddie Erickson, and his bane, Rex Moreno, as they grow from adolescence to adulthood and encounter the thrill, lighthearted humor, and occasional trauma of living and working in pre-globalized France, Asia, and Mexico.

Told through interconnected stories steeped in the cultural upheaval and sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s, the novel examines how world travel upends the preconceptions of youth and one’s home culture, while seeking to answer two questions: Can we ever truly understand someone from a different culture, and can we ever truly understand ourselves if we don’t try?

Genres: Travel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming Of Age, Romance, Contemporary

347 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

GREYSON BRYAN is an international lawyer with a B.A. from Stanford and a J.D. from Harvard, who lived and worked for many years in Europe and Asia. A longtime L.A. resident, he is the author of the BIG financial thriller series, including BIG: Beginnings, BIG: Crisis and Ending BIG. Abroad is his fourth novel.

Reviews

[Sara Dillinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nature or Nurture? Is who we are conditioned primarily by our innate characteristics--ambitious, competitive, vain, fearful--or are those very characteristics a result of our nurture--the manner and the culture in which we were raised? Greyson Bryan doesn't answer that age-old question, but he tells engaging stories about four young Americans who struggle with that very question in the context of international relations. These bright-eyed young Americans--Skip, Maddie, Jenny, and Rex--go off into the world to share something of their culture and learn about other cultures in Taiwan, Mexico, Japan and Indonesia. In the process, they learn more about themselves than their host countries. The Americans are both believable and unbelievably naive. They are full-bodied, nuanced characters that might also give us insight into ourselves. Their counterparts in the various countries they visit are also believable but maybe not quite as naive as their guests. We are given sneak peaks into their cultures and how both their natures and their nurtures impact their interactions. This is a quiet, reflective novel that allows you to draw your own conclusions. It is well worth reading if you are planning on going abroad--or even just planning to cross the street. In our own currently xenophobic society, it is an important book.

[Jacqueline B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

ABROAD is compelling, vivid in imagery and character. In creating a world where the lead character’s childhood begins as mine did, leaving the country for parts unknown at the age of 6, Greyson Bryan ably captures a child’s fear of departing for the unknown on the apparent whim of his parents. I was fascinated by the unease that Bryan creates in the lives of Skip, Maddie, and Rex as they each attempt to reconcile their curiosity about other cultures with their respective blind spots. For those thinking about travel to a new place, whether overseas or in a different region of this country, ABROAD offers a cautionary note on the importance of setting aside our preconceived ideas of culture, tradition, and love. Ultimately hopeful, ABROAD makes a strong case for the importance of cross-cultural experience in coming to understand ourselves.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Abroad' is both an educational and entertaining read. Greyson Bryan has done a cultural deep dive into interpersonal relationships between American and French, Mexican, Japanese and Indonesian characters. Whether you are a seasoned international traveler or an armchair tourist, you'll be drawn into worlds that can be so different from ours.

It's easy to form an emotional connection with the story's characters. I found myself alternately cheering them on for expanding their horizons or chastising them for insensitive behavior. But both reactions are part of their journey (and mine) as all the stories culminate in personal growth with a broader respect and appreciation for others. I look forward to traveling to new places in the sequel.

[Rob Felter]

This is the fourth novel written by Mr. Bryan. ABROAD, is quite different than the previous
(3) three.

It is one which combines life's progression, with ever changing events, as we move from young adults, to the experienced awareness wisdom; something we can all relate to.

ABROAD is continually formulating the difference between perception and realization that every decision and/ or non-decision will affect you; The first being the choosing living in the safe
mid-west and the opportunity of traveling to far away locations.

Adding to Mr. Bryan's knowledge of different countries and cultures throughout the world, to his weaving of multiple characters and their actions into a cohesive and enjoyable journey, made it a definite read.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

If traveling to you is about transporting the bubble of your comforts and cultural touchstones to remote parts of the world so that you never have to leave them behind, this book may be a challenge for you.

If, however, you are open to ways of seeing and behaving that challenge your conventions; if you are willing to plunge into romance, friendship, work, or faith unmoored by shared understandings and cultural tropes, and risk being hurt, abandoned, confused but also exhilarated and thrilled, then Grey Bryan’s “Abroad” is a must read for you.

Bryan’s characters embed themselves in their new worlds and lives, often with little guidance and no safety net. They suffer disillusionments but also find unexpected joy.

Most of all, they are changed. And you will be, too when you journey into this book.

[Tiffeny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. As a former exchange student myself (in both Asia & Europe), I thought the author captured the nerves & excitement of travel like that well. However, I was frustrated with 1-2 of the main characters for most of the book. They made choices I never would have - but perhaps as the daughter of an immigrant, I also had a different take on how to act when in someone else’s country rather than the stereotypical American way of “why should I change and do anything differently just because it’s your country?” I was hooked by the ending, though. The autobiographer copy I received through this giveaway was an extra nice, unexpected touch, too. Thank you!

[Joseph DeLisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel and found it an easy read. I am planning to read another book by this author.

[Jamie Fullerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book through the Goodreads giveaways and was excited to read it.

I absolutely loved this book and the stories in it. It was so insightful and inspiring. After reading the book, I would say that even after studying a culture, you never can really understand it until you are enmeshed in it.

Thank you Greyson Bryan for a great read.

[Rl Jrg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grey Brian’s fourth book sails, flies, and motorcycles the reader on a series of trips from Mexico to Indonesia, exploring profound, timeless, and timely questions about our lives and the loves in them. To sketch out those answers, three naïve young Americans drink tea as Alice does in Wonderland, or take the red pill, like Neo.

ABROAD’s quests will mean different things for different readers, because in their richness, in the author’s acute awareness of the vast mystery of life, these naïve Americans become mirrors. They reflect us.

In the BIG series Brian committed to an elegant, minimalist aesthetic, praising, for example, the power of an understated pine table with unparalleled joinery. He does the same in ABROAD but with emotions, for example, through passages that marry the protagonists’ anxious impulses during coming of age sports experiences, with the joy of resolving that anxiety; all seamlessly told through the author’s wonderfully crafted, subtle prose.

As any magical mirror would, ABROAD delivered at least one pearl of wisdom for me; you see, it turns out that my decisions to date respond to the fact that my mom loves me too much. Who knew?! So go ahead, drink the tea, take the red pill, travel ABROAD and see what three young Americans will teach you about yourself.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skip travels abroad with his family beginning at age 8. He has experiences that shape his life. As an adult he is the head of the Far East section of an educational program for Americans to live and work abroad. Maddie, his best friend from childhood, is part of the program. What do they learn? How do their actions and thoughts impact their work?

I enjoyed this. I liked that Skip is shown from childhood traveling abroad. He has revelations and lessons taught to him. I liked that didn't learn as much as he thought he did. Maddie had opposite experiences which showed her that good intentions are not the same as the reality. When she ends up in Indonesia with Rex, a man she met in Paris, she learns so much about herself. She had been blaming the different cultures she lived in the past until confronted by the consequences of her actions which cause a huge change in her. I liked the doctor who showed all of them the way.

The ending surprised me. I thought something else the whole book and it was not true at all. Maddie changes the most. Rex the least and Skip is somewhere in between. This is worth reading.

[Dave Iverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greyson Bryan's novel Abroad has a wonderful attribute—you want to keep reading it! It's a terrific story with engaging characters, twists and turns, and reversals of fortune that keep the reader hooked throughout. Set largely in Japan and Indonesia, Abroad is also wonderfully descriptive and well researched, showing the author's intimate knowledge of not only those countries but the intricacies of negotiating different cultures. I wasn't only engaged by this novel, I learned from it. I heartily recommend Greyson Bryan's Abroad.

Dave Iverson
Author, Winter Stars: An Elderly Mother, An Aging Son
and Life's Final Journey

[D. Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greyson Bryan's imaginative powers are in high gear, creating an interesting structure for the novel, which brings characters to life with twists and turns in exploring the satisfactions and limitations of cross-cultural encounters in different parts of the world over time. A stimulating and fulfilling read.

[Emily Dame · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won a copy of ABROAD in a Goodreads giveaway. It was a slow start for me and unfortunately I never fully engaged with the characters.

[Jennifer Stevensen-Waldo · Rating 2 out of 5]

was just ok, couldn't really get into this book