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Red Thread of Fate

Review

Red Thread of Fate

RED THREAD OF FATE captivates readers from the very first sentence: "She was on the phone with her husband when he died." What?!

At the heart of Lyn Liao Butler's new novel is the concept that family can have many different meanings. It might be those who are born into our immediate family, but it can also include those who are adopted (and they can have two or four legs), those we "adopt" as honorary family members, and close friends we trust and love. The book’s main focus is on family and how Tam Kwan reacts when she is confronted with an apparent betrayal by her husband, Tony, and his cousin, Mia. But it also presents, to a lesser extent, the smaller betrayals we might perpetrate by not listening to our parents and their stories, or by thinking only of ourselves and how things affect us.

"From the food to the celebrations, from superstitions to the treatment of orphans, be prepared to immerse yourself in a different culture as you navigate these pages. You'll love every minute of it."

Butler deftly makes us care about Tam. We want to know her story, and even when we realize that she is by no means perfect, we like her and want her to succeed. We also are curious to find out exactly what happened to cause Tony and Mia to get hit by a truck while waiting to cross a street in busy New York City. Did the driver hit them on purpose? Why was Tony there? What was he hiding from his wife?

We also wonder what will happen to Mia's daughter, Angela. And there's Charlie, the medically fragile boy whom Tam and Tony were set to adopt from China. Will she still want to take on that responsibility as a single parent? Tam has her share of faults, and much of her misfortune can be directly attributed to her. But Tony and Mia were extremely flawed people as well. Much of Tam's heartache can be laid directly at Mia's feet, but Butler helps us understand Mia's motivation through diary entries she has left for Angela. And while we are frustrated with Tam for her reticence, her refusal to connect with her mother, and her insecurity, she redeems herself through her selfless actions after the deaths of Tony and Mia.

In fact, part of the beauty of the plot and the careful creation of Tam's character is how we see her grow and come into her own in spite of --- or perhaps because of --- the trauma she has endured. Butler shared that, although she and Tam are very different in terms of personality, she drew on her own realization about the value of her parents' stories to show how Tam, who had not been interested in her mother's history, came to respect her mother's views when she finally opened up and listened.

Butler also relies on personal experience as she describes the importance of having a companion animal. Although she didn't grow up with dogs, she dearly loves her rescues and fosters whenever she can. In the book, a dog helps provide the unconditional love that every child craves.

There are so many ways in which Butler raises questions and shares information that RED THREAD OF FATE would be a book club choice that might keep members talking more than gossiping, which is no small feat. Do the Chinese really view the Taiwanese as we see the characters in the book discuss? Even her distinction regarding the language differences in China and Taiwan, which many readers (including this one) might not be aware of, is fascinating.

From the food to the celebrations, from superstitions to the treatment of orphans, be prepared to immerse yourself in a different culture as you navigate these pages. You'll love every minute of it.

Reviewed by Pamela Kramer on February 18, 2022

Red Thread of Fate
by Lyn Liao Butler

  • Publication Date: February 8, 2022
  • Genres: Fiction, Women's Fiction
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Berkley
  • ISBN-10: 0593198743
  • ISBN-13: 9780593198742