The Paradise Guest House by Ellen Sussman
I enjoyed her earlier novel French Lessons, and found some of the same elements in this book.
Jamie is an American working as a guide for an adventure tourism company. She first went to Bali in 2002 to scout out a new tour for the area. She was caught up in the bombing that happened there. As the book begins, it is a year later and Jamie has returned to Bali as a guest of the government to commemorate the bombing and its victims and to assist the country in moving forward. She is being hosted by the family of a local victim. Jamie is having trouble psychologically coming back, but also has a private mission to reconnect with Gabe, the man who assisted her after the bombing.
The second part of the book takes us back to 2002, and has both Jamie and Gabe describing their experiences from the day of the bombing, to a few days later. The two met when trying to rescue others, and Gabe provided Jamie with a refuge as well as assistance in the aftermath.
The third part continues the story of 2003, with Jamie facing up to her fears, learning more about this country and what it has to offer, and letting herself heal.
This has romance, but because of the circumstances offers a more complex story of a difficult time for this area that relies heavily on tourism. I found it a quick engaging read, that I truly enjoyed.
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