Messud’s account of four generations of pied-noir family has a big reveal at the very end that is well worth the (slight) effort it takes to make it to the conclusion. You know throughout the novel that something is just not quite right, and while the family enjoys growing prosperity in outposts around the world, shedding Old World norms for modernity, it takes the entire book before it becomes clear why something is a little off. The writing was excellent even if her chapter starts that force the reader to try to figure out what’s going on are a little artificial. I appreciated that all of the characters were richly enough drawn that I could empathize with them, even more so when we’re finally given the big reveal in the end. 4/5