The first installment in Som Phin’s pentalogy mixes time travel, romance, and historical fiction in a compelling story about a museum archivist who reconnects with her all-but-forgotten Khmer heritage and finds love—and herself.
Phalla Chen, 32, lives in Lowell, Massachusetts, working as an artifact cataloguer at a museum prepping for an exhibition on Khmer art and Angkorian material culture. The upcoming exhibit stirs complex feelings within Phalla, who didn’t take her mother Mae’s extensive teachings on Khmer’s rich culture and history seriously.
When Phalla begins the process of sorting through her recently deceased mother’s belongings, she discovers a hidden lotus pendant that warms in her hand when she picks it up — and suddenly finds herself in 12th century Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire.
Now in the body of a royal dancer named Devi, Phalla soon becomes entangled in a viper pit of perilous intrigue. Although betrothed to General Virak —a sensitive, thoughtful, and politically powerful man—Phalla finds herself falling in love with a stone carver commissioned to create a progression featuring her image posed in historically significant dance poses. Desperately trying to find a way home, Phalla realizes her inability to remain silent, as required by societal norms, and her inquisitive nature may have unwittingly endangered her.
The protagonists and their complicated yet sensitive dynamics are appealing — there’s a sweetness and innocence to Phalla’s relationships with both love interests—but what makes this such a readable novel is Phin’s meticulous description, which brings every setting alive, from Mae’s apartment (“[it] smelled like rice and Tiger Balm and old incense”) to Angkor’s sprawling streets.
The last half lags a bit, with too much dialogue and overly long sequences focusing on barely perceptible dance moves: finger placement, wrist angle, etc. But that’s a quibble.
This is a smartly written, deeply philosophical novel about the importance of embracing and passing on one’s cultural story. Historical romance fans, especially, will find it immersive.
Also available in hardcover, ebook, and audio book.