The Expatriates

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child loss and kidnapping.

Through Mercy and Hilary, Lee explores the search for identity and belonging. Mercy struggles to find her footing after college, affected by her class status and, later, her grief and shame over losing G. In school, she is a fish out of water at Columbia University, where most of her peers are wealthy, and this results in a sense of aimlessness. This extends into her adult life; she feels left behind when her wealthier friends land glamorous jobs and apartments, and though Hong Kong offers a new start, she finds herself similarly alienated by the wealthier expat community. Mercy also grapples with the prophecy from her childhood that predicted she would be unlucky life: “A crow cannot soar like an eagle” (14). She internalizes this message and worries that her bad luck is a result of trying to fit in “above her station” (14). Unsure of herself and without a community, Mercy withdraws when the tragedy happens with G, unable to forgive herself or move on with her life. Adrift, she makes choices that are bad for her like sleeping with David, who is unreliable.