Those Opulent Days

By: Jacquie Pham

About The Book

Four childhood friends—Duy, Phong, Minh, and Edmond—have risen to become the top players in the high-stakes world of French-colonial Saigon, each leading a powerful family business.

One extravagant evening, in a lavish mansion nestled in the hills of Dalat, the friends come together for a night of celebration. But when the night takes a dark turn, it leaves one of them dead and the others as prime suspects.

The story weaves between the night of the tragedy and the days leading up to it, told through the perspectives of the four friends, their mothers, their lovers, and their household staff. Every character is tangled in a web of loyalty and hidden truths.

Against the backdrop of French colonial rule and deepening class divides, the plot builds towards a heartbreaking and unavoidable finale.

Opinion: We love the layers of loyalty, betrayal, and how the looming shadow of colonial power adds a depth that makes the tragic ending feel both surprising and inevitable. It’s a gripping tale of friendship, power, and the cost of keeping up appearances, all set against a vividly painted historical backdrop.

About The Author

Jacquie Pham is a Vietnamese-Australian writer of adult fiction. Growing up in Vietnam during the New Korean wave around 2007, Jacquie started writing short stories about Korean boy bands. She then moved to Australia to attend the University of Sydney—not wanting to let thirteen-year-old Jacquie down, she has decided to pursue a career as an author. She currently lives in Sydney with two very goofy dogs. Don’t tell them, but Jacquie also loves cats.

Product Details

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (November 12, 2024)

• Audio Runtime: 9 hours and 41 minutes

• ISBN13: 9781668130919