Gail Lim, the producer of radio documentaries in present-day Vancouver, finds herself haunted by the mystery of her parents’ past in war-torn Malaysia. She is intrigued by her father Matthew and his friend Ani, a girl whose early bond with Matthew, which developed under the terrifying shadow of the war, would create an invisible tension, years later, with his wife Clara. Gail’s journey to unravel the mystery of her parents’ lives takes her to Amsterdam, which leads her closer to the truth about Ani and her father’s shared past, and propels her to a deeper understanding about her own life. Vivid, profound and written in understated yet powerful prose, “Certainty” is a beautiful novel, at once sweeping and intimate.