I just read another much-acclaimed riveting debut novel (see Peace Like a River, here)...Janice Lee's The Piano Teacher, a novel that follows a Brit named Will Truesdale and two polar opposite women in his life (the extraordinary Trudy Liang, Eurasian socialite and Claire Pendleton, the reserved English woman), at two different times. Set during and after the hard realities of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II, characters undergo subtle but startling transformations by this exotic setting in the 40's and 50's. 
I read a review that resonated with my own feeling about the book, so here it is:
"The Piano Teacher is complicated, eloquent, haunting and thought provoking. Not one of the characters is particularly sympathetic, never mind likable. The story jumps between decades with wild abandon. The plot is violent and explores the highly disturbing, damaging nature of war and its aftermath. It is the story of love and ultimate betrayal.
If that sounds negative, than consider my other observations. Janice Lee's portrayal of Hong Kong are so vivid you can almost smell and hear the market place. The description of life in Colonies is pitch perfect; the gossip, the intrigue and the boredom. The language is eloquent. The plot is carefully constructed. The character development is extraordinary."
As a marketing person, I love the way a book is branded differently in different parts of the world. Which cover would most entice you to pick up the book?
Sidebar: Lee, Korean, grew up in Hong Kong, and came to the U.S. to attend St. Paul's in Concord, NH. She met her husband, Joe Bae, on their first day at Harvard and now have four children. She returned to Hong Kong from New York for his work, where she finished the novel (five years in the making).
Lee talks about her book here:
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