Soli’s debut novel, The Lotus Eaters, tells the story of a female photojournalist who goes to Vietnam to cover the war and falls in love with the country even as it is being torn apart.
In the review, Danielle Trussoni wrote: "Helen’s restlessness and grappling, her realization that 'a woman sees war differently,' provide a new and fascinating perspective on Vietnam.
The book centers around a California ranching woman who runs her family's citrus farm and the Caribbean-born caretaker she hires to take help her through an illness.
Jane Smiley, in the New York Times, wrote: "Daring… haunting… The lesson Soli has to teach… is a salient one for the modern world: even a remote citrus ranch can be a crossroads where cultures collide, and those collisions can be life-changing for everyone involved."
The Michigan Daily wrote of it: "With elegant prose that can swell into poetic intervals or sharp commentary, Soli presents a book that courses with flawed, colorful characters, lavish food descriptions (courtesy of a chef protagonist) and political intrigue.
It tells the story of the end of the Indian wars through the intertwining fates of Gen. Custer, his wife Libbie, and a settler girl taken captive.
In a starred review, Booklist wrote: "Soli paints a stark portrait of the violence, hardship, and struggles that characterized the American West."