The Gift of Rain

by Tan Twan Eng

Penang, 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is a loner. Half English, half Chinese and feeling neither, he discovers a sense of belonging in an unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. The enigmatic Endo is bound by disciplines of his own and when the Japanese invade Malaya, threatening to destroy Philip's family and everything he loves, he realises that his trusted sensei - to whom he owes absolute loyalty - has been harbouring a devastating secret. Philip must risk everything in an attempt to save those he has placed in mortal danger and discover who and what he really is. With masterful and gorgeous narrative, replete with exotic and captivating images, sounds and aromas - of rain swept beaches, magical mountain temples, pungent spice warehouses, opulent colonial ballrooms and fetid and forbidding rainforests - Tan Twan Eng weaves a haunting and unforgettable story of betrayal, barbaric cruelty, steadfast courage and enduring love.

• ISBN10: 1905802056
• ISBN13: 9781905802050
• Publish Date: 3 March 2007
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 28 December 2011
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Myrmidon Books Ltd
• Edition: New edition
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[brokentune]

DNF.

I tried about 75 pages of this over the last week and it is not doing anything for me for the following reasons:

1. This is a slow-build of a novel at a time when I am not in the mood for a slow-paced, potentially over-written story.

2. Although the story is set in Penang and I have an interest in the place, it seems to be rather similar to Tan Twan Eng's second book The Garden of Evening Mists, which also deals with a WWII setting.

3. I have a feeling that I can guess where this story is going, and if I am right, it will be very similar to The Harmony Silk Factory. Too similar for my liking.

So, I am going to set this one aside for a book that does not feel like a repetition right now.

No rating.