Long-listed for the 2007 Man Booker Prize
*A May Booksense Pick*
"[A] remarkable debut saga of intrigue and
aikido...Eng's characters are as deep and troubled as the time in which the
story takes place, and he draws on a rich palette to create a sprawling
portrait of a lesser explored corner of the war...measured, believable and
enthralling."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Strong characters and page-turning action make this a
top pick for historical fiction...Philip's personal drama unfolds against the
backdrop of fascinating glimpses into Chinese culture, British imperialism, and
the Japanese occupation that eventually claims the lives of everyone around
him."
—Library Journal (starred review)
"The Gift of Rain is an amazing book. Love,
cruelty, sacrifice are all here— and more. With its beautifully evoked place
and time, this quietly spellbinding novel tells of lives lived through war and occupation,
through years of alliances, bonds, and betrayals with compelling grace and rare
depth. The Gift of Rain embodies, in a way this reader has seldom
encountered, how what can be heartbreaking in life can also be heartmaking."
—Rick Simonson, The Elliott Bay Book Company
Tan Twan Eng's outstanding debut
novel, THE GIFT OF RAIN (Weinstein Books; May 6, 2008; $23.95), which
was long-listed for the 2007 Man Booker Prize, is a literary page-turner set
against an atmospheric evocation of Malaya just before and during the tumult of
the Second World War. With a broad sweep of history that embraces the Chinese,
Japanese, British, and Malayan cultural cross-pollination of the region, Tan
tells a riveting and poignant tale about a young man's unwitting role in a
tangle of wartime loyalties and deceits.
This epic novel, told in evocative retrospect,
begins when the now elderly Philip Hutton gets a surprise visit from Michiko Murakami,
a Japanese woman who was once romantically linked to Hayato Endo, Philip's
former mentor and sensei. Her arrival sparks complicated memories for Philip—some
warm, some bitter—but he agrees to share his harrowing tale with her.
The year is 1939. Philip is the
youngest son of the owner of one of the dominant British trading companies in Penang, which dates back to the glory days of Victoria's empire. Unlike his brothers and
sister, Philip is half-Chinese, the product of his father's second marriage. Since
his mother's death, Philip has been a loner, merely tolerated by the British
community and not fully accepted by his Chinese compatriots. He derives his
greatest pleasure from furtive visits to the uninhabited island just off shore
from his family's palatial home, and he is incensed when he learns that his
father has rented the beloved retreat to a Japanese diplomat.
Hayato Endo is a Japanese consular
officer who, like Philip, craves the isolation that the island provides. When
he meets the sixteen-year-old, Endo takes an instant liking to the boy,
inviting him to visit the island whenever he wishes. He also begins to train
Philip in the martial art of aikido. Soon sensei and student become
inseparable, with Philip serving as Endo-san's personal guide to Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
Others warn young Philip that he should keep his distance from this Japanese
man with a mysterious past, reminding the boy of the atrocities that Endo-san's
countrymen have reportedly unleashed upon China. But totally enthralled with
his new friend and teacher, Philip brushes off their objections as racial
prejudice.
Visiting a fortune teller with
Endo-san, Philip is told, "You were born with the gift of rain. Your life will
be abundant with wealth and success. But life will test you greatly.
Remember—the rain also brings the flood." The woman's prescience proves accurate
when war begins and Philip comes to realize that his friend, now the enemy of
his country, has irreparably betrayed him. Endo-san is indeed a spy, and
Philip's innocence has made him complicit in the Japanese invasion of his
homeland. As Malaya's once idyllic way of life is
crushed beneath the oppression of war, so too is Philip's life forever changed.
A native of Penang, Tan deftly captures the singularity of the landscape
and its people. As someone passionately involved in the conservation of
heritage buildings, and THE GIFT OF RAIN serves as a paean to parts of Penang that are fast disappearing or have already been lost
forever: the historical buildings, the colonial architecture, and the narrow
streets of Georgetown.
As an expert practitioner of aikido,
Tan also offers readers a deep understanding of the discipline and nobility of
the ancient art. He says:
'There were many
philosophical issues of the East I wanted to convey and discuss in THE GIFT OF RAIN, but I did not want to
impede the flow of the narrative. I used the Japanese martial art of aikido as
a vehicle to carry these philosophical elements, because it embodies so many of
these principles and viewpoints. At the highest level of skill aikido becomes
a mental and lifestyle discipline rather than a martial art. By using brief
scenes describing the practical movements of aikido between the characters, I
could let the reader see with greater clarity what I wanted to express.'
Throughout his lush narrative, Tan weaves
the details of overlapping histories—the last days of Imperial China, the
opening of Japan to the West, the colonial legacy of
the British—imbuing THE GIFT OF RAIN with a profound weight that anchors
its highly personal story in the mythic splendor of an elusive time and place. In
the tradition of war-time storytellers Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene, THE
GIFT OF RAIN exhibits both classic storytelling and an exciting new voice
in fiction.
