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Jan 08, 2011

Chrissie rated it:

NO SPOILERS

This book is clearly a mixed bag for me. It is in short about Philip, the son of a British father and Chinese mother, and his relationship with his Japanese sensei. It takes place in Malaya during WW2 when the Japanese occupied the country, sending the British running for their lives. The friendship between Philip and his older Japanese teacher, his sensei, begins before the occupation, before Philip ever became aware of the conflict of interests that will arise between th More...

8 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2011

Jinny rated it:

Like another reviewer here, I think there's something about this book that bespeaks a neophyte author -- but a skilled one, and one whose next work I'll anticipate eagerly.

Lots of description, but it's lush and luminous and evokes a sensuous sense of place. I enjoyed the characterizations (especially of the narrator). Philip Hutton is a sympathetic character, as he is torn between two ways of looking at, and living, life: accepting our non-control, and recognizing that we make choic More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 10, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

The setting is the island of Penang, off the coast of Malaya. The population is a complex mix of races, ideologies, and income levels. Chinese, Japanese, Malays, British, Indians, and many people of mixed race share this tiny island and have a history of tensions and race/class divisions. However, they've managed to find ways to live together in relative harmony.

When the Japanese occupy the island during World War II, concerns for personal and family safety lead to treachery and bet More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2011

Eddie rated it:

When I come across books such as this one, I'm blown away at the amount of people I know who choose not to read. I'm also blown away that a book like this doesn't get as much attention as the Twilight Saga. Twilight makes me want to throw-up on the mere thought of the book being the phenomenon that it is. Books like The Gift of Rain put me in awe, and I think, even though atheist, I hope if there is a heaven, it's as good as this writing. I'm shocked that this was the author's first novel. This More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 17, 2008

Lori rated it:

I know this book got some rave reviews, but about halfway thru I almost abandoned it. Which is odd because when I started it, I was fully engrossed and had that happy feeling of finding a book that I looked forward to nestling with and entering. I found the writing to be too flowery, and I also got bored. I did skim the rest of the book, which says alot since once I decide I'm bored I usually completely abandon it. I wanted to know what happened, and historically it's fascinating. But the heart More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 23, 2008

Ron rated it:

In a glib mood, I would summarize this as "The Karate Kid meets The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles," but that doesn't really do justice to the emotional power of this story about a half-British, half-Chinese teen in 1940s Malaya who befriends a newly arrived Japanese diplomat and begins to study aikido from him, then gradually learns that he's being used as a pawn in the buildup to a military invasion. It's a drama about family, about friendship, about war, about karmic cycles, and about comi More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 20, 2008

Felicity rated it:

This book probably deserves something more than 3 stars, but less than 4. The historical background of WWII in Penang, Malaysia, and Singapore was fascinating. But I wonder if the book would have been as interesting without this background...rather than being character-driven, it was event-driven. There are plenty of precedents for authors using actual historical events to create a great story, but in this case, I felt the characters just needed a little more substance. Nonetheless, still an More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 24, 2009

Wanda rated it:

Fabulous book! This is one of my favorite books. I will edit this review to include a better description - but, in the meantime, please read this book.

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jul 25, 2008

Macy rated it:

This is one of the best books I've read in years. At it's core it's about doing the right thing in a very gray world -- a world where the right thing and the wrong thing are hardly distinguishable. It's about moving forward after you've made a choice.

I wept for the staggering grief in Phillip Hutton's life, and I applauded the young man who set forth to do the right thing, no matter how murky that might be.

In addition to the great story, the author did a stellar job wit More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2011

Emma rated it:

I felt that this book promised more than it delivered. The first part of the book tells of the life of Philip Hutton, child of an English father and a Chinese mother, growing up in Penang, where his father owns and runs one of the biggest export companies, Hutton and Sons. Philip doesn't really know where he fits in and what his place is in the world until he meets Endo-san, a Japanese man who has come to Penang to work for the Japanese consulate and who becomes Philip's sensai, teaching him a More...

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Mar 30, 2011

Judy rated it:

Perhaps because as a teenager I took martial arts (GoJo Ryu karate) and, more recently, I have become a student of yoga (in particular Jnana yoga), I found “The Gift of Rain” by Tan Twan Eng to be a beautiful book. Longlisted for the 2007 Booker Prize, this is not a perfect book by any means, but it's an enigmatic one that will give the reader much to consider on each subsequent read.

Penang in 1939 is home to young Philip Hutton. A loner, the half-Chinese, half-English Philip feels h More...

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Sep 15, 2010

Oldesq rated it:

The Gift of Rain is difficult to classify. Phillip Hutton, the 16 year old narrator, tells of the intersections between Malayan and British colonial culture in the last moments before the Japanese attack of WWII. Phillip, a late child born to an English father and a Chinese mother has never fit in with his three older siblings- children of his father's first marriage to an English woman. Phillip's outcast status makes him ripe for a protege relationship with an older Japanese sensei who comes More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 29, 2009

FrankH rated it:

I agree with other readers of this book that 'The Gift of Rain' is good movie-material. There's the lush exotic setting in a time of change and conflict, the coming-of-age theme, the mysticism of the east, the story of divided ethnic groups and loyalties...While I would give the author high-marks on story-telling and for making credible the extreme and tragic plot elements, he is less successful at constructing unique and interesting characters; in a novel with this kind of historical sweep, I g More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

That Tan Twan Eng's first book raised enough eyebrows in Britain to be considered for a Booker Prize should indicate the author's budding talent. Indeed, reviews were strong across the board, and even the critics who took issue with aspects of Eng's style that may occasionally come across as overdone��dialogue and some description, for instance��recognized that Eng's voice and vision make a big first impression. Philip's often dispassionate telling of his wartime activities bothered one critic,

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Jun 23, 2008

Carol rated it:

This was so beautifully written. One of the themes explored was the sense of duty - to one's country, to one's tutor, to one's parents - that is much stronger in Asian cultures than in western ones and is sometimes difficult to understand. It asks the questions, what would you do for the people you love? Does it make it any less wrong if you murder someone/lie/cheat, etc., if you are doing it to save someone you love?

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2009

Brooke rated it:

I wish I could give it 4 1/2 stars. I REALLY liked it! Beautifully written, extremely poignant, fascinating history...but it wasn't a book that I think I could ever read again so that it why I didn't give it 5 stars. There was something reminiscent of Gail Tsukiyama's writing in his ability to write about horrifying things yet still impart a feeling of peace! I loved the theme of fate vs. agency and the study of human relationships and what we are willing and able to do out of love is fasci More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2011

Mollie rated it:

I don't know if I've ever read a book with as much flowery language as this one. It was painful. Pretty much any page had something like the following "I realised that this would mean the end of what Endo-san and I had shared, for with the abandonment of the principles that had governed his life I was betraying him and everything that he had tried to teach me." Seriously? Just tell the stupid story. If you have to try that hard to convince your reader of the deep emotions the character More...

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May 17, 2011

Kristen rated it:

I highly recommend NOT starting this book when you don't have time to read. I decided to read it just before finals and it was calling to me for a few weeks. I really enjoyed this book - it is a great work of historical fiction - set in Malaysia at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and subsequent invasion of the island by Japan.

The main character is a teenaged son of a wealthy British man and a Chinese woman (who has passed away). He has a brilliant mind and learns martial a More...

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May 22, 2011

Deb rated it:

In pre-WWII Malay, Phillip Hutton is a half British, half Chinese teen. He never feels he belongs anywhere. His half brothers and sister are full British and when they and his father go on their every 5 year trip to England, he decides not to go. Instead he meets Endo-san, a Japanese diplomat who is renting out an island from Phillip's father. They immediately form a bond and Phillip becomes Endo-san's pupil in the art of Aikido. Phillip shows him around Malay, pointing out his favorite places. More...

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Sep 12, 2011

Anne rated it:

This book was lovely and enlightening. It showed the brutality of the Japanese in World War II juxtaposed with pride of the Chinese and British living in Indonesia. As a child of ex-pat parents, I grew up listening to stories of the Bataan Death March and other incidents of WWII, so this book brought both sad and happy memories of my parents.

The writing was outstanding - both engaging and clear. The character development was excellent allowing readers to question the actions of the More...

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Jan 14, 2012

Julie rated it:

I haven't found such an amazing and intellegent read in years. This is not your average war story, religious treaty, or Romance novel. Yet it takes place during Japan's devastating invasion of Malaysia, It explores the nature of love through several characters, and it is spiritual in the deepest sense. It starts slowly, but about a fourth of the way through this 432 page book, it takes off and you won't be able to put it down. I have about 30 pages to go and already I miss the characters. It cou More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 03, 2010

Connie rated it:

This was one of those books that got better as you stuck with it. It's very heavy subject matter - the characters are all very serious, even before the Japanese invade Penang. The relationship between the main character Phillip and his sensei Endo is very romantic without ever officially venturing into homosexuality, which was interesting. There are a few too many coincidences and mystical moments for my taste, but I did learn a lot about the Japanese, WWII and Malaysia. But much of the book More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 15, 2010

Bibliophile rated it:

Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain tells the story of Philip Hutton, the half-Chinese, half-English scion of a great merchant family in Penang, Malaysia. Most of the novel takes place during World War II, and Philip's actions under the Japanese occupation of Malaya form the crux of the story. The setting is fascinating and the plot careened forward so I had to keep reading to find out what happened, but the writing was unfortunately not very good, and the characters were two-dimensional in the ex More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2010

Marilyn rated it:

If you are looking for a cheery, 'happy ending' kind of book then this isn't the one for you! I love historical fiction that lets me learn about a particular period of history and, if it is set in some exotic location, so much the better. I didn't know anything about the Japanese occupation of Malay before reading this book. The author has a wonderful way of letting the reader 'see' the places he is describing. My two complaints about the book are first that I never really liked Endo-san very More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2008

William rated it:

What a marvelous story bringing together the cultures of the Chinese, the Japanese, and the British.
A strong tale about duty, dignity, and love of family.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2009

Marcella rated it:

Passed on to me by my husband who liked it a lot-so far it has great promise-lovely writing-historical-I'm going back to the WWII scene but from a Malay/Japanese/British perspective
Lots to like about this book-wonderful characters, great history lesson, beautiful language, very sad at the same time -only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was a slightly pushing the envelope moment at the end where I thought the author stretched my acceptance of events happening to our hero (or anti-hero)
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Dec 17, 2009

Mary-anne rated it:

This is the kind of book that would make a great movie. There's adventure, intrigue, action and above all, just a great story line.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 14, 2009

Emily rated it:

i am a bit unsure on how to rate this book. even though i thought it was well written and interesting, i think i'll give it two stars because i did not like it. wish i had not started reading it, because once started it was like a train wreck and i couldn't stop. it was heart breakingly sad and i can't get the scenes about the horrors of war out of my head. that being said, i read it. i stayed up quite late reading it, more than one night. that's usually the sign of an extraordinary book f More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jun 02, 2008

leen rated it:

An incredible book that grabs you right from the start and doesn't let you put it down. A beautiful story about choices.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Tom rated it:

The story of Philip Hutton, the half Chinese son of an English man set in Penang in the 1930's. A story of identity, he never fit in. Not English, not Chinese, not Japanese but all. It tells how he grew from an insecure boy to a noble warrior, eventually working for and and against the Japanese. He was both a patriot and a traitor. He comes to find his Chinese family and lose the family he grew up with. It is the story of his relationship with a Japanese warrior, their interaction in this and pa More...

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