The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng - 4 stars

[Jgrace]

The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng
4 stars

I was completely captivated by Tan’s second book, The Garden of Evening Mists. It made me want to read more of his work. The Gift of Rain was Tan’s first book, and like the second one, it was long listed for the Booker Prize. Both of these books are about the experience of the Malayan population during World War Two.

The book is set in Penang and is the first person account of an aging Philip Hutton as he recounts his war experience to a visitor. Before the war, Malaya was a British protectorate. Philip is the youngest son of a very wealthy, influential, British businessman. He is also the only child of his father’s second marriage to a Chinese woman. Several years before the Pearl Harbor attack, (but after the Japanese invasion of China), Philip becomes the intimate martial arts student of Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat, who rents a small island from his father. As a result of this relationship, he adds Japanese to the list of languages that he speaks fluently. All of this is a setup for a protracted story of divided loyalties, betrayal, and devastating loss.

This was a very ambitious debut novel. I agree completely with the positive attention that it received. The prose is beautiful. The characters are complex. It is intricately plotted.

I think it is overly complex. The book tried too hard to encapsulate every aspect of a tragic situation. Poor Philip Hutton! The author imposed every conflicting complexity of the Japanese occupation, of the previously British occupied population, onto his young shoulders. Philip adopts the discipline and beliefs of his sensei early in the book. The buddhist belief in incarnation is an important part of his motivation, foreshadowing much of the book’s tragedy. The magical realism added to the beauty of the prose, but I also felt it was too contrived to be natural.

This was such a good story. It is possible that I would have discounted any of my minor complaints with the writing if I had read this book first. However, I can see how this author matured in his craft. The Garden of Evening Mists retains all of the complexity, strong characters, and beautiful prose of this book, but has tighter control over the split storylines. I look forward to anything that Tan Twan Eng writes in the future.

[Booknblues]

Jgrace wrote: "
The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng
4 stars

I was completely captivated by Tan’s second book, The Garden of Evening Mists. It made me want to re..."

I need to finish this. I've reached a impasse because I keep slipping in ebooks to read before , the dead tree book and then I started another DTB, for the decathalon. Hopefully before the end of March.

[Amy]

I’m almost stumped. I actually preferred the gift of rain to the garden of evening mists. I so loved that book. But maybe because I really was drawn to the spirituality reincarnation piece, as interwoven into the rest of the story. Seemingly not everyone loves it as much as I do. It remains a book that was unforgettable for me.

[Booknblues]

Amy wrote: "I’m almost stumped. I actually preferred the gift of rain to the garden of evening mists. I so loved that book. But maybe because I really was drawn to the spirituality reincarnation piece, as inte..."

My main problem is I rarely read real books any more and I'm addicted to ebooks. I haven't given up on it, but I really need to read the decathlon book quickly before the end of the month.

[Amy]

Ellen, whenever you get to it, I will look forward to your thoughts.

[Booknblues]

Amy wrote: "Ellen, whenever you get to it, I will look forward to your thoughts."

Wrong cat! :) oddly, the cat in the picture is my Nelson who died several years ago, and one of my cats now, Rosie, looks a lot like Ellen's cat. My name is Fran if you need a real name.

I promise, I will read it.

[Jgrace]

Booknblues wrote: "Amy wrote: "I’m almost stumped. I actually preferred the gift of rain to the garden of evening mists. I so loved that book. But maybe because I really was drawn to the spirituality reincarnation pi..."

And my problem is that I'm addicted to audiobooks. I had this on my kindle, but it took me forever to read it. I think I finished 4 audiobooks before I got to the end of this one. I can do so many things while I listen, but when I sit down to read, I fall asleep.