The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng - Review

This was the June choice for my book club and I wasn't sure how I would like it. It's a really long book and I think it is a bit long in places, but it is an epic story so it did have a lot of story to tell. Rosa chose it and she's pretty new to our book club and hasn't chosen a book before so it was really interesting that she chose this. I can't wait to see what everyone else thought about it next week - well, after this post will go live, but I'm writing this before of course. 

So, the protagonist of the book is Philip. He is half Chinese and half English. He is brought up in Malaya by his English father and three older half siblings after his mother dies. His father owns a factory in Georgetown, on the island of Penang. He has rubber plantations and other business interests. It is the 1930s when Philip is young. War breaks out in 1939, of course, when Philip is about eighteen. 

But at the beginning of the book it's 1995, fifty years after the end of World War Two and Philip is invited to celebrate that with other people. He still lives in his parental home, Istana, where he grew up. He still works for his father's company and is now the ownder. He is somewhat distrusted in the local area because of his history. A woman called Michiko turns up at his house. She knows Endo, a Japanese man who taught Philip martial arts when he was a teenager, and for whom Philip worked during the war. He rented a small island from the family and his home is still there. He was a government employee. Michiko wants to know all about his life. She knew Endo too, when they were young. More of her history comes out but I won't spoil that because it was so interesting. 

Now, of course I knew that Japan was an enemy to the Allies in WWII and that it was allied with Germany and Italy, but I really don't know much of the history otherwise. I will assume that a lot of the history in this book is true; the author probably did plenty of research. The British are portrayed as having left Malaya undefended as soon as war broke out, and the Japanese took over and occupied the area. Endo's role obviously became more important Philip started working for him. Some people then saw him as a collaborator but it is more complicated than that. 

Philip felt like he wasn't part of his family because he had a different mother and was mixed race unlike his siblings. They are Edward, William, and Isabel. He does get to know William and Isabel more throughout the book, but they have complicated relationships. 

As for Endo - Philip really kind of worships him? I think there's some sexual overtones too between them. Endo teaches him martial arts but also how not to fight and not to be drawn into fighting. How to go zen. It's stuff that Philip will need for the rest of his life. I liked this part of it a lot, but I don't feel like we knew Endo enough. 

I liked Philip a lot and wanted what was best for him. He has a tough life and makes difficult decisions, not always for the right reasons. I'm giving this four out of five.