The Gift of Rain

EXCELLENT!!!!!

OUTSTANDING! Though unnecessary to understand the story, the aurthor makes you WANT to read slowly, that you not miss any nuance, or perfectly turned phrase. I await his next endeavor with the same anticipation as when I waited for The Girl Who Played With Fire.

highly recommended

A beautifully crafted, sensitive handling of a unique young man coming of age and awareness of his strengths/weaknesses during the onset of WWII. A part of the world unknown to me and described in the most poetic terms. Race relationships and family ties conflict and intertwine. The theme of rain presented both in sadness and joy.
I hope the author continues writing more.

I loved it!

I read this book twice; once for content and once for style. It is a lyrical story of the Japanese invasion and occupation of Malaya during WWII. The adolescent protagonist (Phillip Hutton) befriends a Japanese Aikido master (Endo San), developing a deep friendship. Phillip's admiration blinds him to the obvious manipulation in which his friend is engaged. Endo San begins to teach Phillip Aikido. He is a dedicated teacher who has found an equally dedicated student. Much of the story revolves around the use of martial arts and the effects of the discipline required. In exchange, Phillip takes his new friend and Sensei (teacher) around Penang, showing him many places that the Japanese then photographs. Endo San asks many questions (too many....and the reader is beginning to become very suspicious as to motive). Phillip, in his eagerness to please and to show his new friend the depth of his knowledge, tells him anything he wants to know. In the second part of the book Phillip is torn between loyalty to his family and friends and loyalty to his Sensei, finally straddling both sides in a very dangerous maneuver.

There are many intertwining subplots, stories and fascinating characters as well....too many to go into here. I hope, dear reader, that you enjoy this tale of suspense and love as much as I did.

The Gift of Rain

This book held my interest throughout especially because of the use of vocabulary and that I did not know the history of the time and place in which the story takes place. The mastery of the author use of English to express sensitivity, love and hatred was exemplary. I felt every emotion that was written about and was sorry when I finished the book. Kudos to the author for evoking such emotions.

Beautiful language and description, imaginative story

This is not a "feel good" story, in the sense that it covers a troubled time in history and tragic events. The characters are deeply interesting, complex, making choices that have life or death consequences. It describes the cultural differences that can make "honorable behavior" be completely different from one person to another. The author's descriptive language is very compelling, and the story line is thought-provoking.

Long-Listed for the Booker? Must have been a long, long list this time

A remarkably disappointing book, The Gift of Rain takes a dramatic historical event--the invasion of Malaysia by the Japanese--and squeezes it flat. The protagonist, like his creator, is a martial arts expert, so everything is an excuse for a fight. It becomes unintentionally comical. Everyone in the family dies, except for the narrator, but there is no sense of tragedy because it's all so expected. There's no real sense of hardship. The audience is supposed to sympathize with the protagonist's conflict since he chooses to "help" the Japanese so he can save his family, but he doesn't save them, and despite the one or two scenes where we see him help the local population, he really is a "running dog." The author tells us this bi-racial character, who is lost between worlds, achieves closure at the end, but mostly the novelist runs out of pages. I have no idea why I bothered finishing this. I think I was giving it a chance until the end since the subject has such potential and because of the Booker Committee's nod, but it is a real waste of time, not to mention the money. The author should stick to his martial arts and forget trying to break into the literary ones. Good prose, vivid characters and a compelling plot are not something you can use the supposed mental discipline of martial arts to achieve.

poetically beautiful yet flawed development

While the setting is exotic and historic with great anticipation, character development is not powerful enough nor is story development flawless. Each episode in the story is well-presented enough to keep you turning pages, yet the protagonist's relation with his contravertial friend, which is the core of the story, is not quite well defined. Worse yet is the most predictable and yet unrealistically sudden shifts of protagonist's loyalty, which totally offsets the poetically romantic lining of the story. It almost felt as if scores of pages preceeding to each turn of his loyalty were omitted by the printer. Without this major flaw, I would definetely have given the book ****, perhaps *****. The author may do better with his second book.

Wonderful, beautifully written book

This is an incredibly well written book. I found myself re-reading many passages because they were just so rich with meaning and yet so simply stated.Wonderful development of the main character. Also loved the infusion of mysticism. Big fan of historical fiction and this ranks up there with some of the best I've read.Writing this review not to give away any part of this compelling story but because so few people have heard of this book. Can't wait for Tan Twan Eng's next work.

'The Gift of Rain' rewards the pleasure of reading.

This wonderful book gives the reader insights into history from the various views of the participants. It demonstrates how war changes relationships and alters families. What is unique is we see these things from a Chinese, Japanese, British and Malayian perspective. We see how actions of a hundred years ago can impact our lives today. I am impatiently waiting for Taw Twan Eng's next book.

Historical Fiction and Relationships

This was a personal look at the effects of WWII and the Japanese invasion of the small country of Penang, specifically to this one young man and his family. The relationships had strong homosexual undertones which reflected much of the duality within the story.

Remarkable Book

Thailand and characters come alive in WWII story of the cost of loyalty and honor. Morality and character don't always travel hand in hand in this historical look at an akido mentor and his pupil. I found it hard to put down and was moved by the storyline of a man's quest for self-discovery.

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