The Gift of Rain by Eng, Tan Twan;Nominated for THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2007
started by Chavda Ashok 5 mnths ago"This remarkable debut saga of intrigue and akido flashes back to a darkly opulent WWII-era Malaya. ...measured, believable and enthralling."
— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Strong characters and page-turning action make this a top pick for historical fiction."
— Library journal
"An epic journey into the eye of the Asian storm..."
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Gift of Rain by Eng, Tan Twan is Nominated for THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2007
The story line:
This epic novel, told in evocative retrospect, begins when the The Gift of Rainow 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.
Penang, 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is a loner. Half English, half Chinese and feeling neither, he discovers a sense of belonging in an unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. The enigmatic Endo is bound by disciplines of his own and when the Japanese invade Malaya, threatening to destroy Philip's family and everything he loves, he realises that his trusted sensei - to whom he owes absolute loyalty - has been harbouring a devastating secret. Philip must risk everything in an attempt to save those he has placed in mortal danger and discover who and http://forums.sulekha.com/forums/books/The-Mirac The Gift of Rain by Eng, Tan Twan"This remarkable debut saga of intrigue and akido flashes back to a darkly opulent WWII-era Malaya. ...measured, believable and enthralling."
— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Strong characters and page-turning action make this a top pick for historical fiction."
— Library journal
"An epic journey into the eye of the Asian storm..."
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
The story line:
This epic novel, told in evocative retrospect, begins when the The Gift of Rainow 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.
Penang, 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is a loner. Half English, half Chinese and feeling neither, he discovers a sense of belonging in an unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. The enigmatic Endo is bound by disciplines of his own and when the Japanese invade Malaya, threatening to destroy Philip's family and everything he loves, he realises that his trusted sensei - to whom he owes absolute loyalty - has been harbouring a devastating secret. Philip must risk everything in an attempt to save those he has placed in mortal danger and discover who and http://forums.sulekha.com/forums/books/The-Miracle-at-Speedy-Motors-36127.htmwhat he really is. With masterful and gorgeous narrative, replete with exotic and captivating images, sounds and aromas - of rain swept beaches, magical mountain temples, pungent spice warehouses, opulent colonial ballrooms and fetid and forbidding rainforests - Tan Twan Eng weaves a haunting and unforgettable story of betrayal, barbaric cruelty, steadfast courage and enduring love"The Gift of Rain" is in every sense a "big" book, not only substantial in size, but also in theme, and in the amount of incident that is crammed into it.
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.
courtesy www.tantwaneng.com le-at-Speedy-Motors-36127.htmwhat he really is. With masterful and gorgeous narrative, replete with exotic and captivating images, sounds and aromas - of rain swept beaches, magical mountain temples, pungent spice warehouses, opulent colonial ballrooms and fetid and forbidding rainforests - Tan Twan Eng weaves a haunting and unforgettable story of betrayal, barbaric cruelty, steadfast courage and enduring love
"The Gift of Rain" is in every sense a "big" book, not only substantial in size, but also in theme, and in the amount of incident that is crammed into it.
The Gift of Rain by Eng, Tan Twan;Nominated for THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2007