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Author
Tan Twan Eng
Publication Date
May 05, 2009
ISBN
978-1-60286-074-2
Format
Paperback
Category
Fiction
The Gift of Rain
The Gift of Rain is the story of Philip Hutton and the haunting tragedies that befall him when he becomes entangled in a web of wartime loyalties and deceits. In 1939, at the outset of World War II, sixteen- year-old Philip is a lonely outsider on the lush Malayan island of Penang. Alienated from his community and family, he at last discovers a sense of belonging through an unexpected friendship with another outsider—a foreign diplomat whose true purpose on the island will ultimately bring unspeakable devastation. When Philip discovers he has been an unwitting traitor to his homeland and its people, he must work in secret to save as many lives as possible, even as his own family is torn apart. At once harrowing and luminous, Tan Twan Eng’s celebrated debut novel is a thrilling epic and a true literary page-turner.
“Glorious… Rain is a gift indeed, as robustly absorbing as it is achingly poignant.”
“The Gift of Rain is a rich and rewarding novel.…Eng’s writing is luminous and dreamy…. sends the reader back into the world of Somerset Maugham—the waning British Empire, the simmering discord between classes and races, the thick tropical surroundings that are both beautiful and suffocating—but at a different angle. Maugham cast a cynical eye on human nature and its frailties; Tan Twan Eng looks upon them with compassion, like a creator might view the imperfections of his handiwork.”
“Eng’s graceful prose evokes a time and place that is little known or remembered now, making it both exotic and familiar, and his beautiful narrative is woven with strong images and characters….The Gift of Rain is a gift to read.”
A true saga…[The Gift of Rain] overflows with mesmerizing beauty and wonder...an eloquent tale about friendship transforms into a frightful chronicle of betrayal and survival.”
The Dallas Morning Star
An engrossing story of interlocking worlds… this deft first novel by Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng stands as a lavish demonstration of the truth of William Faulkner’s dictum, ‘The past is never dead…It’s not even past.’”
Thrilling, introspective…a meditation on the deals humans make to survive, as well as the bond between a pupil and his teacher in an Asian culture. Tan Twan Eng\'s lucid writing carries along the story effortlessly.”
[A] remarkable debut saga of intrigue and aikido...Eng\'s characters are as deep and troubled as the time in which the story takes place, and he draws on a rich palette to create a sprawling portrait of a lesser explored corner of the war...measured, believable and enthralling.”
Strong characters and page-turning action make this a top pick for historical fiction…Philip’s personal drama unfolds against the backdrop of fascinating glimpses into Chinese culture, British imperialism, and the Japanese occupation that eventually claims the lives of everyone around him.”
A powerful first novel about a tumultuous and almost forgotten period of history…The Gift of Rain is a war novel with a personal odyssey at its heart, one that complicates the stark lines of right and wrong during wartime…drawing the reader into a web of divided loyalties.”
A rich, absorbing epic”
Book Passage
Don\'t open this book unless you are ready to be swept away.”
Elliott Bay Book Company
The Gift of Rain is an amazing book. Love, cruelty, sacrifice are all here -- and more. With its beautifully evoked place and time, this quietly spellbinding novel tells of lives lived through war and occupation, through years of alliances, bonds, and betrayals with compelling grace and rare depth. The Gift of Rain embodies, in a way this reader has seldom encountered, how what can be heartbreaking in life can also be heartmaking.”
Powell’s Books
I loved The Gift of Rain and will recommend it to all my bookselling friends. It’s a beautiful work of historical fiction, but its themes also make it timely and relevant—a look at the excruciating choices that war inflicts on civilians. A small nation, an inconsequential battleground, a footnote to the greater world war is the setting for one young man’s coming of age. His journey into adulthood is mesmerizing, painful, and illuminates an unquenchable human spirit to survive.”
Vroman’s Bookstore
It is very, very hard to move on to another novel after The Gift of Rain. It was a wonderful reading experience and I am still so immersed in it. This story of past lives and old destinies is handled with as much power as grace. The author has the wrenching and profound task of illustrating the beauty and cruelty of human choices against the vast canvas of history and time. The luminous descriptions and exquisite awareness of the characters\' emotions are a testimony to the author’s craft.”
Book Passage
The Gift of Rain is a beautiful novel about an achingly difficult time in history, the Japanese invasion of Malaysia during WW II. The characters, particularly 18 yr. old Philip must navigate an impossible landscape of loyalty, love and subterfuge within the shifting island cultures. While grand in sweep this novel\'s grace is in the intimate details of the characters lives where the fiercest love sits alongside betrayal. What a compelling story that still will not let me go.”
The Kaleidoscope Bookstore
Tan Twan Eng\'s powerful novel, The Gift of Rain, shows us what it feels like to be outside, then included; to be lonely, then loved; to be trusted, then betrayed. Eng reminds us that wars, and events leading up to wars, are messy, that loyalties are tangled webs not easily divided, and that even those not involved in a conflict can be used, damaged, and changed forever. Rain is a literary masterpiece that was difficult to put down.”
