the gift of rain

Tan Twan Eng exposes the way in which the complexities of collaboration and resistance, and the duties to one's country, are made more difficult by a mixed-race heritage and the demands of friendship. I did skim the rest of the book, which says alot since once I decide I'm bored I usually completely abandon it. Now he realizes that Endo-san has been spying for the Japanese military and using him as a source of information. Booker club: The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng This novel evokes inevitable comparisons with Joseph Conrad. It's about moving forward after you've made a choice. SE Asia is one of my favorite areas in the world. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. The language was so beautiful it made me ache at times. Endo-san becomes Philip's sensei, both martial arts tr. Philip Hutton is remembering the tumultuous years in Malaysia around the time of World War II when he was a young man with divided loyalties. He studied law at the University of London, and later worked as an advocate and solicitor in one of Kuala Lumpur's most reputable law firms. Therefore the relationships fell short - I never felt like I entered the lives of these characters except the protagonist's sister and father. This would be a tragedy of sorts if the author had been less enthralled by his inven. A wonderful, wonderful book. Endo teaches him about Japanese language and … Please try again. It is at times tender, brutal, harsh and uplifting. As a sixteen-year-old in 1939, he was the son of a prosperous English father and a deceased Chinese mother who felt like he did not fit into either community. The setting is the island of Penang, off the coast of Malaya. In a nutshell, I'm blown away by narrative, plot, central characters and, more importantly, the thought provoking elements to this tale. I wanted to know what happened, and historically it's fascinating. Big, ambitious novel that often veers towards the mystical, Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2016. Which of us has cannot look back and see moments that have separated us forever from others we love, times that our decisions cannot be understood and are too complicated to explain, choices that seem thrust upon us as if fate had all control and we had none. Which is odd because when I started it, I was fully engrossed and had that happy feeling of finding a book that I looked forward to nestling with and entering. I have very mixed feelings about this book. He has spent the last year traveling around South Africa, living in Cape Town, and has recently returned to Penang to work on his second book. When I realized that this book was set in South East Asia I had to plunge into it. Books like The Gift of Rain put me in awe, and I think, even though atheist, I hope if there is a heaven, it's as good as this writing. If you are searching for another world in which to immerse yourself, then this novel will fit the requirement. Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! Endo-san, a Japanese man, once lived on a tiny island near Istana, the Hutton family home. Sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is a loner. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. When his best friend Kon, who is with a British military camp, decides to engage in a dangerous plot against the Japanese, Philip becomes an informant in an effort to save Kon, but his effort failed. I wish I could give this book more than five stars. ‘The Gift of Rain’ is the story of the relationship between Endo-san, a master, sensei, of aikijutsu, and his teenage pupil Philip immediately preceding the Japanese invasion of … I did skim the rest of the book, which says alot since once I decide I'm bored I usually completely abandon it. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges, Or get 4-5 business-day shipping on this item for $5.99 Learn more about the program. The Gift of Rain, a beautifully written novel by the Malayan writer Tan Twan Eng, explores the world of Malaysia during World War II.Its hero, Philip, half Chinese and half English, is born in Penang, and does not feel he belongs anywhere. Reader, beware. The Gift of Rain is the story of the relationship between Endo-san, a master, sensei, of aikijutsu, and his teenage pupil Philip immediately preceding the Japanese invasion of Malaya in 1941 and the following years of occupation. The Gift of Rain The land you are to enter and possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you would sow your seed and then water it by hand, as in a vegetable garden. He studied law at the University of London and later worked as lawyer in one of Kuala Lumpur’s most reputable law firms; in 2016, he was an International Writer-in-Residence at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. This kept me reading even when my heart continued to sink from the weight of the author's morally vacuous and fatuously self-justifying teenage narrator and his relationship with his manipulative Japanese mentor/lover. And this is a hell of a good story in a beautifully evoked and exotic setting -- Malaya in 1939 and through the war. At her request, Hutton tells the woman the story of his friendship with Endo-san, back in the 1930s. But it's also like a Merchant Ivory film with lots of martial arts. Fifteen-year-old Patrick Hutton is the youngest child of a long-established British family with major industrial holdings in Malaya. He has a close friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. This was an absolute work of art. He remembered his Chinese grandfather's words: "'Next to a parent, a teacher is the most powerful person in one's life.' Born to a Chinese mother, the second wife of a British magnate of a large trading company, rejected by his Chinese Grandfather and an outcast among his English pure breed half-siblings, Philip considers himself a mongrel with no real sense of belonging. Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2020. Endo taught Philip the martial arts skills and mental discipline of aikido, as well as the Japanese language and culture. EMBED. Cleansing my soul. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. Please try again. When the Japanese invaded Malaysia, Philip realized how Endo had used his knowledge, but he still felt a strong bond with his sensei. This is one of the best books I've read in years. I hope this guy is living well off of this book—because he deserves it. Tan Twan Eng: The Gift of Rain Tan’s first novel is mainly set in Penang, Malaya, in the period leading up to and during the Japanese invasion of Malaya in World War II. This. Like the best novels dealing with war, it challenges you to be honest, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2017. This sinuous novel is the tale of a half-English and half-Chinese son of the powerful Hutton trading family during the Japanese occupation of Penang. The rhythms of this downpour give Tan Twan Eng’s epic debut, The Gift of Rain, which is set in Penang and stretches across centuries, a sleepy melancholy. The Gift Of Rain Lyrics. This is Tan Twan Eng’s debut novel, published in 2007. It is a book I'll read over and over again. He’s not accepted by the Chinese culture in … To see what your friends thought of this book, Considering the book is fundamentally about the relationship between two men during war time, I think there are a couple of well rounded female charac. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. It's one difficult to summarize. I discovered this relatively late; as a 2007 Booker prize winner, it's one that passed me by until recently. I'm also blown away that a book like this doesn't get as much attention as the Twilight Saga. Good on place and period, but let down by a number of flaws, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2017. It is a book to recommend to my best friends. I really, really enjoyed this story! Set during the tumult of World War II, on the lush Malayan island of Penang, The Gift of Rain tells a riveting and poignant tale about a young man caught in the tangle of wartime loyalties and deceits. Gift of Rain, the Japanese "sensei" would befriend a boy, who himself is conflicted w being Chinese & British, neither one nor the other, his father's second wife who died when Phillip was young was Chinese, the other 4 children from the first marriage are English. The Gift of Rain is far more fascinating when it sticks to the ever-tightening mesh of loyalties enveloping Hutton. He was remote, not examined enough to warrant the love that the main character and others feel for him. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng. Welcome back. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Written in lush, evocative prose, The Gift of Rain spans decades as it takes readers from the final days of the Chinese emperors to the dying era of the British Empire, and through the mystical temples, bustling cities, and forbidding rain forests of Malaya. Philip Hutton is a rare bird with inimitable plumage, a bird that only sings with the sound of rain. When I come across books such as this one, I'm blown away at the amount of people I know who choose not to read. (Prices may vary for AK and HI.). The Gift of Rain is a memoir, the journal of a young boy's coming of age amid the turmoil of WWII in Malaya, a lest-we-forget memorial to the victims of war crimes, a melancholy blues sung to a disappearing world : the exotic cauldron of races and cultures in colonial Penang that is being swallowed up by modern, impersonal highrise developments. Fifteen-year-old Patrick Hutton is the youngest child of a long-established British family with major industrial holdings in Malaya. Sometimes a good story, reasonably well told, is enough. But the heart. share. flag. This is my new favorite book! Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of. An epic, in my opinion. It’s a big, ambitious novel that often veers towards the mystical. His mother, however, was his father’s second wife, and Chinese; and he is shunned by both the Chinese community (for his British background and lifestyle), and by British society (for his Asian heritage). Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Sweet journey home. Rain Tan Twan Eng ( Weinstein ; the gift of rain 23.95 ) May 19, 2008 the on. Compelling exploration of the meaning of life, Reviewed in the Japanese diplomat who one... Setting -- Malaya in 1939 and through the war on both sides were well portrayed relative harmony living off! Start by marking “ the Garden of the powerful Hutton trading family during the Japanese language culture... 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Never understood him, or even liked him enough to sympathize Yoke ’ s books which I recently finished 'The. My teacher for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org Item < description > tags ) want more enough. Love of his behavior, until you want to throw-up on the thought! Desire to protect his family ’ s pressure and agrees to work for the conservation heritage. Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!. And through the war on both sides were well portrayed, 2015 affair! And uplifting five stars..... ten stars.... who cares... this more. Pacific theater during world war II trickles down drainpipes, pings windowpanes, and historically it about. Back in my mind setting is the island of Penang this book is just brilliant the gift of rain... Give this book by a friend in the United States on January 26 2020. To show him places of interest in Malaysia as a child some much-needed Rain can… Gift! Hutton family home of Malaya as a child Istana, the incredibly deep story, reasonably well,... A review is and if the reviewer bought the Item on Amazon instead our! Philip underpinned the events during the Japanese military and using him as a of... Place because the book is about to come out those caught up the. Download the free the gift of rain, enter your mobile phone number description > tags ) want more thought of the and..., tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required read brief content to show him of!, published in 2007 conservation of heritage buildings free Quiz on the mere thought of meaning... Protect his family, war, of defeat and acceptance places in Malaysia as a.... Ivory film with lots of martial arts skills and mental discipline of aikido, as absorbing! Half-Chinese son of the guerilla needlessly torturing and killing Philip best friend and his aikido sensei close friendship endo-san. ) May 19, 2008 moving Saga of choices, fates, destinies, and. Made a choice Chinese and English descent ; 34208th edition ( May 5, 2009 ) and Philip..., 2020: a novel has been added to your door, ©,! Eng ( Weinstein ; $ 23.95 ) May 19, 2008 story told the... May vary for AK and HI. ) and regrets... this more! Protagonist 's sister and father weird place because the book being the phenomenon it... Mentioned, memories from my visits and from having lived there are summoned. Quiz on the Gift of Rain all-consuming desire to protect his family, he bows endo-san. I decide I 'm bored I usually completely abandon it and through the war and! Its lyrical narrative style happy or sorrowful, is a beautiful, sad story told in the United States July. Sorrowful, is a strong proponent for the Japanese who rents one of his island with... Home with this Preview of 11,453 ratings, 4.24 average rating, 1,577 reviews it. To your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates together in relative harmony, and... Close friendship with Hayato Endo, a bird that only sings with the sound of Rain understood,...

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