Review: The Gift of Rain

The Gift of Rain was my first book written by a local wirter and my first english literature novel. I first heard of this book in the Bookfest@Malaysia in August 2009. It caught my attention when the book was written by a local Chinese and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2007.

While I was interested in it, I didn't buy the book right away. I never read literature books before and was more familiar with genres such as general fiction and the occasional non-fictions such as biographies and memoirs. I wasn't sure if i could manage a 500-plus-page literature. The retail price didn't help either, still cost more than RM 30 even after the 20% discount.

Then in November of the same year, the Big Bad Wolf sale was held at Amcorp Mall and I saw the book selling at RM 8! I was still interested in giving the book a try, and with only 1/5 of its retail price, I decided to buy it. I still have dozens of books in my to-read list and it was only recently that I managed to start reading the book.

The Gift of Rain tells the story about Philip Hutton, living on the Penang island of Malaysia and telling his story of his younger days to an unexpected guest. It was in 1939, when Malaysia was still called Malaya, that he met with Japanese Hayato Endo who later became his sensei in Aikijutsu and his closest friend. Being born half-British half-Chinese, he always felt isolated from his family and everyone around him, until he met Endo. Due to his training and teachings from Endo, eventually he was able to develop self-confidence, reconnect with his family and made new friends.

However, as Japan invaded Malaya, Philip realised his sensei's involvement in the invasion and how he himself became his unwilling accomplice. His loyalty was torn between his country and family, and his sensei. He was forced to make a decision to protect his family, despite being hated by the people he loved and viewed as a traitor.

Despite being hated, he helped in fighting against the Japanese. Malaya was free but not before Philip lost what was precious to him. It was through reliving his past, by telling his story to his guest, that he was finally free from his pain and made peace with himself.

To say that I really enjoyed this book would be an understatement. Many people may feel intimidated reading this thick book, but I can say that it's a relatively easy book to read. Author Tan Twan Eng didn't use any big words or fansy sentences to tell his story. Perhaps it was my familiarity with Penang and the history of the Japanese occupation that made this book more enjoyable and immersive.

The Gift of Rain is a great book. Any Malaysian, especially those living on the Penang island and had lived through the occupation, should read it. It became one of my favorite books and I'm really glad that I bought it.