‘A remarkable book.’
Ian McMillan, BBC Radio 3
‘I’m glad to have come across this poignant novel of betrayal and duty. There are familiar elements – coming of age, the tragedy of war – but its setting, its character, its themes, and how these play off one another are highly original … [A] masterful achievement.’
The Age
‘Glorious ... [W]hat it reveals about the human capacity for acceptance and grace, even under the most trying conditions, transcends time and circumstance … Rain is a gift indeed, as robustly absorbing as it is achingly poignant.’
USA Today
‘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.’STARRED REVIEW
David A. Berona, Publishers Weekly
‘The Gift of Rain is a riveting book about loyalty, honour and courage. It asks: How does an individual make moral decisions and carry them out in the face of conflicting loyalties and values?
‘It requires an exceptionally assured writer to do justice to such a theme, but first-time novelist Tan Twan Eng spins out his complex, nuanced story with skill and grace. His style is assured and clear, his imagery powerful, often beautiful.’
Rick Sullivan, Adelaide Advertiser
‘Eng’s writing is beautiful and sensuous, whether he describes a temple full of slithering snakes, the smells of cooking foods or the light of hundreds of fireflies caught in mosquito netting. The Gift of Rain is a splendidly written tale about the consequences of war and friendship.’
Arlene McKanic, Book Page
‘Tan Twan Eng has taken the raw material of history and woven a deeply moving tale of a man’s life … A richly rewarding read.’
Cape Times
‘Novels like this remind me us that there is always more to conflict than good guys and bad guys. It's redemptive story, and well worth taking your time over.’
Lachlan Jobbins, Good Reading
‘The Gift of Rain is a rich and rewarding historical novel.’
Mark Rubbo, Readings Monthly
‘What distinguishes The Gift of Rain is its wistful and surprisingly earnest supernaturalism. Its characters all seem to have met in previous lives, to be haunted by ancient prophecies, or to be cursed to turn into one another … Eng’s vision — the detached, aesthetic air, concentration on the visual and racy, episodic plotting … [A]n accomplished, if eccentric, debut.’
Ed Lake, The Telegraph
‘The Gift of Rain is a powerful first novel about a tumultuous and almost forgotten period of history.’
The Times Literary Supplement
‘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.’
San Francisco Chronicle
‘The Gift of Rain overflows with mesmerising beauty and wonder … Eng is unravelling a true saga here, writing in great detail about the historical milieu that his fictional characters inhabit. He matches his ambitious narrative with highly stylised prose … [A]n eloquent tale about friendship transforms into a frightful chronicle of betrayal and survival … Within this horror, Eng still manages to keep a current of wonder running through his novel.’
Tom Horgen, Star Tribune
‘Vivid … strong narrative … rich in imagery and action … I was so totally hooked that everything else had to be put on hold until I had finished it.’
Sharon Bakar, The Star
‘… beyond the compelling coming-of-age story set in World War 2 Malaya of a half-Chinese, half-English Philip Arminius Khoo-Hutton, there is much to like about this well written novel — the elegant prose (the sometimes meditative rhythm, the choice metaphors), the choreography of fights, the hint of mysticism, the re-creation of locales both familiar and strange at the same time.’
Time Out Kuala Lumpur
‘The Gift of Rain 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 … Even violence is meted out with a certain poetic beauty, and though the particulars of the Japanese occupation of Penang are fictional, the larger picture rings true to history … The Gift of Rain is a rich and rewarding novel.’
Cleveland Plain Dealer
‘Beautifully written and deeply moving, Tan Twan Eng’s debut novel is one of the best books I've ever read … [A] grand old-fashioned novel, intricately plotted, filled with incident and vivid, fascinating characters … Anyone who thinks the novel is in decline should read this one.’
Philadelphia Inquirer
‘A word of warning about this book, Tan Twan Eng’s masterful prose brings time and place so vividly to life that you might suffer from severe disorientation when you finally lift your eyes from the book and discover you are not in fact in 1939 Penang.’
Foyles Blog
‘Thrilling, introspective … Tan Twan Eng’s lucid writing carries along the story effortlessly.’
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
‘The Gift of Rain is a very powerful and evocative novel that urges us to feel for its characters, and the relationships tested in the stranglehold of a world war.’
Media Culture
‘This beautifully written book is full of arresting images.’
Good Book Guide
‘Described as a novel about memory, this wonderful novel creates a landsape in the reader’s imagination, rich in detail and tender in its telling.’
Parent Talk
‘Don’t open this book unless you are ready to be swept away … Intrigue, love, politics, and war are intricately woven together in this story of complex and fascinating characters. The Gift of Rain is a treasure.’
Elaine Petrocelli, 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.’
Sheryl Cotleur, Book Passage
‘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 mesmerising, painful, and illuminates an unquenchable human spirit to survive.’
Miriam Sontz, Powell’s Books
‘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.’
Rick Simonson, Elliott Bay Book Company
‘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.’
Marie du Vaure, Vroman’s Bookstore
‘Strong characters ... page-turning action.’ STARRED REVIEW
Library Journal
‘Strong characters and page-turning action make this a top pick for historical fiction.’
David A. Berona, Plymouth State University
