Tan Twan Eng
The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng is set in the Malayan Island of Penang. It unfolds in the first-person voice of Philip Hutton, a man in his seventies and of mixed heritage. Michiko, an aging Japanese woman, visits him to learn about his past friendship with Hayato Endo-san, the Japanese Aikido master. At first, Philip is reluctant to dredge up painful memories of the past, but Michiko encourages and coaxes him.
The narrative then takes the form of an extended flashback, beginning in the late 1930s, with Philip recalling how, at sixteen-years-old, he became Endo-san’s student. His enduring bond with his Japanese sensei lasted through the Japanese occupation of Malay until Endo-san’s death with Japan’s defeat in World War II. Peppered throughout the extended flashback are Philip’s and Michiko’s comments on the unfolding narrative with Michiko coaxing Philip to reveal more of his story.
Philip, the son of a highly prominent English business man and a Chinese mother who died when he was young, struggles with his identity. He meets Endo-san who offers to teach him Aikido. As Endo-san’s student, Philip gains confidence in himself, learns self-discipline, and becomes increasingly adept at Aikido. He hero-worships Endo-san and clings to him as he would to a life-saving device.
Philip complies with Endo-san’s request to show him around the island and provide him with maps, all the while suppressing his suspicions of Endo-san’s motives. He remains loyal to his sensei even when he discovers Endo-san has been spying for the Japanese and has used him to provide information for its invasion of Malay. After Japan’s invasion of the island, Philip agrees to work for the Japanese occupiers in exchange for commitments to protect his family. The increasing brutality of the Japanese spurs him to take on the dual role of collaborator and freedom-fighter. On the one hand, he works as a translator and liaison for the Japanese, witnessing torture, atrocities, and executions; on the other hand, he saves lives by warning resistance fighters of impending Japanese raids. He is viewed by one side as a traitor and is ostracized by his family for working with the Japanese. He is viewed with suspicion by the other side, his Japanese overlords.
Philip is an unreliable and naïve narrator who sees only what he wants to see and rejects warnings about Endo-san’s motives. His allegiance to Endo-san and his alliance with the Japanese infuriates his family, but he persists. Tan Twan Eng captures the complexity of Philip’s divided loyalties as he waffles between loyalty to his sensei, horror at Japanese actions, and a desire to protect his family.
The novel is epic in scope and immersive in nature. Using lyrical diction, Tan Twan Eng immerses the reader in the lush and verdant island of Malay with its colorful architecture, multi-ethnic foods, multi-cultural traditions, and diverse population. The atrocities perpetrated by the Japanese are described in graphic detail. And in spite of some unnecessarily detailed description of martial arts and an irritating, waffling narrator with a penchant for childish introspection, the novel accomplishes a great deal in its depiction of divided loyalties, familial love, friendship, betrayal, and the desperate acts of survival of a population under occupation.