Tag Archives: Malaya

#BookReview ‘The House of Doors’ by Tan Twan Eng #historical #Malaya

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The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng is a quiet tale, beautifully written, focussing on the life of one woman in Penang early in the 20th century. Tan Twan EngObserved partly through the eyes of Lesley Hamlyn in 1920s Malaysia and later in 1947 from South Africa, and partly through the voice of Willie Maugham, this is a tale of social class, the freedoms and restrictions on women at that time, Chinese revolutionaries and an Englishwoman charged with murder. Lesley is a society hostess at Cassowary House for her lawyer husband, Robert. Into their life comes the author W Somerset Maugham and his assistant Gerald. The interconnection of this coterie of British people living in an ex-pat community is unpeeled in microscopic detail as relationships, secrets, betrayals, risks and ruin are unveiled.
This novel is an exquisite slow burn. As Lesley suspects Robert of infidelity she begins to take risks, volunteering as a translator in the office of a Chinese dissident Dr Sun Yat Sen. Willie, under financial pressure to produce another bestselling novel, observes the society around him and sees things he did not expect, all the time taking notes. The action takes place in the most sublimely described setting.
This a beautiful novel that will stay with you long after it is finished. Fact mixed with fiction, some of the characters and events are real. Somerset Maugham did visit Penang and this visit inspired his collection of short stories, The Casuarina Tree. Sun Yat Sen’s struggle for modern China was true, as was the murder case of Ethel Proudfoot. Such is the quality of the writing, you sink into this world of colonial Malaya, the tensions beneath the polite surface, contrasting cultures and people.
Excellent.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK AT AMAZON

Here are my reviews of other novels by Tan Twan Eng:-
THE GARDEN OF EVENING MISTS … and try the first paragraph of THE GARDEN OF EVENING MISTS here.
THE GIFT OF RAIN

If you like this, try:-
‘Quartet’ by Jean Rhys
‘Stanley and Elsie by Nicola Upson
‘Islands of Mercy’ by Rose Tremain

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE HOUSE OF DOORS by Tan Twan Eng https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7os via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:- Wendy Holden

#BookReview ‘The Gift of Rain’ by Tan Twan Eng #WW2 #Malay

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If you are searching for another world in which to immerse yourself, then this novel will fit the requirement. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng will suit anyone interested in the Malay Peninsula and its history in World War Two. It is at times tender, brutal, harsh and uplifting. It is a story of love, family, war, of defeat and acceptance. Tan Twan Eng The story opens as Philip Hutton, an elderly man living in a stately house on Penang, an island off the west coast of Malaysia. To his door comes an elderly, frail Japanese woman. They have never met before, but know one person who made an impact on their lives. Endo-san, a Japanese man, once lived on a tiny island near Istana, the Hutton family home. 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.
There are many subtle layers to this tale which left me moved and thirsty for more facts about this period of history. It poses many difficult questions. Like the best novels dealing with war, it challenges you to be honest: what would I have done? It is easy to over-simplify war into ‘them and us’, ‘right and wrong’. At the heart of the story is the island of Penang and the transition of Georgetown, its major town, from a pre-war bustling multi-cultural port to an occupied territory at the mercy of torture and abuse by the Japanese. Some of it is difficult reading, all the more as the place seems alive. The traditions, the cultures, the nature are described vividly. The mix of nationalities on the island is at once its strength but, when war arrives, provide the cracks exploited by the occupiers. Philip is the youngest son of his father with his second wife, a Chinese woman. His two half-brothers and half-sister are English. Philip’s full name is Philip Arminius Choo-Hutton. This mix of races causes tensions, suspicion and betrayal throughout his life.
The Gift of Rain was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2007. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng, about the period in Penang shortly after the end of World War Two, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2012.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK AT AMAZON

Here’s my review of THE GARDEN OF EVENING MISTS, also by Tan Twan Eng. And read the first paragraph HERE.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Translation of Love’ by Lynne Kutsukake
‘Moon Tiger’ by Penelope Lively
‘Exposure’ by Helen Dunmore

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE GIFT OF RAIN by Tan Twan Eng via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-2pW