Play Book Tag discussion

This historical fiction novel kept me company this week when I was feeling under the weather. The writing and the narration are beautiful, even though some of the content is quite harsh. The book is set in Malaysian, and deals with events that occurred during and after the Japanese Invasion (which occurred one week before Pearl Harbor). The main character is an ethnic Chinese woman who lived in the Straits. The country was under British rule until the invasion, and she grew up speaking only English. Her family was captured by the Japanese. She and her sister were imprisoned in a forced labor camp with a secret underground mine. She was the only person who survived, and she never really got over it. Afterwards she helped prosecute war criminals, and later becomes a judge. The book focuses on two periods in her life when she was lived in the Cameron Highlands - a location filled with otherworldly beauty, a tea plantation and an extensive Japanese garden created by a man who once worked for the emperor. The plantation owners and the gardener are fascinating characters. The gardening sections are surprisingly interesting (even though I'm not a gardener) and relaxing to read about. After Japan loses the war. The people of Malaysia then have to deal with the "Emergency" - a time of violence from Chinese communist terrorists (CT's) hiding in the nearby jungle. (May you live in interesting times.)

When she retires, she returns to the highlands, and she begins to write* about what happened during that period of upheaval. We gradually learn more about what happened at different times in her life. There are several personal stories in the book that are rich and nuanced. I like the historical events, cultural issues, and artistic topics that relate to Japan and Malaysia. We see different ethnic and interest groups with their own competing concerns, there is a missing person, and maybe even hidden treason buried in the jungle.

*She retired early because she was diagnosed with a form of aphasia that could take away her ability to communicate within a year. (This part was shocking to me, because I have aphasia, but I don't have any reason to believe it will progress that fast. ) This adds some pressure to her desire to write while she can, and make sense of what happened in the past.

Perfect Japan Book. I liked this one, although not quite as much as the Gifts of Rain from the same author.

Great review. I loved this book when I read it a number of years ago.

I read - and really enjoyed - The Gift of Rain. It is set in Malaysia, and also features events in WW2 and the Japanese invasion of that country. But it isn't set in Japan. Is this one set in Japan?

Book Concierge wrote: "I read - and really enjoyed - The Gift of Rain. It is set in Malaysia, and also features events in WW2 and the Japanese invasion of that country. But it isn't set in Japan. Is this o..."

This one is only partially set in Japan (through character flashbacks/stories) but it earns it’s 87 Japan tags. One of the primary characters and several other characters are Japanese and the book conveys a lot about Japanese history and culture. I have Gift of Rain on my list too, but I’ll have to take a break from this war for a while.