Member Reviews

An enjoyable read.

Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

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An absolutely exceptional book that will never leave me. Set in Malaya (now Malaysia) before and after the Japanese occupation, this tells the story of war from the ground up. No facts and figures, no soldier accounts, but a story of how it affected the five members of the Alcantara family. It's gritty, brutal, moving, tragic and in places, a tough read. Vanessa Chan's writing kept me absolutely immersed in a time and place I previously knew nothing about. I grew to care for these characters, especially Cecily, whose well meaning actions came to be her greatest regret. Unflinching and brilliant, this is a book I will never forget. Five stars.

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The novel opens in Japanese occupied Malaya in 1945 where life is hard and boys are disappearing off the streets. Cecily and her husband are Malaysian, living in Kuala Lumpur. On his 16th birthday, Cecily's own son Abel disappears.

10 years earlier whilst her husband is proudly was working for the British Government she meets Bingley Chan who shares Cecily's disillusionment about the British rule. Cecily is then swept into a life of espionage against the British which culminates in the brutal occupation by the Japanese.

An often untold narrative of how the Malaysian's suffered both before and during World War II.

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A compelling and original imagining of the British and Japanese control of Malaya, in which a woman's betrayal of her husband has horrific consequences for her country and her own children. It is difficult to review this book as I really cannot decide whether or not it was an effective device.

Danger and fear stalk the novel. Boys disappear and suffer horrendous physical and mental torture on the Burma railway. Young girls are hunted down to be forced into prostitution. I could not read late at night as it was truly the stuff of nighmares.

My reservations about the book:

- the author rather overdid the description of the stench - yes, it was important to convey the squalour, but it came up again and again, in my view unnecessarily;

- the ending was not clear, leaving me wondering if it conveyed complete despair or a glimmer of hope.

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A brutal piece of historical fiction set in Malaysia before and during World War II when the country was occupied. by the Japanese army. This is a difficult read in places, and has a slow start, but was interesting overall. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review of the book.

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this book is not something i would normally go for but something made me request it its slow too start and quite a difficult read in places but interesting non the less..

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I enjoyed this accomplished debut novel which was set in Malaysia before and during World War II when the country was occupied. by the Japanese army. Essentially, the story was told in two time periods one before the war, and the second during the war, the story being told as flashbacks. An interesting element to the story was the fact that one of the Malaysian women was spying for the Japanese before the war, as she wanted the British occupiers to be driven out of the country , and for the country to be ruled, by Asian people rather than Europeans. I’ve never read a novel when one of the characters has these ideals, and I thought that was quite a refreshing way to look at the story of war in Malaysia

The setting is a huge part of the story and you feel whilst reading that you are actually yeah there you can feel the heat and the smells of the country as you read. Of course, the story of war has universal elements as well, and the suffering of non-combatant natives is often missed in war novel.
This novel is beautifully crafted and feels complete. The author has a beautiful flowing prose style, which was easy to read, making the book an enjoyable read
The scenes, with the two young girls playing in,and around an abandoned wheelbarrow were unbearably, poignant, a symbol of the lost youth as the children have to grow up so much more quickly in wartime. One of the girls was a worker in a brothel that was still a young girl at heart and needed to play this is so sad.
I would recommend this novel for lovers of a literary relationship based novel if you liked Peachblossom Spring by Melissa Fu ,On earth, we are both briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong you would like this book
The storm we made is published in the UK on the 4th of January 2024 by Hodder and Staughton
This review will appear on NetGalley, UK, good reads, and my book blog, bionicsarahsbooks.wordpress.com. After publication, the review will appear on Amazon UK.

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This book is brutal at times, the consequences of the whole family after one person's actions.
I found it slow to start, but it picked up, and I found myself worrying about Abel especially.
It gives pause for thought once again on the way we treat each other.
Thought provoking.

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This is a fictional story about the Japanese occupation of the British (yes, British despite the mistaken use of English on occasion) Malaya. It is important to record history and fiction based on fact is a good way of doing that. The period was full,of brutality and that is recorded here. It doesn’t make pleasant reading as a result.

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Set in Japanese occupied Malaya in 1944-45 this novel illustrates perfectly how families were brutalised and struggled to survive the conditions in which they were expected to live. Decisions made by Cecily, the mother have far reaching consequences both fir herself and the whole family. This book is poignant and at times it had me in tears, especially as I had a relative who was captured by the Japanese and forced to work on the construction of the railway. This is a sweeping book and i defy you not to get caught up in it. Superb debut novel.

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