The Gift of RainThe Gift of Rain
Score Modern
What it's about
In 1939, on the island of Penang in British Malaya, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton, half English and half Chinese, feels at home nowhere. He befriends Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat who teaches him aikido and becomes his mentor. When Japan invades, Philip must decide where his loyalties lie, and his choices will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Why it's worth reading
It was longlisted for the Booker Prize. It's a lush, moving novel about friendship, betrayal and war in a corner of history few readers know.
You'll love it if you liked
The English Patient
Memoirs of a Geisha
AtonementGood to know
It's long and slow-building, with brutal scenes of wartime occupation. Tan's second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, is a fine companion.
By the numbers
- Readers90 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics15 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller7 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
On our reserve shelf: it's well reviewed, but isn't currently a prize winner, a lifetime bestseller or a book everyone's talking about, so we don't rank it. We check again every month, and it can still turn up in your 50 once you've read most of our ranked books.
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Tan Twan Eng
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Quick answers
Is The Gift of Rain worth reading?
It was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Its Must-Read Score is 71.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Gift of Rain about?
In 1939, on the island of Penang in British Malaya, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton, half English and half Chinese, feels at home nowhere. He befriends Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat who teaches him aikido and becomes his mentor. When Japan invades, Philip must decide where his loyalties lie, and his choices will haunt him for the rest of his life.
How long does it take to read The Gift of Rain?
About 8 hours (336 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Gift of Rain?
If you liked it, try The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden or Atonement by Ian McEwan.