What do you think?
Rate this book
The Storm We Made
ŷ Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2024), Nominee for Readers' Favorite Debut Novel (2024)An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.
A novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII—and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family.
Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara’s family is in terrible danger: her fifteen-year-old son, Abel, has disappeared, and her youngest daughter, Jasmin, is confined in a basement to prevent being pressed into service at the comfort stations. Her eldest daughter Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day.
Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth.
A decade prior, Cecily had been desperate to be more than a housewife to a low-level bureaucrat in British-colonized Malaya. A chance meeting with the charismatic General Fuijwara lured her into a life of espionage, pursuing dreams of an “Asia for Asians.� Instead, Cecily helped usher in an even more brutal occupation by the Japanese. Ten years later as the war reaches its apex, her actions have caught up with her. Now her family is on the brink of destruction—and she will do anything to save them.
A novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII—and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family.
Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara’s family is in terrible danger: her fifteen-year-old son, Abel, has disappeared, and her youngest daughter, Jasmin, is confined in a basement to prevent being pressed into service at the comfort stations. Her eldest daughter Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day.
Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth.
A decade prior, Cecily had been desperate to be more than a housewife to a low-level bureaucrat in British-colonized Malaya. A chance meeting with the charismatic General Fuijwara lured her into a life of espionage, pursuing dreams of an “Asia for Asians.� Instead, Cecily helped usher in an even more brutal occupation by the Japanese. Ten years later as the war reaches its apex, her actions have caught up with her. Now her family is on the brink of destruction—and she will do anything to save them.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 2, 2024
2,000 people are currently reading
116k people want to read
About the author
Vanessa Chan
2books401followersVanessa Chan was born and raised in Malaysia. She is the author of The Storm We Made, an international bestseller, and a Good Morning America and BBC Radio 2 book club pick. The novel, her first, will be translated in over twenty languages worldwide. She also loves to read - thrillers are a particular favorite, plus literary fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,777 reviews
November 17, 2023
The Storm We Made fulfills my demands for historical fiction - to teach me something new without sacrificing a good story. I was unaware of how WWII played out in Malaya (now Malaysia). Malaya had been ruled by the British for 100 years before the Japanese invaded in 1941. Promising an “Asia for Asians�, they actually were worse than the British - taking young men as slave labor, killing civilians indiscriminately.
The story alternates between 1935 moving forward and 1945. The earlier sections are told only from Cecily’s POV. She’s Eurasian, a wife and mother. And she willingly becomes a spy for the Japanese. Unlike her obsequious husband, she hated the way the British looked down their noses at the locals. And she’s also in love with the mysterious Fujiwara and it’s this love more than anything that guides her choices.
The latter sections also cover her three children - her daughter who works in a tea house, her teenage son who is captured and ends up in a slave labor camp and her youngest, whom they are attempting to hide so she doesn’t become a comfort girl. Obviously, things didn’t turn out the way Cecile expected. The latter sections deal with what it takes to survive, even as the war is turning against the Japanese. It encompasses different types of strength. The ending was so poignant, as the innocent are the ones that pay the price.
The characters here are fully fleshed out. Cecile wasn’t an easy character to like, but she was an interesting one, with her feelings of guilt and betrayal.
My thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.
The story alternates between 1935 moving forward and 1945. The earlier sections are told only from Cecily’s POV. She’s Eurasian, a wife and mother. And she willingly becomes a spy for the Japanese. Unlike her obsequious husband, she hated the way the British looked down their noses at the locals. And she’s also in love with the mysterious Fujiwara and it’s this love more than anything that guides her choices.
The latter sections also cover her three children - her daughter who works in a tea house, her teenage son who is captured and ends up in a slave labor camp and her youngest, whom they are attempting to hide so she doesn’t become a comfort girl. Obviously, things didn’t turn out the way Cecile expected. The latter sections deal with what it takes to survive, even as the war is turning against the Japanese. It encompasses different types of strength. The ending was so poignant, as the innocent are the ones that pay the price.
The characters here are fully fleshed out. Cecile wasn’t an easy character to like, but she was an interesting one, with her feelings of guilt and betrayal.
My thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.
May 27, 2024
i was so excited to read this book, which is so many of my favorite things: women who spy! family drama! historical fiction about an under-discussed geopolitical moment!
its purpose � to show WWII and the era leading up to it from the british- then japanese-ruled malaysian perspective� is excellent.
unfortunately, the way this book conveyed it undermined the message.
so much tragedy occurs here. violence of every type, deaths of multiple main characters, colonization, war, labor camps, comfort stations, racism, sexism, assaults, murders, torture. it's wrenching and difficult to read.
that isn't a con of this book, obviously. all of those things really happened, and the forgotten stories of the people that experienced it deserved to be told.
it's the fact that these don't feel like real people, or real stories. our characters kill people without regret. they see untold horrors and don't feel them. they keep unforgivable secrets, commit crimes, experience trauma, and give none of it a second thought. characters change from page to page, and motivations, development arcs, and things we hold to be true aren't consistently upheld.
there is nothing that will allow us to ground ourselves in order to really feel these stories as they deserve to be felt. a character who can't pick up a stick in one paragraph is running across a camp and doing his own stunts in the next. 4 people we've been following for hundreds of pages die within one chapter. these people do terrible things without the painful justification that would allow us to feel it alongside them.
bad things happen for no reason, to people who don't feel real—nor does their suffering, keeping us on the outside as one horrible scene after another unfolds.
bottom line: i am glad this story is being told. i wish it was better equipped to be shared.
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
its purpose � to show WWII and the era leading up to it from the british- then japanese-ruled malaysian perspective� is excellent.
unfortunately, the way this book conveyed it undermined the message.
so much tragedy occurs here. violence of every type, deaths of multiple main characters, colonization, war, labor camps, comfort stations, racism, sexism, assaults, murders, torture. it's wrenching and difficult to read.
that isn't a con of this book, obviously. all of those things really happened, and the forgotten stories of the people that experienced it deserved to be told.
it's the fact that these don't feel like real people, or real stories. our characters kill people without regret. they see untold horrors and don't feel them. they keep unforgivable secrets, commit crimes, experience trauma, and give none of it a second thought. characters change from page to page, and motivations, development arcs, and things we hold to be true aren't consistently upheld.
there is nothing that will allow us to ground ourselves in order to really feel these stories as they deserve to be felt. a character who can't pick up a stick in one paragraph is running across a camp and doing his own stunts in the next. 4 people we've been following for hundreds of pages die within one chapter. these people do terrible things without the painful justification that would allow us to feel it alongside them.
bad things happen for no reason, to people who don't feel real—nor does their suffering, keeping us on the outside as one horrible scene after another unfolds.
bottom line: i am glad this story is being told. i wish it was better equipped to be shared.
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
February 12, 2024
I love a different perspective on WWII. This one takes place in Malaysia (Malaya) when the Japanese invade.
Cecily is the head of the family. Her son, Abel, has disappeared only to become a prisoner. Her youngest daughter, Jasmine, has run away and she fears the soldiers will hurt her. Her older daughter, Jujube, is on the brink of hysteria for trying to protect her sister from the Japanese soldiers. The world has turned upside down. Cecily blames herself for what has happened because of her past. Her own betrayal- to her country and family.
The story is told in parallel. Before the Japanese invade; and the after.The themes of family; guilt; loyalty. What pulls the fabric of society apart when war enters. How dehumanized we can become when hate fills our hearts and inhumane acts become the norm.
The one criticism I have is a thought Abel had which didn’t connect with the time and place he was at. This created a bit of a disconnect for me.
Overall, Chan has delivered a solid and memorable HF debut.
4⭐️
Cecily is the head of the family. Her son, Abel, has disappeared only to become a prisoner. Her youngest daughter, Jasmine, has run away and she fears the soldiers will hurt her. Her older daughter, Jujube, is on the brink of hysteria for trying to protect her sister from the Japanese soldiers. The world has turned upside down. Cecily blames herself for what has happened because of her past. Her own betrayal- to her country and family.
The story is told in parallel. Before the Japanese invade; and the after.The themes of family; guilt; loyalty. What pulls the fabric of society apart when war enters. How dehumanized we can become when hate fills our hearts and inhumane acts become the norm.
The one criticism I have is a thought Abel had which didn’t connect with the time and place he was at. This created a bit of a disconnect for me.
Overall, Chan has delivered a solid and memorable HF debut.
4⭐️
August 11, 2023
what a privilege it is to read my favorite book of 2024 in 2023. it’s been awhile since i’ve come upon a book like Vanessa Chan’s THE STORM WE MADE.
from its first words, STORM swept me away to Malaya (present-day Malaysia) during its British, then Japanese, occupations before & during World War II. the narrative follows Cecily, a housewife turned spy, and her children. the last page of their story left me sobbing on the subway, such that i flipped back several chapters and began reading again, just to stay with the characters a little longer.
there are rich layers to this book: as the editor writes in her galley letter, it has “the motor of a thriller, the heart of a historical novel, and the line level artistry of a literary gem.� STORM is about an extensively studied war, but from a front that is rarely considered. it is also about humanity’s ability to reach for connection and compassion amidst the carnage of domination and imperialism. it is about love in so many facets: between family, neighbors, paramours, friends, and even across enemy lines. most of all, it is about innocence: its value, its loss, and the people prematurely stripped of it.
my breath often caught in my throat at the beauty of the words and the kaleidoscope of images they painted. this is Chan’s debut novel, yes, but make no mistake: it is the masterpiece of a talent who has complete command of her craft. here, there is none of the self-satisfaction of one’s own eloquence that often appears in debut work. there is only writing at its best: connecting hearts across time and space. THE STORM WE MADE has changed my perspective on war and humanity; it has also shifted my sense of what great novels can do.
from its first words, STORM swept me away to Malaya (present-day Malaysia) during its British, then Japanese, occupations before & during World War II. the narrative follows Cecily, a housewife turned spy, and her children. the last page of their story left me sobbing on the subway, such that i flipped back several chapters and began reading again, just to stay with the characters a little longer.
there are rich layers to this book: as the editor writes in her galley letter, it has “the motor of a thriller, the heart of a historical novel, and the line level artistry of a literary gem.� STORM is about an extensively studied war, but from a front that is rarely considered. it is also about humanity’s ability to reach for connection and compassion amidst the carnage of domination and imperialism. it is about love in so many facets: between family, neighbors, paramours, friends, and even across enemy lines. most of all, it is about innocence: its value, its loss, and the people prematurely stripped of it.
my breath often caught in my throat at the beauty of the words and the kaleidoscope of images they painted. this is Chan’s debut novel, yes, but make no mistake: it is the masterpiece of a talent who has complete command of her craft. here, there is none of the self-satisfaction of one’s own eloquence that often appears in debut work. there is only writing at its best: connecting hearts across time and space. THE STORM WE MADE has changed my perspective on war and humanity; it has also shifted my sense of what great novels can do.
May 23, 2024
Many thanks to Marysue Rucci Books, Simon Elements, and NetGalley for providing me with this e-ARC. This review is my opinion. Note: any quote cited in this review is from the advanced reader version and may be subjected to change upon publication.
*4.5/5
Above anything, is a riveting and painful portrait of a Malay family's life under Japanese occupation during the Second World War, but it is also the tale of endless suffering and violence between a mother and her children. Cecily Alcantara, mother of Jujube, Abel and Jazmin, has been helping a Japanese general to plan the "liberation" of her country a decade before the war. Charmed by Fuijwara and his ideology "Asia for Asians", Cecily's collaboration with the Japanese brought upon her country a brutal fate and her family near destruction. This is a tale of horrible suffering, but also of love, hope, and the desire to revolt, both against the occupation and against oneself.
Despite its fragmented storytelling, I was captured by the force of the book's humanity. Each character is equally detestable as they are pitiful. Cecily, the housewife trapped in the monotony of her condition, seeks to take back her life from the hand of the dominating male society. Jujube, strong-willed, proves to be as empathetic as she is cruel in face of adversity. Abel, the martyr, who drowns himself in sorrow to escape the pain. Jazmin, the youngest, the most innocent, who tries to be free. The orchestra of characters weaves an aching fresco of lives torn apart by one's own humanity.
I believe that a writer's force resides firmly in the way they write their character, especially in a genre like this, and Vanessa Chan didn't fail to deliver. Throughout the book, I find myself groaning exasperately at the characters' "stupid" decision, at the children's naivete and lack of survival instincts, but then I remember that a 7-year-old child wasn't supposed to bear the violence of the war, that Cecily, as terrible and naive of a person she was, remains a mother and a woman first of all. The impressive characterization of this book is what carried me through this read, and reminded me that many of us was fortunate enough to never know the violence of war.
Overall, I thoroughly recommend for those who wants a strongly compelling book about how humanity persists in face of violence, or for those, who wants to learn about the horrifying Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia during WW2, too often forgotten in our history books.
Find me on Instagram: @shardsofdeadlove
"But what made people like Jujube and her family prizes to be won, cattle to be slaughtered, daughters to be raped, animals to be starved? [...] Your enemy looking like you - recognizing yourself in your enemy - made it so much worse because it mirrored back to you all the darkness you held."
*4.5/5
Above anything, is a riveting and painful portrait of a Malay family's life under Japanese occupation during the Second World War, but it is also the tale of endless suffering and violence between a mother and her children. Cecily Alcantara, mother of Jujube, Abel and Jazmin, has been helping a Japanese general to plan the "liberation" of her country a decade before the war. Charmed by Fuijwara and his ideology "Asia for Asians", Cecily's collaboration with the Japanese brought upon her country a brutal fate and her family near destruction. This is a tale of horrible suffering, but also of love, hope, and the desire to revolt, both against the occupation and against oneself.
Despite its fragmented storytelling, I was captured by the force of the book's humanity. Each character is equally detestable as they are pitiful. Cecily, the housewife trapped in the monotony of her condition, seeks to take back her life from the hand of the dominating male society. Jujube, strong-willed, proves to be as empathetic as she is cruel in face of adversity. Abel, the martyr, who drowns himself in sorrow to escape the pain. Jazmin, the youngest, the most innocent, who tries to be free. The orchestra of characters weaves an aching fresco of lives torn apart by one's own humanity.
I believe that a writer's force resides firmly in the way they write their character, especially in a genre like this, and Vanessa Chan didn't fail to deliver. Throughout the book, I find myself groaning exasperately at the characters' "stupid" decision, at the children's naivete and lack of survival instincts, but then I remember that a 7-year-old child wasn't supposed to bear the violence of the war, that Cecily, as terrible and naive of a person she was, remains a mother and a woman first of all. The impressive characterization of this book is what carried me through this read, and reminded me that many of us was fortunate enough to never know the violence of war.
Overall, I thoroughly recommend for those who wants a strongly compelling book about how humanity persists in face of violence, or for those, who wants to learn about the horrifying Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia during WW2, too often forgotten in our history books.
"Brother Luke had taught the boys at school that absolution came only from god. But where was god when Akiro broke him on the inside, where was god when Brother Luke sold little boys to save his own skin, where was god now when his options were to murder to await a fate worse than death?"
Find me on Instagram: @shardsofdeadlove
January 15, 2024
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan was the third book that I had recently read that was written about the Japanese occupation during World War II. It was author, Vanessa Chan’s debut novel. The Storm We Made took place in Malaysia which back in the 1930’s and 1940’s was known as Malaya. The chapters alternated between 1945 and the early to mid 1930’s and were told from several different POV’s. Malaya was under British colonial rule during the 1930’s until the Japanese occupation that occurred in 1941. The characters in The Storm We Made were completely fleshed out. They were absolutely believable and well developed. The Storm We Made centered around the lives of the Alcantara family prior to the Japanese occupation and during it.
Cecily and Gordon Alcantara were married, lived in Malaya and over time had three children together. Their lives in Malaya were better than many others because Cecily’s husband, Gordon, worked for the British in a better than average position. Cecily and Gordon were occasionally invited to some social functions that were hosted by the British. It bothered and annoyed Cecily to no end how their British counterparts looked down upon them. Cecily disliked the way the British treated the locals. The British displayed an attitude of superiority. Cecily was bored with her life as it was. She went through the motions of being a housewife and mother but she wanted something more.
Then she met Bingley Chan who was really Fujiwara, a Japanese General in the Japanese Army. He was in Malaya for the purpose of gaining information from the British. When Cecily met Fujiwara, he appealed to her dislike of the British. Fujiwara was looking for any information he could secure that would aid in the infiltration of the Japanese army into British ruled Malaya. He convinced Cecily to become a spy for the Japanese army. Cecily agreed with Fujiwara that “Asia for Asians� was what the people of Malaya needed and would ultimately want. She was fed up with the British and their treatment. Cecily saw hope in a Malaya ruled by Asians. She was enticed by Fujiwara’s plan and was willing to help him in any way she could. His vision for Malaya was so in line with the one she had. Cecily believed whole heartedly in the cause he made her believe they were working towards. She ultimately fell in love with Fujiwara over time.
There is a saying that goes like, “the grass is always greener on the other side�. By the time Cecily came to see her errors it was too late. After the Japanese infiltrated and occupied Malaya, Cecily realized how mistaken she had been about Fujiwara’s position and predictions. Life under the Japanese occupation was far more brutal, dangerous and violent than life had been under British rule. There were now imposed curfews, major food shortages, dangers around every corner, adolescent boys were being rounded up never to be seen again and young girls were being kidnapped to serve as comfort girls for the Japanese soldiers. By this time, Cecily was feeling guilty about the role she played abetting the Japanese in their successful attempt to occupy Malaya. How wrong she had been.
Cecily had three children. Jujube was the oldest. She worked in a tea house and was often the recipient of uncalled for advances by drunken Japanese soldiers. Abel was the middle child. He was a handsome and well liked adolescent boy. When Abel turned fifteen, he was forced into the back of a Japanese truck and taken to a work camp where he was abused and mistreated. His family had no idea where he had disappeared to. That broke Cecily. Her guilt was even stronger than ever. She had to prevent her family from ever finding out what she had done in helping facilitate the Japanese occupation. Jasmin, Cecily’s youngest child, was only seven at the time the Japanese occupied Malaya. Japanese soldiers began to go door to door in search of young female children. These young girls were used as comfort girls for the Japanese soldiers� pleasure. Cecily and Jujube insisted that Jasmin remain in their basement during the day, out of sight from Japanese soldiers. Cecily insisted on chopping off Jasmin’s beautiful hair and dressed Jasmin in Abel’s clothes. She tried to make Jasmin look like a boy as much as possible so the Japanese soldiers would leave her alone.
This was such a painful time in the life of the Malayan people. Most Malayans blatantly refused to speak about this time because their memories were just too brutal to recall. I was traumatized to learn about how the Japanese treated the people they ruled. I applaud Vanessa Chan for the research she conducted and many interviews she organized in order to present an accurate account of what happened in this part of the world during World War II. Some parts were difficult to read. I had a hard time liking Cecily’s character. Some if not all of her choices were self serving. It bothered me that she completely lost herself in her guilt, shame and despair and thus neglected her own family especially her children. The Storm We Made was a moving debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Vanessa Chan writes next. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Marysue Rucci Books for allowing me to read The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Cecily and Gordon Alcantara were married, lived in Malaya and over time had three children together. Their lives in Malaya were better than many others because Cecily’s husband, Gordon, worked for the British in a better than average position. Cecily and Gordon were occasionally invited to some social functions that were hosted by the British. It bothered and annoyed Cecily to no end how their British counterparts looked down upon them. Cecily disliked the way the British treated the locals. The British displayed an attitude of superiority. Cecily was bored with her life as it was. She went through the motions of being a housewife and mother but she wanted something more.
Then she met Bingley Chan who was really Fujiwara, a Japanese General in the Japanese Army. He was in Malaya for the purpose of gaining information from the British. When Cecily met Fujiwara, he appealed to her dislike of the British. Fujiwara was looking for any information he could secure that would aid in the infiltration of the Japanese army into British ruled Malaya. He convinced Cecily to become a spy for the Japanese army. Cecily agreed with Fujiwara that “Asia for Asians� was what the people of Malaya needed and would ultimately want. She was fed up with the British and their treatment. Cecily saw hope in a Malaya ruled by Asians. She was enticed by Fujiwara’s plan and was willing to help him in any way she could. His vision for Malaya was so in line with the one she had. Cecily believed whole heartedly in the cause he made her believe they were working towards. She ultimately fell in love with Fujiwara over time.
There is a saying that goes like, “the grass is always greener on the other side�. By the time Cecily came to see her errors it was too late. After the Japanese infiltrated and occupied Malaya, Cecily realized how mistaken she had been about Fujiwara’s position and predictions. Life under the Japanese occupation was far more brutal, dangerous and violent than life had been under British rule. There were now imposed curfews, major food shortages, dangers around every corner, adolescent boys were being rounded up never to be seen again and young girls were being kidnapped to serve as comfort girls for the Japanese soldiers. By this time, Cecily was feeling guilty about the role she played abetting the Japanese in their successful attempt to occupy Malaya. How wrong she had been.
Cecily had three children. Jujube was the oldest. She worked in a tea house and was often the recipient of uncalled for advances by drunken Japanese soldiers. Abel was the middle child. He was a handsome and well liked adolescent boy. When Abel turned fifteen, he was forced into the back of a Japanese truck and taken to a work camp where he was abused and mistreated. His family had no idea where he had disappeared to. That broke Cecily. Her guilt was even stronger than ever. She had to prevent her family from ever finding out what she had done in helping facilitate the Japanese occupation. Jasmin, Cecily’s youngest child, was only seven at the time the Japanese occupied Malaya. Japanese soldiers began to go door to door in search of young female children. These young girls were used as comfort girls for the Japanese soldiers� pleasure. Cecily and Jujube insisted that Jasmin remain in their basement during the day, out of sight from Japanese soldiers. Cecily insisted on chopping off Jasmin’s beautiful hair and dressed Jasmin in Abel’s clothes. She tried to make Jasmin look like a boy as much as possible so the Japanese soldiers would leave her alone.
This was such a painful time in the life of the Malayan people. Most Malayans blatantly refused to speak about this time because their memories were just too brutal to recall. I was traumatized to learn about how the Japanese treated the people they ruled. I applaud Vanessa Chan for the research she conducted and many interviews she organized in order to present an accurate account of what happened in this part of the world during World War II. Some parts were difficult to read. I had a hard time liking Cecily’s character. Some if not all of her choices were self serving. It bothered me that she completely lost herself in her guilt, shame and despair and thus neglected her own family especially her children. The Storm We Made was a moving debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Vanessa Chan writes next. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Marysue Rucci Books for allowing me to read The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
June 5, 2024
This Good Morning America Book Club January 2024 selection was donated to my Little Free Library Shed for the neighborhood. I have been fortunate to win a couple of Good Morning America selections in the past for my LFL (Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and The Niger Wife by Vanessa Walters).
My review�
This book was difficult to read. Its setting starts with the lead-up to WWII with Japan’s invasion and occupation of Malaya (now known as Malaysia). As readers we will witness horrific violence, women becoming spies upon their neighbors, boys being forced into labor camps, girls being kidnapped to become *comfort women, scenes of brutality inflicted by Japanese soldiers, that will make one wonder whether they can endure the book beyond a few pages, let alone, chapters.
The question that lies with the characters�
What are they willing to do during wartime to stay alive?
The novel shows how power is given and taken � including the desire for more…power.
And yet, simmering beneath it all, is a hope for something better. For the self, the family, the nation.
But can we as readers even find our way to that place of hope when we are struggling through the disturbing visuals of humanity on every other page?
I had hopes that Chan could find a way to ease our reading experience between wartime scenes and narrative by making it feel less strained � even, less vivid. I am not good with “reality viewing� in this way and her over-explaining just felt quite uncomfortable for me.
And, if I am being truly honest, which I am…I walked away from this novel several times and started and finished other books in-between this one, because the scenes were too hard for me to read. And each time I picked it up again, I debated whether I should just DNF the book completely.
Because…I truly kept wondering…will human connection be possible? I’d like to believe that characters do find ways to love and laugh in the face of these extraordinary times being described. But the difficulty of reading this story made it hard for me to connect to it and feel it.
I may be an outlier. Still, I would say to any one choosing to read this book, to approach with caution.
Triggers: Violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Wartime
*comfort women definition: a woman or girl who was forced to engage in sexual activity with Japanese soldiers as part of a system of brothels operated by the Imperial Japanese Army in its occupied territories between 1937 and 1945.
My review�
This book was difficult to read. Its setting starts with the lead-up to WWII with Japan’s invasion and occupation of Malaya (now known as Malaysia). As readers we will witness horrific violence, women becoming spies upon their neighbors, boys being forced into labor camps, girls being kidnapped to become *comfort women, scenes of brutality inflicted by Japanese soldiers, that will make one wonder whether they can endure the book beyond a few pages, let alone, chapters.
The question that lies with the characters�
What are they willing to do during wartime to stay alive?
The novel shows how power is given and taken � including the desire for more…power.
And yet, simmering beneath it all, is a hope for something better. For the self, the family, the nation.
But can we as readers even find our way to that place of hope when we are struggling through the disturbing visuals of humanity on every other page?
I had hopes that Chan could find a way to ease our reading experience between wartime scenes and narrative by making it feel less strained � even, less vivid. I am not good with “reality viewing� in this way and her over-explaining just felt quite uncomfortable for me.
And, if I am being truly honest, which I am…I walked away from this novel several times and started and finished other books in-between this one, because the scenes were too hard for me to read. And each time I picked it up again, I debated whether I should just DNF the book completely.
Because…I truly kept wondering…will human connection be possible? I’d like to believe that characters do find ways to love and laugh in the face of these extraordinary times being described. But the difficulty of reading this story made it hard for me to connect to it and feel it.
I may be an outlier. Still, I would say to any one choosing to read this book, to approach with caution.
Triggers: Violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Wartime
*comfort women definition: a woman or girl who was forced to engage in sexual activity with Japanese soldiers as part of a system of brothels operated by the Imperial Japanese Army in its occupied territories between 1937 and 1945.
Read
April 16, 2024DNF due to detailed description of pedophila/ rape
I was really looking forward to reading this but the content was too intense.
I was listening to the audiobook, so perhaps a hardcopy would make it so I could skip the parts I don’t want to read. My daughter read and recommended this book to me. She says it’s phenomenal, although sad, heartbreaking and violent. Most WW2 books are gruelingly painful to read but many don’t go into detailed descriptions of the crime ( especially from a young victim’s POV ) but imply what’s happening so you understand.
I was really looking forward to reading this but the content was too intense.
I was listening to the audiobook, so perhaps a hardcopy would make it so I could skip the parts I don’t want to read. My daughter read and recommended this book to me. She says it’s phenomenal, although sad, heartbreaking and violent. Most WW2 books are gruelingly painful to read but many don’t go into detailed descriptions of the crime ( especially from a young victim’s POV ) but imply what’s happening so you understand.
December 18, 2023
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.
In 1945, in Malaya, Cecily Alcantara finds her family in grave danger during the Japanese occupation. Her 15-year-old son is missing, and her youngest daughter hides in the basement all day to prevent being forced to work in comfort stations. Cecily knows that this is all her doing from a decade prior and that her family must never find out.
I am of two minds of STORM. On the one hand, I love the propulsive writing so much that I finished this book in two sittings. Chan perfectly sets the stage for an entertaining domestic thriller during British colonization and the Japanese occupation of Malay.
I appreciate that a historical fiction set in Asia with mostly Asian characters can break into the suspense/thriller genre—if I read STORM more as a domestic suspense novel—that's traditionally been relatively homogeneous. Cecily's narrative peers into the lives of an unfulfilled housewife as she fights against misogyny and white colonialism, providing fascinating insights into the lives of Malay women.
Nonetheless—and I admit this comes from a reader who reads many Asian WW2 stories—I crave deeper character development and exploration. I wanted to know how Cecily's embrace of "an Asia for Asians" and the disintegration of this dream affected her psyche. Other than her desire to be seen, which manifests as lust, what drives Cecily's decisions? Similarly, I longed for a deeper examination of the irony behind "swapping one colonizer for another" that befell so many hopeful Asians during WW2.
I also find the alternating POVs between four characters distracting and dilute the emotional tension I hoped for. Instead, Chan often relies on dramatic events as a plot device rather than digging deeper into each character's inner world. As a Taiwanese reader who's more well-versed in the profoundly traumatic events that occurred during Japanese annexation, I have complicated feelings about turning the historical events of comfort women and the mass murder of young men into a soap opera-y story. But that perhaps says more about my unprocessed anger than STORM's message.
Ultimately, I still enjoyed reading STORM and would read Chan's future work. For readers who don't read Asian WW2 stories as much, STORM is an entertaining introduction to the complex history of Malay.
In 1945, in Malaya, Cecily Alcantara finds her family in grave danger during the Japanese occupation. Her 15-year-old son is missing, and her youngest daughter hides in the basement all day to prevent being forced to work in comfort stations. Cecily knows that this is all her doing from a decade prior and that her family must never find out.
I am of two minds of STORM. On the one hand, I love the propulsive writing so much that I finished this book in two sittings. Chan perfectly sets the stage for an entertaining domestic thriller during British colonization and the Japanese occupation of Malay.
I appreciate that a historical fiction set in Asia with mostly Asian characters can break into the suspense/thriller genre—if I read STORM more as a domestic suspense novel—that's traditionally been relatively homogeneous. Cecily's narrative peers into the lives of an unfulfilled housewife as she fights against misogyny and white colonialism, providing fascinating insights into the lives of Malay women.
Nonetheless—and I admit this comes from a reader who reads many Asian WW2 stories—I crave deeper character development and exploration. I wanted to know how Cecily's embrace of "an Asia for Asians" and the disintegration of this dream affected her psyche. Other than her desire to be seen, which manifests as lust, what drives Cecily's decisions? Similarly, I longed for a deeper examination of the irony behind "swapping one colonizer for another" that befell so many hopeful Asians during WW2.
I also find the alternating POVs between four characters distracting and dilute the emotional tension I hoped for. Instead, Chan often relies on dramatic events as a plot device rather than digging deeper into each character's inner world. As a Taiwanese reader who's more well-versed in the profoundly traumatic events that occurred during Japanese annexation, I have complicated feelings about turning the historical events of comfort women and the mass murder of young men into a soap opera-y story. But that perhaps says more about my unprocessed anger than STORM's message.
Ultimately, I still enjoyed reading STORM and would read Chan's future work. For readers who don't read Asian WW2 stories as much, STORM is an entertaining introduction to the complex history of Malay.
February 20, 2024
First of all, let me just say that this book definitely did not read like a debut to me. The writing flowed beautifully, the characters were fully fleshed out and developed, and the historical as well as cultural details were meticulously rendered to the point that I felt completely immersed and transported to the time and place of the story (Japanese-occupied Malaya during WWII). One of the things I love about historical fiction is its ability to bring awareness to events / people / situations, etc., in history through the means of an engaging story, with the best ones often triggering a desire to read up on the subject matter more after finishing the book itself. In this case, even though I was already familiar with the Japanese occupation of various Asian countries during WWII (given my Chinese background, I grew up hearing endless stories about the antagonism between China and Japan during that time), I still felt compelled to read more about the events mentioned in the book (specifically, the Japanese invasion and occupation of Malaysia from 1941 to 1945). In her author letter, Vanessa Chan mentions her inspiration for the book being from her grandparents, who were initially reluctant to talk about those Occupation years, but ultimately relented and provided her with the many insights into how they survived that time period, many details of which she eventually incorporated into her story.
The angle that Chan ended up taking with this story � having it revolve around a wife and mother in British-colonized Malaya who provides intelligence to a Japanese general that ultimately ushers in a brutal occupation � was an interesting and unique one. When the story opens in February 1945, Cecily’s family is in a bad spot: her husband Gordon, formerly a high-ranking bureaucrat in the British-run colonial government, has been reduced to doing physical labor at a sheet-metal factory; her teenage son Abel has just disappeared, following the fate of other boys in the town who were kidnapped to a camp guarded by Japanese soldiers; her youngest daughter Jasmin has to hide in the basement all day to avoid being recruited into service at the comfort stations; and her eldest daughter Jujube is pushed to the brink of madness trying to protect her little sister while also attempting to maintain order in the household. Seeing her family coming apart at the seams, Cecily understands that this is all her doing � we are then taken back to 10 years earlier, where we get Cecily’s backstory and how she came to meet the man who would change her life forever: Shigeru Fujiwara, a charismatic Japanese general who convinces Cecily to work with him to achieve the goal of “Asia for Asians� by overthrowing the British colonial government in Malaya. Their efforts prove successful and the Japanese invade a few years later. Unfortunately, the Japanese occupiers turn out to be cruel and callous, killing “more people in three years than the British colonizers had in fifty.� The rest of the story alternates between these two time periods as well as between the perspectives of Cecily and her three children, with the timelines eventually merging as the war comes to an end and we see the impact of Cecily’s actions on both her family as well as on the community at large.
This was one of those books that I almost finished in one sitting, as the story was so compelling that I found myself unable to stop turning the pages. With that said however, this was also a difficult and exhausting read due to the heavy subject matter � while this was expected given the premise going into it, what I didn’t expect was the emotional depth of the characters, who were each written in ways that made it hard not to feel for them in some capacity, despite their actions. As I was reading, I was honestly preparing myself to hate both Fujiwara and Cecily, but when I got to the end, well, let’s just say that I had to rethink my feelings about them (and I’m still thinking about it, even now).
One of the things that also struck me about this book was how much I resonated with certain aspects of it � not the parts about espionage or the war of course, but rather the complexity of the feelings and circumstances that inform some of the characters� decisions. I think this complexity is best described by Chan herself in her author’s note where she states: “I wrote about inherited pain, womanhood, mothers, daughters, and sisters, and how the choices we make reverberate through the generations of our families and communities in ways we often can’t predict. I wrote about carrying the legacy of colonization in your body, about being drawn to a toxic man, about complicated friendships, about living a life in fragments, about the ambiguity of right and wrong when survival is at stake.� Indeed, I can relate to nearly all of these things due to having encountered them in some form in my own life. Perhaps this is also why I was able to empathize with many of the characters, even the unlikable ones who made the worst of decisions � with Cecily specifically, her actions were inexcusable and unforgivable of course, but she also paid the ultimate price for what she did…whether what she endured was punishment enough, that will be for each reader to determine.
Received ARC from Marysue Rucci Books via NetGalley.
November 7, 2023
Cecily Alcantara is married to Gordon, she has three children and after the Japanese invaded Mayala four years ago and nothing has turned out she's been led to believe. Cecily is scared for her children, her son Abel is fifteen and boys his age disappear never to be seen again, Jujube works at a tea house frequented by groping Japanese soldiers, her youngest daughter Jasmin is only seven and innocent.
Ten years prior, Cecily's a bored Eurasian mother and housewife, she meets charismatic Bingley Chan aka General Fuijwara, and she starts giving him details about her husbands work and any relevant gossip she overhears, she wants Mayala to no longer be under British Colonial rule, and instead be governed by Asians.
Instead, life under Japanese occupation is brutal, with food shortages, curfews, schools close, the Japanese take anything of value and everyone has to bow to them and punished if they don’t do it correctly, young girls and ladies are assaulted and become comfort women, and teenage boys vanish.
The dual timeline story is told from the four main characters points of view, Cecily, Abel, Jujube and Jasmin and their experiences.
I received a copy of The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan from Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss plus in exchange for an honest review. A generation of Malayan people refused to speak about what happened during the Japanese occupation and I can understand why and it provides the inspiration for the author to write her debut novel.
The historical saga looks at the horror of war, living under Japanese control, the deprivation, desperation, the fight to survive and Cecily is very worried about her family and her peers discovering she was a spy.
Four stars from me, a story about war, family, fear, suffering, displaced loyalty, being brain washed and I thought Cecily was a rather shallow person and it might because she's Eurasian and the British looked down on her and the era the narrative was set in.
Ten years prior, Cecily's a bored Eurasian mother and housewife, she meets charismatic Bingley Chan aka General Fuijwara, and she starts giving him details about her husbands work and any relevant gossip she overhears, she wants Mayala to no longer be under British Colonial rule, and instead be governed by Asians.
Instead, life under Japanese occupation is brutal, with food shortages, curfews, schools close, the Japanese take anything of value and everyone has to bow to them and punished if they don’t do it correctly, young girls and ladies are assaulted and become comfort women, and teenage boys vanish.
The dual timeline story is told from the four main characters points of view, Cecily, Abel, Jujube and Jasmin and their experiences.
I received a copy of The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan from Simon & Schuster and Edelweiss plus in exchange for an honest review. A generation of Malayan people refused to speak about what happened during the Japanese occupation and I can understand why and it provides the inspiration for the author to write her debut novel.
The historical saga looks at the horror of war, living under Japanese control, the deprivation, desperation, the fight to survive and Cecily is very worried about her family and her peers discovering she was a spy.
Four stars from me, a story about war, family, fear, suffering, displaced loyalty, being brain washed and I thought Cecily was a rather shallow person and it might because she's Eurasian and the British looked down on her and the era the narrative was set in.
Read
November 30, 2023on a conceptual level, i think this story (about british and japanese occupation in malaysia) is very important, since it's a wwii narrative that we don't hear much about. but on the writing � for a book this heavy in content matter, you would expect that chan would've explored more deeply the psychologies of the characters (especially cecily's guilt & abel's trauma). it felt surface level at the end of the day with all these ideas hinted at or told instead of shown and character behaviors not fully justified. we're given vignettes but not deep character work.
May 17, 2024
This is a wonderful debut book. It centers on the Alcantra family living in Malaya under British Colonialism until the Japanese occupation.
The story is told in two time lines: 1930’s and 1945.
Cecily and Gordon are married and have three children. Cecily becomes involved with a man who is not who he seems to be. He encourages Cecily to give him information about her husband‘s employer, and the meetings that he attends. All for “Asia for Asians� so he told her. Before she knows it, Cecily realizes she is helping the Japanese. She has guilt for what she has done. She has betrayed her own family and people.
After the Japanese invasion life in Malaya is deplorable. The Japanese treatment is brutal. I found at times this book was hard to read. Young boys disappeared into the night, including Cecily and Gordon’s son. Young girls were kidnapped and forced into a life in comfort stations. It was horrific.
This is a not to be missed novel.It is well written and researched.
Highly recommend
The story is told in two time lines: 1930’s and 1945.
Cecily and Gordon are married and have three children. Cecily becomes involved with a man who is not who he seems to be. He encourages Cecily to give him information about her husband‘s employer, and the meetings that he attends. All for “Asia for Asians� so he told her. Before she knows it, Cecily realizes she is helping the Japanese. She has guilt for what she has done. She has betrayed her own family and people.
After the Japanese invasion life in Malaya is deplorable. The Japanese treatment is brutal. I found at times this book was hard to read. Young boys disappeared into the night, including Cecily and Gordon’s son. Young girls were kidnapped and forced into a life in comfort stations. It was horrific.
This is a not to be missed novel.It is well written and researched.
Highly recommend
March 29, 2025
I really struggled with this book, and not because of the actual story. I love reading historical fiction and novels about WWII. I especially appreciate a fresh take or aspect of the war I am unfamiliar with. This book gave me that.
What I struggled with was the main character Cecily. As a mother I just really had a hard time with her character. I understand that she did not realize the domino effect her actions had and the repercussions on her family for decisions she made in the beginning. But as all of this is unfolding in the story, she does nothing to stop it. She buries her head in the sand like an ostrich and her family pays a horrific price for it. Your number one job as a mother is to love and protect your children, at all costs. She does neither of these.
So often we read of spies and the brave, courageous actions they took. This story shows you the other side of being a spy, the ugly side when things go horribly wrong. As frustrated as I was with Cecily, there is a somewhat addictive quality about this book. I couldn't just toss it aside because I wanted to know what was going to happen to her family, even though half the time I felt like covering my eyes in a horror movie.
This is a sad book about loss, betrayal, survival, guilt, power and the evil effects of war. The story itself is fascinating (although very difficult to read at times due to the inhumanity described), as a mother I couldn't get past Cecily and the storm she made.
My thanks to Vanessa Chan, Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What I struggled with was the main character Cecily. As a mother I just really had a hard time with her character. I understand that she did not realize the domino effect her actions had and the repercussions on her family for decisions she made in the beginning. But as all of this is unfolding in the story, she does nothing to stop it. She buries her head in the sand like an ostrich and her family pays a horrific price for it. Your number one job as a mother is to love and protect your children, at all costs. She does neither of these.
So often we read of spies and the brave, courageous actions they took. This story shows you the other side of being a spy, the ugly side when things go horribly wrong. As frustrated as I was with Cecily, there is a somewhat addictive quality about this book. I couldn't just toss it aside because I wanted to know what was going to happen to her family, even though half the time I felt like covering my eyes in a horror movie.
This is a sad book about loss, betrayal, survival, guilt, power and the evil effects of war. The story itself is fascinating (although very difficult to read at times due to the inhumanity described), as a mother I couldn't get past Cecily and the storm she made.
My thanks to Vanessa Chan, Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 23, 2024
“The Storm We Made�, by Vanessa Chan
Absorbing and harrowing!
TW: rape (both genders)
For a debut this work was quite impressive.
There is such a passion in the author’s writing.
I loved the writing and the structure of the storyline, with its alternating timeline and POV.
The subject was very hard to read, some times.
The story is haunting and heartbreaking.
It was my first time reading a WWII novel set in Malaysia (formerly Malaya) and learning about how the Japanese could be so merciless.
The development of all characters was very interesting and enthralling.
I was able to feel everyone’s heart, even the lust expressed by the delusional and frustrated housewife, Cecily.
The casualties of war were well constructed and the storytelling was well executed, until chapter 24, which felt rushed, as if there was an urgency of finishing the book or as if the author ran out of ideas or words.
Otherwise I would have rated it 5 stars.
The conclusion was heartbreaking.
e-book (Kobo): 296 pages (default), 91k words
Hardcover (S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books): 352 pages (25 chapters)
Absorbing and harrowing!
TW: rape (both genders)
For a debut this work was quite impressive.
There is such a passion in the author’s writing.
I loved the writing and the structure of the storyline, with its alternating timeline and POV.
The subject was very hard to read, some times.
The story is haunting and heartbreaking.
It was my first time reading a WWII novel set in Malaysia (formerly Malaya) and learning about how the Japanese could be so merciless.
The development of all characters was very interesting and enthralling.
I was able to feel everyone’s heart, even the lust expressed by the delusional and frustrated housewife, Cecily.
The casualties of war were well constructed and the storytelling was well executed, until chapter 24, which felt rushed, as if there was an urgency of finishing the book or as if the author ran out of ideas or words.
Otherwise I would have rated it 5 stars.
The conclusion was heartbreaking.
e-book (Kobo): 296 pages (default), 91k words
Hardcover (S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books): 352 pages (25 chapters)
December 6, 2023
I really wish I could rate this higher. I was so excited to read this story about Malaya (present day Malaysia) during the Japanese occupation during World War II, when they invaded the country from the north, and threw out the British occupiers. In The Storm We Made, the main character Cecily is living with the consequences of this invasion and her secret role in it.
I disliked all of the characters to some degree, but I felt the most disgust for Cecily (and by extension her drip of a husband, Gordon). She is completely ridiculous, and although the story seemed to think it had shown why she was so ridiculous I can't tell you exactly how she got the way she did. She started off flat, and stupid, and pathetic, and except for escalating slightly toward the end, she didn't show much growth in any direction. The story does flip back and forth in time in a way I found very annoying and distracting, so it's possible that the author thought she was doing a better job of showing the ways Cecily changed, it just didn't ring true for me. And although I was mostly sympathetic to the children of Cecily and Gordon and the situations they found themselves in, I didn't care for any of them either. The oldest daughter is so long-suffering it makes her cruel. The son can't handle the same situation other boys his age find themselves in, so he falls apart. The youngest daughter is so unbelievably selfish that the end of the book doesn't make sense.
I did appreciate that Vanessa Chan did a good job making a sense of life in wartime Malaya. I could picture the neighborhood, the teahouse, the pharmacy, the work camps, and everything else perfectly. I could understand how a country could be made to hope that fellow Asian colonizers were better than British colonizers. I could (almost) understand how an entire family fell apart under these false hopes.
Maybe I'm just not in the mood for anything so sad.
I disliked all of the characters to some degree, but I felt the most disgust for Cecily (and by extension her drip of a husband, Gordon). She is completely ridiculous, and although the story seemed to think it had shown why she was so ridiculous I can't tell you exactly how she got the way she did. She started off flat, and stupid, and pathetic, and except for escalating slightly toward the end, she didn't show much growth in any direction. The story does flip back and forth in time in a way I found very annoying and distracting, so it's possible that the author thought she was doing a better job of showing the ways Cecily changed, it just didn't ring true for me. And although I was mostly sympathetic to the children of Cecily and Gordon and the situations they found themselves in, I didn't care for any of them either. The oldest daughter is so long-suffering it makes her cruel. The son can't handle the same situation other boys his age find themselves in, so he falls apart. The youngest daughter is so unbelievably selfish that the end of the book doesn't make sense.
I did appreciate that Vanessa Chan did a good job making a sense of life in wartime Malaya. I could picture the neighborhood, the teahouse, the pharmacy, the work camps, and everything else perfectly. I could understand how a country could be made to hope that fellow Asian colonizers were better than British colonizers. I could (almost) understand how an entire family fell apart under these false hopes.
Maybe I'm just not in the mood for anything so sad.
March 19, 2025
Just barely a three. Wanted to like it more but I probably would’ve been better off DNFing it.
February 10, 2024
� "Yet perhaps the only inevitable truth was that all lies eventually rise up to meet their makers."
About time someone wrote this book!
I have been wanting to read The Storm We Made ever since learning that it was set in WWII Malaya, which is extremely close to home (literally less than an hour away). And not only did it not disappoint, it far exceeded my expectations.
I raced through this gripping read and couldn't put it down. The characterisation was fantastic, no one was simply black and white, and every POV was very compelling. Cecily was so well written; I understood her motivations and couldn't help but keep thinking about just how much of her involvement was integral to setting off the chain of events (and horrors).
Would the same things have happened regardless of her presence? Was everything that came after truly karma?
The author definitely doesn't hold back in describing the horrors of war, but also paints a vivid picture of Malaya while tackling important themes. The last 20% was just... wow.
This isn't a common voice/perspective in WWII novels so I love the representation. I am very glad that The Storm We Made has gained a lot of attention in the international market and is also a BOTM pick because stories like this need to be told. I will be thinking about it for a long time.
Thank you Simon Element and Marysue Rucci Books for the Netgalley ARC.
Other favourite quotes:
� "That's love, isn't it? To know badness lives in someone but to love anyway."
"Maybe I love him more for his badness. My mother used to say maybe love is just ignoring the bad things."
About time someone wrote this book!
I have been wanting to read The Storm We Made ever since learning that it was set in WWII Malaya, which is extremely close to home (literally less than an hour away). And not only did it not disappoint, it far exceeded my expectations.
I raced through this gripping read and couldn't put it down. The characterisation was fantastic, no one was simply black and white, and every POV was very compelling. Cecily was so well written; I understood her motivations and couldn't help but keep thinking about just how much of her involvement was integral to setting off the chain of events (and horrors).
Would the same things have happened regardless of her presence? Was everything that came after truly karma?
The author definitely doesn't hold back in describing the horrors of war, but also paints a vivid picture of Malaya while tackling important themes. The last 20% was just... wow.
This isn't a common voice/perspective in WWII novels so I love the representation. I am very glad that The Storm We Made has gained a lot of attention in the international market and is also a BOTM pick because stories like this need to be told. I will be thinking about it for a long time.
Thank you Simon Element and Marysue Rucci Books for the Netgalley ARC.
Other favourite quotes:
� "That's love, isn't it? To know badness lives in someone but to love anyway."
"Maybe I love him more for his badness. My mother used to say maybe love is just ignoring the bad things."
June 8, 2024
Foarte faină!
August 15, 2024
Marvelous debut historical fiction centering around a family in Malaya just before and just after World War II.
December 8, 2023
This is an exceptional piece of historical fiction from a debut author, Malaysian born Vanessa Chan. This story is about a Mayala family of five> The reader follows mom, dad and their three children in the 1940s, when the Japanese fought for control over the country from the British, and back in time during the 1930s, before the war. Learning about the country we today know as Malaysia during WW2 was so interesting. The character of mom Cecily is so frighteningly real, and what she does for her family shockingly backfires. Fans of historical fiction like Lisa See and Min Jin Lee will want to put this one on their list. Pub Date Jan 2024, a 5 star engaging story to look forward to! @bookclubfavorites #bookclubfavoritesambassador
April 9, 2025
3.5 stars Cecily and her husband have three children in Japanese occupied Malaya during WWII. Ten years earlier, Cecily fed information to General Fuijwara about her husband's work. She didn't want it to be occupied by the British and thought it would be better run by Asians.
Be careful what you wish for. When the Japanese take over, they are cruel masters. Children are kicked out of school, boys disappear to camps, and girls get kidnapped and taken to comfort houses where unspeakable things happen to them.
Now, Cecily is desperate to keep her children safe. This is an important book to read to learn Asian history. The inhumanity and depravity spoken of is educational, and by learning history, we can help prevent similar occurrences in the future. The premise of the book is five stars, but the character development was lacking for me. I wanted the characters to feel more real and authentic. I am glad I read this as I learned a huge piece of history that I was only vaguely aware of.
Be careful what you wish for. When the Japanese take over, they are cruel masters. Children are kicked out of school, boys disappear to camps, and girls get kidnapped and taken to comfort houses where unspeakable things happen to them.
Now, Cecily is desperate to keep her children safe. This is an important book to read to learn Asian history. The inhumanity and depravity spoken of is educational, and by learning history, we can help prevent similar occurrences in the future. The premise of the book is five stars, but the character development was lacking for me. I wanted the characters to feel more real and authentic. I am glad I read this as I learned a huge piece of history that I was only vaguely aware of.
March 21, 2024
Yes, there are thousands of stories about WWII experiences, but here's a different one from a debut author set in what was then Malaya. It's about the Alcantaras whose family thrives under British colonization in the 1930s but then the mother Cecily forms a relationship with a Japanese man that will have far reaching consequences for her family and the people of Malaya a decade later. The story is so well written and mesmerizing; the characters unforgettable. Highly recommend.
January 24, 2024
I picked this up at the Women’s Prize for Literature event in Bedford Square 2023. Good placement was married with a book cover description which tapped into a part of the world, and time (Malaya, 1945), which I had recently read about in Tan Twan Eng’s works (including 2023 House of Doors
Alas, it turned out that this was not the book for me and in which I didn’t find too many redeeming elements.
The essence of the book is one of imprisonment, Japanese brutality, sexual degradation (the “comfort� women and girls) and palpable injustice right from the outset.
This may well be based on true stories, and the underlying portrayal of good vs evil cannot help but make the subject matter draw in the reader. A blurb writers dream.
The author, though, must surely bring something new to accounts of man’s inhumanity to man? If not, then this book can only appeal to the very occasional reader, or those who have decided to read war novels for the first time.
It’s best not to write pages of verbiage, so my bullet points on why I was disappointed:
� Structure. The book is divided into four first person viewpoints (Cecily, Jujube, Jasmin, Abel). This created a disjointed effect with little flow in the prose. Towards the end the staccato style resulted in an unsatisfactory, note form, style of writing.
� Coincidence. There are just too many. Dickens wrote the original novels in this style almost two hundred years ago, and it becomes tedious. It would appear that Kuala Lumpar is a tiny city given the speed and ease with which characters encounter one another. One of the characters actually says: “the circularity of the narrative is so perfect as to be absurd�.
� Portrayal of the British. Colonial administrators and ex patriots have been described as insensitive fools and buffoons in better literature than this (Paul Scott, EM Forster take bows). The conversations and language of the liberating British pilots who land in Malaya as part of VJ Day are described in the most derogatory and patronising terms :“Now come on and smile. We’ve liberated you! God save the King! Don’t you heathens know freedom when you see it?� If I wanted to read this sort of tosh I would go back to Biggles.
I have no patience left to interpret one of the leading characters in the book, Dingley Chan. It’s a mercy not to have to. I will save that for my in - person bookclub.
Alas, it turned out that this was not the book for me and in which I didn’t find too many redeeming elements.
The essence of the book is one of imprisonment, Japanese brutality, sexual degradation (the “comfort� women and girls) and palpable injustice right from the outset.
This may well be based on true stories, and the underlying portrayal of good vs evil cannot help but make the subject matter draw in the reader. A blurb writers dream.
The author, though, must surely bring something new to accounts of man’s inhumanity to man? If not, then this book can only appeal to the very occasional reader, or those who have decided to read war novels for the first time.
It’s best not to write pages of verbiage, so my bullet points on why I was disappointed:
� Structure. The book is divided into four first person viewpoints (Cecily, Jujube, Jasmin, Abel). This created a disjointed effect with little flow in the prose. Towards the end the staccato style resulted in an unsatisfactory, note form, style of writing.
� Coincidence. There are just too many. Dickens wrote the original novels in this style almost two hundred years ago, and it becomes tedious. It would appear that Kuala Lumpar is a tiny city given the speed and ease with which characters encounter one another. One of the characters actually says: “the circularity of the narrative is so perfect as to be absurd�.
� Portrayal of the British. Colonial administrators and ex patriots have been described as insensitive fools and buffoons in better literature than this (Paul Scott, EM Forster take bows). The conversations and language of the liberating British pilots who land in Malaya as part of VJ Day are described in the most derogatory and patronising terms :“Now come on and smile. We’ve liberated you! God save the King! Don’t you heathens know freedom when you see it?� If I wanted to read this sort of tosh I would go back to Biggles.
I have no patience left to interpret one of the leading characters in the book, Dingley Chan. It’s a mercy not to have to. I will save that for my in - person bookclub.
July 22, 2024
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan is historical novel set against the backdrop of World War II in Malaya. The novel is written in a dual timeline. One of which is Malaya before WW2 and the other during WW2. The story shows a different perspective about WW2. One I did not know. Many diverse individuals whose lives are changed by the Japanese occupation. Cecily who is the mother and a spy. Her children, her teen age son who ends up captured and placed in a slave labor camp. Her daughters who end up in a Tea House that cater to Japanese men as comfort girls. It tells a story of family drama. It reflects the complexities of survival, resistance, and resilience. There is so much detail of fear of violence and rape. Death, torture and slave camps. It is a portrayal of the physical and emotional toll of wartime Malaya. The novel is rich in detail. Chan researches a part of a cruel war that is deep in political turmoil and tells of the nightmare of the culture of the times. The themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the quest for freedom are told in a way that tells of the brutality of war.
***Maybe I have read too much this weekend, but I lost interest. The violence got to be a bit much at times as well.
***Maybe I have read too much this weekend, but I lost interest. The violence got to be a bit much at times as well.
March 4, 2024
This novel is set in Malaya (now Malaysia) before WWII, under British occupation, and during WWII, under Japanese occupation. The main character is Cecily, a woman who (in the 1930’s) becomes enthralled with, and enamored of, a Japanese man who espouses the overthrow of the British and “Asia for Asians�. Under his auspices, Cecily works to undermine the British, and her activities include violence. Her Japanese icon/lover then disappears. The disparaging manner in which the British treat the Asians is made quite clear and there are interesting descriptions of social activities and “rank� within the Asian community.
The other scenes are set during WWII during the unspeakably brutal Japanese occupation. The characters in this period include not only Cecily � who is now experiencing the result of her pro-Japanese activities - but also her children: daughter, Jujube, who works in a tea house and must cater to Japanese soldiers; son Abel, who is sent to a slave labor camp in Burma; and youngest daughter, Jasmine, who is at risk for being sent to a comfort station. The characters are well portrayed, and the reader experiences the emotions and thought processes of each of the characters as they try to cope with and manage the cruelness the world has dealt them. However, the overwhelming power of the novel is in its descriptions of the Japanese atrocities. I found the descriptions of the slave labor camp quite difficult to read.
Love, despair, brutality and intrigue are all tangled up in the lives of the characters. For a first novel, this is very well done. I will read this author’s next work.
The other scenes are set during WWII during the unspeakably brutal Japanese occupation. The characters in this period include not only Cecily � who is now experiencing the result of her pro-Japanese activities - but also her children: daughter, Jujube, who works in a tea house and must cater to Japanese soldiers; son Abel, who is sent to a slave labor camp in Burma; and youngest daughter, Jasmine, who is at risk for being sent to a comfort station. The characters are well portrayed, and the reader experiences the emotions and thought processes of each of the characters as they try to cope with and manage the cruelness the world has dealt them. However, the overwhelming power of the novel is in its descriptions of the Japanese atrocities. I found the descriptions of the slave labor camp quite difficult to read.
Love, despair, brutality and intrigue are all tangled up in the lives of the characters. For a first novel, this is very well done. I will read this author’s next work.
January 7, 2024
Absorbing, harrowing, and impactful!
The Storm We Made is a poignant, immersive tale set in British-occupied Malaya that takes you into the lives of the Alcantara family, especially the matriarch, Cecily, a middle-aged mother suffering from extreme guilt over the decisions she made ten years ago, and her three children, Jujube, Abel, and Jasmin whose lives are irrevocably changed forever when their homeland is invaded and occupied by the Japanese during WWII.
The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are brave, tormented, and determined. And the plot is an exceptionally touching tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, desperation, infidelity, tragedy, and the horrors of war.
Overall, The Storm We Made is a gritty, emotional, beautifully written tale by Chan inspired by real-life familial events that reminds us that survival of any kind often involves heartbreaking choices, moral dilemmas, action, spirit, extreme loss, and beyond all else, unimaginable sacrifice and courage.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Storm We Made is a poignant, immersive tale set in British-occupied Malaya that takes you into the lives of the Alcantara family, especially the matriarch, Cecily, a middle-aged mother suffering from extreme guilt over the decisions she made ten years ago, and her three children, Jujube, Abel, and Jasmin whose lives are irrevocably changed forever when their homeland is invaded and occupied by the Japanese during WWII.
The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are brave, tormented, and determined. And the plot is an exceptionally touching tale about life, loss, family, secrets, separation, desperation, infidelity, tragedy, and the horrors of war.
Overall, The Storm We Made is a gritty, emotional, beautifully written tale by Chan inspired by real-life familial events that reminds us that survival of any kind often involves heartbreaking choices, moral dilemmas, action, spirit, extreme loss, and beyond all else, unimaginable sacrifice and courage.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 3, 2024
This was beyond heartbreaking but written quite beautifully.
January 5, 2024
For the first hundred or so pages, I thought this was going to become a new historical fiction favorite. Unfortunately, the second half of the book was just missing too many key elements for me to feel that way upon finishing. This is a fine enough book, but one that lacked the necessary depth in order to truly understand the motivations behind character decisions.
Here’s what I really liked:
- This is a WWII novel NOT centered in Europe! I learned a lot while reading this, and Chan did an amazing job embedding that history in an organic way.
- I love flawed, messy female characters and we certainly have that here in MC Cecily.
- I liked that Cecily’s chapters were mainly flashbacks to before Japan took over Malaya. Having the current timeline paired with the past timeline really helped me see how drastically things changed, as well as how the propaganda from Japan was so effective.
Here’s what missed the mark for me:
- While I enjoyed Cecily being a complicated character, I feel the book lacked in making it clear why she was that way. Upon finishing the novel, it’s hard for me to articulate what motivated her to act in the ways she did. It’s brushed on, but never really dissected. I would have loved to understand her more, and it really would have been easy to add those moments in.
- I think there was one too many MCs; with the amount of trauma each one was enduring, there were just too many storylines happening which prevented any of them from feeling fully developed.
- The ending began to feel like a soap opera. It started to feel almost fantastical with the amount of major coincidences that happened. I think it’s possible to have sequences like that, but there needs to be some sort of acknowledgement on the part of the characters in order to not lose readers.
- The estranged romance had way more time than necessary. There were so many more interesting things happening that I would have loved to seen better explored.
I think if you like historical fiction but maybe don’t love deep character analysis, this could be a good for. Other than the last 50ish pages, I was really hooked into the story and eager to see what happened next. I feel like this might end up being a buzzy book because it is quite moving, but not so much so that you need to think too hard.
Here’s what I really liked:
- This is a WWII novel NOT centered in Europe! I learned a lot while reading this, and Chan did an amazing job embedding that history in an organic way.
- I love flawed, messy female characters and we certainly have that here in MC Cecily.
- I liked that Cecily’s chapters were mainly flashbacks to before Japan took over Malaya. Having the current timeline paired with the past timeline really helped me see how drastically things changed, as well as how the propaganda from Japan was so effective.
Here’s what missed the mark for me:
- While I enjoyed Cecily being a complicated character, I feel the book lacked in making it clear why she was that way. Upon finishing the novel, it’s hard for me to articulate what motivated her to act in the ways she did. It’s brushed on, but never really dissected. I would have loved to understand her more, and it really would have been easy to add those moments in.
- I think there was one too many MCs; with the amount of trauma each one was enduring, there were just too many storylines happening which prevented any of them from feeling fully developed.
- The ending began to feel like a soap opera. It started to feel almost fantastical with the amount of major coincidences that happened. I think it’s possible to have sequences like that, but there needs to be some sort of acknowledgement on the part of the characters in order to not lose readers.
- The estranged romance had way more time than necessary. There were so many more interesting things happening that I would have loved to seen better explored.
I think if you like historical fiction but maybe don’t love deep character analysis, this could be a good for. Other than the last 50ish pages, I was really hooked into the story and eager to see what happened next. I feel like this might end up being a buzzy book because it is quite moving, but not so much so that you need to think too hard.
January 30, 2024
Historical Fiction is usually hit or miss, and unfortunately this one is leaning more towards a miss for me.
I found these character really lacking the depth I needed to connect and root for them. Given the subject matter at hand is rather depressing, you want to have some glimmer of hope to feel as you read. At least, I do. And of course the subject matter is sensitive, so maybe it’s right in not providing the reader with any hope that maybe wasn’t realistic to expect. Regardless, I felt too somber as I read to really be able to enjoy the read. There were so many main characters we were required to keep up with, yet every one of them left me feeling the same way.
If you’re generally a fan of the genre, you may enjoy this read more so than I did.
Thank you for the publisher for the gifted copy
I found these character really lacking the depth I needed to connect and root for them. Given the subject matter at hand is rather depressing, you want to have some glimmer of hope to feel as you read. At least, I do. And of course the subject matter is sensitive, so maybe it’s right in not providing the reader with any hope that maybe wasn’t realistic to expect. Regardless, I felt too somber as I read to really be able to enjoy the read. There were so many main characters we were required to keep up with, yet every one of them left me feeling the same way.
If you’re generally a fan of the genre, you may enjoy this read more so than I did.
Thank you for the publisher for the gifted copy
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,777 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.