GIFT OF RAIN

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2007, this is a sumptuous epic set in Malaya during the time of the Japanese invasion. With themes of identity, war, cultural clashes. loyalty, loss and the nature of enduring love, it's rich in imagery and action. It follows the friendship in 1939 between a 16 year old half English and half Chinese boy and a Japanese diplomat. 'A powerful first novel about a tumultuous and almost forgotten period of history.' "TLS"