Reviews

Le chant du héron au crépuscule: roman by Tan Twan Eng

clarkeyhk's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

ellibe's review against another edition

informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

chou520's review against another edition

5.0

i literally think this might be the best book ever written anyway here's my six page review <3 https://scheherazad.substack.com/p/the-dichotomy-between-love-and-duty

zenocorsini's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

missyjohnson's review against another edition

4.0

Beautifully written book of such an ugly time. The Japanese take over the island of Panang in Mayaya during WWII. Endo-san becomes friends with Philip Hutton and becomes his sensei. Throughout the entire book, I was never really sure if the friendship was genuine or a farce as Philip was used by Endo in order to learn about the island for the Japanese. I also had such a hard time with some of the decisions that the young Philip made. Is the obligation to duty or to family? Excellent book. Quite a few highlights for me in this book

bandreea's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0

floating_shiori's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

5.0

Born and raised in Penang, Malaya, between British father and Chinese mother, struggling with the uncertainty where he belongs to. He finds himself through spending time with a Japanese aikido coach and learning aikido and inner strength. but this was the war time and Japanese threat was approaching…
As a Japanese person traveling in Asia permanently, it was nice encounter with this book when I was staying in Penang.
Curious other books of the same author.

syh_56's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

book_concierge's review against another edition

5.0

Historical fiction about the Pacific theater during World War II. Fifteen-year-old Patrick Hutton is the youngest child of a long-established British family with major industrial holdings in Malaya. His mother, however, was his father’s second wife, and Chinese; and he is shunned by both the Chinese community (for his British background and lifestyle), and by British society (for his Asian heritage). Lonely and adrift, he finds a friend in the Japanese diplomat who rents one of his family’s properties. Endo teaches Patrick the skills of akaido, and Patrick happily shares his love of his island home with this visitor. What he doesn’t realize until it is too late is that Endo is actually a Japanese spy, and that Patrick has unwittingly become complicit in helping the Japanese take over Penang and Malaya.

This is a marvelous book on so many levels. First, the way in which these characters are drawn. They are complex and nuanced, and Eng manages to have the reader empathize with all sides of the story. Secondly, I applaud Eng for choosing a WW2 story that has had little exploration in fiction. I’ve read only two other books that touched on what happened in Malaya – The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Flanagan, and Shute’s A Town Like Alice - and both mostly mentioned the camps. This book really explained how the Japanese were able to take over the peninsula with little or no resistance from the British.

Then there is the atmospheric nature of the book. I’ve been to Penang, and to Kuala Lumpur (the latter twice), but even if I had not experienced these locations Eng’s descriptions would easily have transported me there. I could feel the humidity, smell the cooking, relish in the feel of a sea breeze, hear the soft patter of a shower, the steady drumming of a monsoon, or the cacophony of a marketplace. And Eng’s prose is at times poetic, making me want to slow down and relish his use of language. And there were scenes where I was on the edge of my seat.

This is Eng’s debut novel. I definitely will read more by him.

georgeisreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5