Reviews - The Storm We Made

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1.59k reviews for:

The Storm We Made

Vanessa Chan

3.9 AVERAGE

kerusii's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

elissapadilla's review against another edition

3.25

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

songbird918's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mariyakeeka's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is a historical fiction novel set in colonized Malaya with a dual timeline (under British colonial rule and Japanese colonial rule). It follows the mom, Cecily, and how her actions had monumental consequences even though she herself was an inconsequential person. This is shown through alternating perspectives between herself and her three children and how each child faces tremendous challenges because of the societal changes and settings that Cecily's actions brought upon. Guilt is a major theme of this novel because Cecily cannot say that she was unwitting, she simply did not question as much as she should.

This book is meant to be slow. It's meant to linger on pain and suffering and really give us the time and space to examine all the ways in which we can hurt. The prose is stunning and, for the most part, it didn't feel unnecessary. It was well used and so evocative. Thematically, it addresses guilt, family, power dynamics, greed, morality and what it means to exist as a woman. I enjoyed the discussion of good and bad and how these are ultimately subjective terms.

There was a point at the end,

where I had wished we'd had a deeper insight into Abel's thoughts and feelings upon returning.

But ultimately, this is a book I can easily recommend once you've checked the content warnings.

Content Warnings