Reviews with content warning for War - The Storm We Made

I was so good about keeping up with my Book of the Month picks last year but fell off in December and decided to try the audiobook of The Storm We Made instead. It was about Japanese occupied Malaya during WWII a facet of the time period in historical fiction I have never read about before. I learned a lot from it and it was overall difficult to listen to the struggle the people of Malaya endured during this time. The story follows different members of a family who are all suffering with the war in their own ways from the youngest daughter to the parents. Definitely an eye opening read

Content Warnings

catladytiff's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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acarolinabelle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

This is a sad tale of a family in Occupied Malaysia during WWII.

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bmpolito's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is absolutely fantastic but also a tragic heartbreaker. Vanessa Chan's writing is beautiful and engaging. I could see what she was describing and I could smell the smells. I am looking forward to whatever she writes next.

Content Warnings

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.25

The Storm We Made is a wonderful work of historical fiction. It has two main timelines - the first in the 1930s when Malaya was a British colony; the second in 1945 when it was occupied by the Japanese. At the centre is the Alcantara family, especially mother Cecily, older daughter Jujube, son Abel and younger daughter Jasmin and the story unfolds through their four points of view. Cecily was perhaps the most interesting character, not just a wife and mother. Her determination and drive made her stand out, and her realisation that perhaps she had been used and that what she thought she was working towards wasn’t what she believed it would be was slightly heartbreaking and a salutary lesson. Through the experience of the different family members Chan is able to highlight various aspects of colonisation and the war experience in Malaysia, things like the Asia for Asian movement, “comfort women” (a euphemism I despise and I was horrified to learn that many were in fact girls, and young girls at that) and forced labour camps. One aspect of the book that really stood out was the exploration of dichotomies like good and bad, right and wrong and how very often these things coexist. I thought the characterisation was good and I appreciated its nuance - for instance the Japanese tearoom customer who seemed genuinely kind, nice and gentle but was deliberately blind to the damage and destruction his country had caused. I also appreciated Chan not shying away from having her characters facing the harsh if unforeseen consequences of their actions. A tough read in places but one I’m glad to have read. It certainly offered something new in the field of WWII historical fiction.

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shannonlian's review against another edition

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sad

3.75

As others have said, I was so excited to read historical fiction by a southeast Asian author about a place I know very little about. I definitely walked away with a curiosity to learn more about the time period (as I generally do with compelling historical fiction). Unfortunately, I didn’t feel connected to the characters. Their motivations felt a bit shallow to me at times and overall left something to be desired.

All in all I’m glad I picked up this book and hope to read more about this region and time period.

Content Warnings

ayang0321's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

sharu901's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

4.0

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