Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Storm We Made

The story follows the lives of the Alcantara family between 1935 and 1945, first in British-occupied Malaya (current Malaysia) then under the violent Japanese occupation.

The Alcantaras are Eurasians. Gordon, the husband, works a low-level clerical job for the British occupation government. He is married to Cecily, a housewife who yearns for more. They have three children: Jujube, Abel and Jasmine. They move up the social ladder as Gordon’s career slowly rises. Cecily meets one man, General Fujiwara aka Bing Lee Chan, with whom she shares the ideal of building a new Asia for Asians.

Cecily spies on the British on behalf of the Japanese general. The intel she provides will cause a devastating ripple effect in the lives of her family members.

I learned things about what life was like in occupied Malaya under British and Japanese occupations. I loved how developed the characters were. The story is told through the lens of Cecily, Abel, Jujube and Jasmine. The novel takes you deep into the consequences of Cecily’s actions on her family and community.

I like how author Vanessa Chan incorporated the topics of colonisation, occupation, colorism, race and identity, self-determination, survival, selfishness, the condition of women into her story. She touches on important themes with mastery. I thought her characters were well developed, complex, flawed, with clear fears and motivations.

The audiobook narrator, Samantha Tan, was brilliant. I loved hearing the story with twangs of Malaysian and Japanese accents.

Content Warnings

fkshg8465's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Just barely a three. Wanted to like it more but I probably would’ve been better off DNFing it.

Content Warnings

thrillofthepage's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The Storm We Made is a beautifully written, yet heartbreaking historical fiction novel that takes place in the mid 1930s through the end of WWII in Malaya (present day Malaysia). The dual timelines offer a slow unfolding of the way decisions can impact lives for years. The multi-POVs of Cecily, Able, Jujube, and Jasmine provide an inside and unfiltered look into what life was like during both the British and Japanese occupation. Vanessa Chan fully immerses her readers by writing about the devastation of colonization, occupation, and the horrors that come with it. I was left in tears realizing the tragic full circle of our title, The Storm We Made. This book and its characters will stay with me for a long time. Please check TWs.

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