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Exploring the history of Malaysia through war novels is a study in human emotions, writes VIKAS DATTA

mong historical events that have left an enduring influence, the Second World Wat is certainly one d1a c lives up to its n am e Its European, African and A m erican components are adequately dep icted, buc die Asian e.-xpetience, while not entirely absen t, is quite under-represented.

A nd this is despite t he early 20d1 ce ntury bei n g a tumulnious era for d1e region - older con fliers (the China-Japan War) segueing into d1e World \Xi'ar, which in its wa ke, sparked a spate of decolonisation and freedom struggles, some of them violent

But diere are promising voices appearing, such as Malaysian lawyer - turned -author T an Twan Eng widi his first two intricacelycraftecl, evocative novels of the war and its effects in his ethnically- diverse homeland.

The war is the main component, but Tan's canvas stretches much wider in bod1 his debut Tbc Gift qf Rain (2007) and follow up The Garden of Evening l\!1i.sts, co enco mpass the d1emes o f loyalty and betrayal, sacrific e, survival and guilt, d1e persistenc e of memory, conilicting demands of collaboration an d resistance, complications of a mixed- race heritage, and varied paths to r edemption All these are overlaid b y a refined Eastern sensibility, a credible supernacu.rnJ motif and the aesthetics and l ay out of a Japanese ga rd en.

Set in the north-western coastal state of P enang in peninsular Malaysia before, during and after the wa r, Tbe Gift of Rdi11 is narrated in flashback by AngloChinese business magnate, Philip Hutton, who i s the sole survivor of a prominent E nglish family running a trading firm in colonial era Malaysia. His memories are triggered w h en he has an unexpected visitor, connected to som eone from his past.

Before the war, Hutton, who has a cordial but difficulc relation ship wi th his paternal and maternal relatives (especiall y h is maternal grandfadier), befriends the Japanese consul, Hayato E n do \'{Th.j]e E ndo becomes h is preceptor in the new martial arc of aikido and ics philosoph)~ Hutton serves as the diplomat's guid e to die area, b u t realises, as d ie Japanese invade, that E ndo was sent to reconnoitre die area - and Hutton unknowingly aided him.

Under the occupation, both find themselves grappling to reconcile their friendship and loyalty to each other and co their countries (and in Hutton's case, his family) Traversing a peril ous path , Philip agrees to assist die Japanese and Endo in a b id to keep hi s family safe. Ac the same time, h e passes intelligence co the guerrilla fighters, i nc luding di e famo u s Po ree 136, wh ich include his best friend Ko n , die son o f a local C h inese triad boss. But there are tensions with d1e Communi st partisans, hard line Japanese administrators a n d many unpleasant d ecisions and actions for Hutton, w ho does not e m erge unscad1ed from me war.

Even afterwards, there is a furdier unpleasant but inevitable decis ion in respec t to E ndo, with whom Hutton turns out to h ave a centuries -long associatio n (revealed in the supernatural component) Ir is die pose-war visit from a Japanese widow, on ce a love interest of E ndo, who serves as the catalyst for the memories to emerge.

Tan's second novel Tbe Gardm of Bvming Mists, begins with the evocati\Te line: "O n a mountain above the clouds once lived a man w ho had been the gardener of the Emperor of J apan". The boo k is narrated by newly retired Malaysian Supreme Court )udge Yun Ling Teoh and cakes place over diree different time periods.

Also wr:itten in flashback, it begins in the 1980s wim me judge sud d enly res igning and moving co the Can1ero n Highlands, where she had lived a fter the war. There she seeks to make sense of her life and experiences before the aphasia she has been diagnosed with cripples her speec h and memory.

The World War is a backdrop for me first sto ry arc, when Yun an d her elder sis ter Yun Hong , of a prominent Straits Chinese family, are taken co an internment camp when the Japanese invade The only survivor, Yun develops a fervent hate fo r the Japanese and energetirnlly participates in die war crime trials She also visits the highlands w he re the taciturn Nakamura Aticomo, the aforementio ned gar den er, who is crafting "Yugiri" or die garde n of die eveQlng mists, lives. She asks him co build a garden in he r sister's memory He refuses, but instead takes her on as an apprentice and teaches her die art even as die Communist insurgency erupts in :Malaysia and serves as che backdrop of the second sto ry arc

Bringing b odi arcs cogerner is th e present when Japanese historia n (and failed Kamikaze pilot)

Yoshikawa Tacsuji vis its

Yun and seeks information about Aritomo and h is gard e n - die only surviv ing one The flashback leads Yun co re -examine her memories and the morally ambiguous actiom of both her and Aritom o in wa r time, and later her "survivor guil e"

Despite a languid pace, especially as far as die pre -war era is dep ic ted and aesdietical detail s are mentioned , born of Tan's works are e p ic i n scope. The novels incorpo rate and deal w ith a range of hmnan emotions, motivations and clilemmas to offer an intense, i nvaluab le and engrossing experience of \\7\V rI and i ts lingering effects in Soudi

E ast Asia