The Storm We Made: A Novel

· Simon and Schuster
4.4
14 reviews
Ebook
352
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION 2024 FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

In this “espionage-laden family epic” (Vanity Fair), an ordinary housewife becomes an unlikely spy—and her dark secrets will test even the most unbreakable ties.

Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara’s family is in terrible danger: her fifteen-year-old son, Abel, has disappeared, and her youngest daughter, Jasmin, is confined in a basement to prevent being pressed into service at the comfort stations. Her eldest daughter Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day.

Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth.

A decade prior, Cecily had been desperate to be more than a housewife to a low-level bureaucrat in British-colonized Malaya. A chance meeting with the charismatic General Fujiwara lured her into a life of espionage, pursuing dreams of an “Asia for Asians.” Ten years later as the war reaches its apex, her actions have caught up with her. Now her family is on the brink of destruction—and she will do anything to save them.

Told from the perspectives of four unforgettable characters, The Storm We Made spans years of pain, triumph, and perseverance. “The tenderness in its details, the ordinary ways that these characters love and laugh in the face of the extraordinary…Chan shows us, with clarity and care, how the truest mirror comes from the intimacy of human connection” (The New York Times Book Review).

Ratings and reviews

4.4
14 reviews
Brenda Richardson
January 4, 2024
Engaging from the start. Quick-paced with moments of suspense and raw, shocking events.The author provides a succinct and informative history of colonial Malaya without lingering, boring details that sometimes innidate historical fiction. The premise is fresh, and the characters simple, yet interesting. I highly recommend this novel.
Did you find this helpful?
Texas Texan
January 16, 2024
The Storm We Made - The time frame is from 1935 until 1945. The Japanese occupation of Malaysia during WWII as experienced by a native family and their village, and a general and a teacher, both Japanese. Interesting story and characters complete with the horrors of the war but not in graphic detail. Source: Netgalley. 4*
Did you find this helpful?
Jidan Porno
July 24, 2024
Salseros a la tarde en la idea de las no te olvides no repetir el precio y media de la mañana y dos 🕑 y media de la noche y dos y un poco más y media en la idea es que no se que hacer con la casa de las hermanas de la mañana a la tarde a black screen on iphone XR the results to the morning and then I'll go with sleeves and then we can do to nkohey to be a bit
Did you find this helpful?

About the author

Vanessa Chan is the Malaysian author of internationally bestselling The Storm We Made, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick, and New York Times Editor’s Choice. The novel, her first, will be translated into more than twenty languages worldwide. Her other work has been published in Vogue, Esquire, and more.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.