The Gift of Rain is in every sense a “big” book, not only substantial in size, but also in theme, and in the amount of incident that is crammed into it. It’s hard to know just how to pigeonhole this book. Literary fiction? Thriller? Historical novel? Big screen kung-fu movie with Hollywood glitz and glamour translated to the page? The novel combines elements of all of these, yet succeeds very much on its own terms ...My interview with Tan Twan Eng gets a whole page in the first of StarMag's brand new Readsmonthly supplements. In it he talks about how his debut novel was conceived, written and researched, why he unashamedly embraces the exotic ... and a sneak preview of what he's working on next. And you can read my review of The Gift of Rain here.
So much had to be squashed into such a teensy word limit alas: I had a whole lot more I wanted to say about the book, and fascinating chunks of interview I had to cut out. (All to be used elsewhere and elsetime, have patience!)
Also in the supplement is a very interesting piece by filmmaker Ho Yuhang on the dark world of Japanese crime novelist Natsuo Kirino - I'm tempted to take advantage of the 25% off discount voucher ...
It's good to see the bookshops on board, supporting this supplement ... and all I ask for is MORE PLEASE. Not a monthly, but a weekly. Not four pages, but a whole thick pullout. But then I'm just greedy!
