Dramatic Spy Story – Set in Malaya
Dramatic Spy Story – Set in Malaya
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
As taught in school, history was often dry and boring – dates to remember along with the names of battles and political leaders. As an adult it’s been a pleasure to discover historical fiction, which can make stories of the past come alive and provide an understanding of history beyond lists of dates, wars, and famous men.
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan is the author’s first novel, published in 2024, drawing on her family history in Malaya in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The central character, Cecily Alcantara, is an ordinary housewife who becomes a spy for the Japanese who are planning to invade Malaya. She had good intentions, but things didn’t play out as she expected.
The story is exciting and complex with numerous sub-plots that are intricately woven together. There are many themes to the book – colonialism, elitism, sisterhood, sexual abuse, education, brutality of war, and what it means to be loyal to your country, family, and friends when you are led astray.
I have read many books about or taking place during World War II, but most have been from the U.S. or European perspective. Having had a pen-pal living in Malaysia (or was it Singapore?) when I was a teen-ager, I had a special interest in learning more about the history of that country. This book served that goal well.
I highly recommend The Storm We Made. Reviews online are very positive and your understanding of the story might be enhanced by reading, watching or listening to one of the author interviews found on line:
1. PEN America, written interview: https://pen.org/vanessa-chan-the-pen-ten-interview/
2. American Booksellers Association, written interview: https://www.bookweb.org/news/indies-introduce-qa-vanessa-chan-1630078
3. BOMB Magazine, written interview.: https://bombmagazine.org/articles/2024/02/23/vanessa-chan-interviewed-by-sasha-vasilyuk/
4. Good Morning America interview: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/video/gma-book-club-pick-storm-made-vanessa-chan-106155726
5. NPR Week-end Edition: https://www.npr.org/2023/12/31/1222337102/in-the-storm-we-made-the-horrors-of-war-are-the-main-character
6. Minnesota Public Radio News: https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2024/02/09/family-lore-becomes-rich-historical-fiction-in-the-storm-we-made (one hour)
Several of my blog posts deal with family secrets in my own family and family secrets that are part of books I have read. This book fits that same pattern – how family secrets can be frustrating, but when better understood, can create a better understanding of why family members are the way they are.
