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The Japanese Lover (2010)

by Rani Manicka(Favorite Author)

3.95 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1444700308 (ISBN13: 9781444700305)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Hodder & Stoughton

review 1: I picked up this book from my local neighborhood library simply because of the relatively rare subject and storyline it promised:1. In terms of subject - this is a story about a girl from Ceylon who becomes a Malaysian Indian woman (she represents so much more than that, but more on that later). However, it is important to give a character such as Parvathi a voice because if you have ever lived in Malaysia, you would know how very little the Malaysian Indian community is represented politically, and this is multiplied at least tenfold into literature.2. In terms of storyline - given the title and the summary on the back, which described the so called 'Japanese Lover' as the man who teaches the protagonist what it means to love, I assumed that this book would try to portra... morey a more complex Japanese character during this time period. So far, most the Asian literature I have read dealing with the period of World War 2 is satisfied with a completely evil and negative depiction of all Japanese during the war and their occupations of some countries. Let me make it clear that I do not expect any wholly positive depictions (there were simply too many atrocities and horrors for that), I do however want to see a balanced/different representation of this historic enemy in literature. Not all Japanese soldiers wanted to kill civilians, some Japanese administrators assigned to these newly won colonies tried their best to reduce the pain of occupation and even helped the locals where they could. While we do have literature from Europe that show the occasional sympathetic German soldier or official, that's still in the minority in Asian based literature about Japan. Back to the promises of this daring storyline - a Malaysian woman and a Japanese General actually falling in love during war? What?! A positive 'comfort woman' story? The invader and occupier will play the role of 'freeing' this woman? The possibilities are wonderful - how does the presence of a stranger challenge how the protagonist, or the readers, define as a country's culture? How do we fit into that country's culture (especially a country such as Malaysia which is non-homogenous and instead evolved from many phases of immigration over the centuries)? Also, how do our personal perceptions of heritage and culture in the context of such a diverse world play into our beliefs of self-worth within our communities?Perhaps my expectations were too high.Firstly the book is not actually about a Japanese lover. He probably takes up 20-30% of the book. I also did not get the idea that he influenced the protagonist all that much, except to make some pretty terrible financial decisions. At most, he serves to make her feel that she is beautiful, having chosen her to be his mistress above a younger girl who is more fair-skinned and who possesses thick, curly hair. All of this meaning is negated when he decides to painstakingly paint her white, dress her up in a kimono and make her pretend that she is a geisha. They both love this fantasy, and perhaps the only part that reveals there's something off about it is when Parvathi's servant mistakes her for a ghost. Does he make her more proud about her identity? I don't know because as far as I can tell, Parvathi doesn't care about these questions. She's just trying to survive what life throws at her, oh and be loved passionately while she is at it. She is divinity in this story simply by existing and inspiring others. Does she become more aware of her role as a member of a community by spending so much time with an invading General? Not really. It is actually impossible to believe their love story. It is written as a divine providence of love at first sight, but otherwise, nothing else brought them together. There was a lot of potential lost in building the two characters to the emotional connection that we as readers are supposed to believe that they have. So just to make this clear, this book's story is not a love story and it isn't about any Japanese lover. There are a lot of themes touched on but not fully explored. The end result is finishing the book and not being sure what the story was about. I suspect this is supposed to be a story about reawakening the pride of the Malaysian Indian, to encourage this minority to share their stories, fight for their culture, beliefs and identity. Parvathi's role is to show how someone who believes that they are invisible is actually significant. She comes from humble beginnings as a girl in Ceylon, sold into an arranged marriage, only to end up in Malaya to inspire others to divinity through her presence. Divinity in this story is defined as love and kindness. Parvathi is kind and stands for incredible morals. She does not care about earthly considerations such as money, and she is rarely caught up by petty feelings such as greed or jealousy (her forays into these dark emotions are no longer than a sentence). Others respond by treating her kindly, improving themselves and accomplishing great things. The significant them of this book (which is not at all touched on in the book's marketing) is that of the divine. It exists in the characters names, from Parvathi, Sita, Maya, etc., continues in the form of the mysterious temple and animals found in the forest, and the wise medicine woman who tells the future and then some. These are probably the strongest parts of this book, returning to the theme that the Indian people were once incredibly wise and technologically advanced before they forgot everything (about the point that the main character is from modern day Sri Lanka and is identified as a Malaysian Indian; that is explained by saying that if one goes back far enough, the Ceylonese are Indians too). In fact, given this as the theme of the book, the Japanese Lover, while significant, interrupts the flow a little. Basically this is a book with good elements, but it's never focused on something. It was not aided by whoever drew up its marketing plan, but I suppose if you're Malaysian it is worth the read. Though it falls short on expectations, the book does contribute to a tiny collection of Malaysian literature written in English that tries to help define the nation. I would love to see even these literary themes graduate to another level however, and not have to be divided between Malaysian Indian, Malaysian Chinese or Malaysian Malay and simply as Malaysian. After all, Malaysia is a nation built on immigration and in another 50 years, those 3 main racial categories will probably not be the only ones with a major claim to the country.
review 2: I had read Rani Manicka's previous work;'The Rice Mother' and I had cherished every moment spent reading each sentence in the novel. The book had brought deep impact on me emotionally, particularly when reading about the horrific events that occurred during the Japanese Occupation. It is no wonder that 'The Rice Mother' won 2003 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.Since then, I was looking forward to read her next works. Almost 3 years after reading 'The Rice Mother', I came across this book (though it had been published in 2010), which is her second novel (If I'm not mistaken). The synopsis kinds of enticed me to purchase this book, but I decided to put this intention on hold, and it is a good decision.I bought this book at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale for only RM8. Due to time constriction and other obligations that I need to fulfil as a student, I spent almost 3 days just to finish this 326 pages novel. There is one word apt to describe this novel'DISAPPOINTING'I dislike the writer's exaggerations on certain subjects, such as an island for peacocks, the most expensive sari in the world, etc, etc, and that it takes such a loooonnnggg time for the main event (the title of this novel) to take place and that it ended so abruptly. Rani Manicka is a very good writer. She had done a wonderful, excellent job for her 'The Rice Mother', and unfortunately, I could not say the same for her second work. It is so simple in comparison to her previous work. There is lack of emotion, and it hardly leaves any impression or emotional impact towards the readers (at least for me). But still, it is 'readable'. FIVE STARS FOR 'THE RICE MOTHER' and TWO STARS FOR 'THE JAPANESE LOVER'. less

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