Overview

"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)."

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9781668015148

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Reviews

"""Vanessa Chan is the kind of author who can completely transport you to another time and place... it is a total page turner."" --Good Morning America, GMA Book Club Pick ""This ambitious and sweeping debut novel explores the fallout of a Malayan woman's decision to become a spy for Japanese forces during World War II. Seduced by promises of an ""Asia for Asians,"" she instead helps usher in a brutal occupation with devastating costs for her family."" --The New York Times ""The Storm We Made is a searing look at the impacts of colonialism, the horrors of war, and the power of a mother's love."" --Town & Country, ""The 30 Must-Read Books of Winter 2024"" ""The Storm We Made kicks up a weather system of epic proportions, ranging from military terror during World War II to domestic warmth.... The book's greatest power: It makes space for complexity without relinquishing the grip of a good story.... Chan reveals how war is experienced in bodies and hearts, breaking down the morale of those who remain.... This is a novel concerned with power -- how it's given and taken, whom we must align with to get close to it -- and the consuming desire for more.... But simmering beneath all of this is the will to dream -- for the self, the family and the nation.... What makes the book pulse with life is ... 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 ""January may find you dry, blue and still vacuuming pine needles from the carpet. A favorite way to inject excitement into that postholiday apathy? Espionage. Vanessa Chan's historical fiction debut, set in the 1930s and '40s, centers on a Malayan mother of three. Seduced by the promise of an Asia for Asians, she sees that promise break during the Japanese occupation."" --The Morning newsletter, The New York Times ""World War II might be the most popular subject for historical fiction, but Vanessa Chan's debut, The Storm We Made, defies the typical focus on the Western front and a clear-cut distinction between good and evil that characterizes many books... [a] heartbreaking story of a family riven by war."" --Jenny Shank, Minneapolis Star Tribune ""The intrigue begins from page one of Malaysian author Vanessa Chan's much-heralded debut novel. This historical family saga tells the story of a Malayan mother caught up in espionage during World War II through varying points of view, handled expertly by Chan."" --Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle, Datebook ""19 New Books to Cozy Up With This Winter"" ""The Storm We Made is poised to be a breakout debut of 2024."" --Kate Dwyer, Esquire ""In her debut novel, Chan takes us to 1940s Malaysia (then known as Malaya), where, after helping to usher in a brutal occupation, Cecily Alcantara must confront the consequences of events on her three children: one is missing, one is sequestered in a basement, and the third works a tiresome job at a teahouse. Split into four perspectives, the narrative excavates the family and its relationships throughout World War II."" --Alta ""An intricate puzzle in which [Chan] deftly moves narrative pieces in time and among viewpoints."" --Booklist ""Exceptionally brave. Heart-breaking, beautiful, and moving. Destined to be a classic. The Storm We Made is a celebration of stories that have been silenced or erased. Vanessa Chan writes with admirable power, confidence and grace. By confronting the horror of colonization and war, this book opens the pathway to peace and healing. A significant contribution to world's literature."" --Nguyen Phan Que Mai, author of the international bestseller, The Mountains Sing and Dust Child ""The Storm We Made is brave, funny and immensely moving. One of the most powerful and confident debuts I've ever read. A storytelling star is born!"" --Tracy Chevalier, author of the international bestseller, Girl with a Pearl Earring ""In Vanessa Chan's spellbinding debut, one woman's desire to change her destiny shapes the future of a colonized nation. Combining cinematic grandeur with nuanced storytelling, The Storm We Made offers the hidden history that only fiction can reveal: the everyday yearnings of people surviving a brutal occupation, children trying to make sense of the unspeakable, and the search for love. I'll never forget this book."" --Jessamine Chan, New York Times best-selling author of The School for Good Mothers ""Devastatingly beautiful and extraordinary . . . Vanessa shines an evocative light on this piece of history. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time."" --Jessica George, New York Times best-selling author of Maame ""Vanessa Chan's The Storm We Made is a phenomenon unto itself. This is no mere debut, but rather the summoning of a story buried so deeply in a nation that it could only surface with a talent great enough to do it justice."" --Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk and The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing ""Like the most dazzling historical fiction, THE STORM WE MADE etches intimate details on an epic canvas. Vanessa Chan's characters face agonizing choices under the darkness of colonization and war, and yet she imbues them with an indelible spirit of resistance that never lets you forget the light. A fearless, gripping, morally complex story by a writer to watch."" -Dawnie Walton, national best-selling author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev"

"""The Storm We Made is poised to be a breakout debut of 2024."" --Kate Dwyer, Esquire ""The Storm We Made is a dazzling debut novel about the horrors of war, the fraught relationships between the colonized and their oppressors, and the ambiguity of right and wrong when survival is at stake."" --San Francisco Bay Chronicle ""In her debut novel, Chan takes us to 1940s Malaysia (then known as Malaya), where, after helping to usher in a brutal occupation, Cecily Alcantara must confront the consequences of events on her three children: one is missing, one is sequestered in a basement, and the third works a tiresome job at a teahouse. Split into four perspectives, the narrative excavates the family and its relationships throughout World War II."" --Alta ""An intricate puzzle in which [Chan] deftly moves narrative pieces in time and among viewpoints."" --Booklist ""[A] rich, spell-binding saga... This captivating story shines a light on the dangers of war and the lengths to which we'll go to save the ones we cherish."" --Women's World Magazine ""Utterly gripping... The Storm We Made moves effortlessly through time, building to a thrilling crescendo. Filled with unforgettable characters and beautiful, vivid language, this is a novel of family secrets, survival, and resilience during the darkest of times."" --Electic Literature ""Outstanding... Chan showcases dazzling stylistic flair as she alternates between timelines, blending thematic touches of thrilling spy craft and domestic drama within the outlines of this spellbinding historical novel. Profound in its empathy and devastating in its consequences, The Storm We Made considers the deeply personal implications of a world at war, and makes Vanessa Chan's first novel an unforgettable glimpse at how extraordinary times fall upon ordinary people."" --Shelf Awareness ""This refreshing, gripping historical fiction takes place in occupied Malaya during WWII and the decade that led up to it, telling a sotry of a family brought to the brink both by their oppressors and th eguilt of a mother who's kept a crushing secret. Told by four deeply real characters, you'll find yourself rooting for them even as they butt up against the limits of right and wrong."" --Good Housekeeping ""With action, intrigue, dazzling writing and a war front not often visited, The Storm We Made stands out from other WWII historical fiction... This is historical fiction at its most sweeping and heartbreaking."" --Reader's Digest ""Expect to be swept away from the first sentence... The Storm We Made bears the full weight of war and the endless costs that come with it, but is so triumphant in its depiction of survival, it soars."" --Stylecaster ""In her captivating debut, Chan unleashes a perfect storm of beauty, devastation, secrets, and success. Set during and before WWII, Chan follows an unlikely spy and how her actions may save a country but tear her family apart. This should be every reader's first book of 2024. Everyone I know who has read it has been flabbergasted by its brilliance."" --Debutiful ""Vanessa Chan is the kind of author who can completely transport you to another time and place... it is a total page turner."" --Good Morning America, GMA Book Club Pick ""This ambitious and sweeping debut novel explores the fallout of a Malayan woman's decision to become a spy for Japanese forces during World War II. Seduced by promises of an ""Asia for Asians,"" she instead helps usher in a brutal occupation with devastating costs for her family."" --The New York Times ""Vanessa Chan's espionage-laden family epic, which takes place in Malaya under British and Japanese occupation, dissects the moral complexity of decisions made under duress."" --Vanity Fair ""Chan shows us, with clarity and care, how the truest mirror comes from the intimacy of human connection."" --NPR ""The Storm We Made is a searing look at the impacts of colonialism, the horrors of war, and the power of a mother's love."" --Town & Country, ""The 30 Must-Read Books of Winter 2024"" ""The Storm We Made kicks up a weather system of epic proportions, ranging from military terror during World War II to domestic warmth.... The book's greatest power: It makes space for complexity without relinquishing the grip of a good story.... Chan reveals how war is experienced in bodies and hearts, breaking down the morale of those who remain.... This is a novel concerned with power -- how it's given and taken, whom we must align with to get close to it -- and the consuming desire for more.... But simmering beneath all of this is the will to dream -- for the self, the family and the nation.... What makes the book pulse with life is ... 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 ""January may find you dry, blue and still vacuuming pine needles from the carpet. A favorite way to inject excitement into that postholiday apathy? Espionage. Vanessa Chan's historical fiction debut, set in the 1930s and '40s, centers on a Malayan mother of three. Seduced by the promise of an Asia for Asians, she sees that promise break during the Japanese occupation."" --The Morning newsletter, The New York Times ""World War II might be the most popular subject for historical fiction, but Vanessa Chan's debut, The Storm We Made, defies the typical focus on the Western front and a clear-cut distinction between good and evil that characterizes many books... [a] heartbreaking story of a family riven by war."" --Jenny Shank, Minneapolis Star Tribune ""The intrigue begins from page one of Malaysian author Vanessa Chan's much-heralded debut novel. This historical family saga tells the story of a Malayan mother caught up in espionage during World War II through varying points of view, handled expertly by Chan."" --Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle, Datebook ""19 New Books to Cozy Up With This Winter"" ""Exceptionally brave. Heart-breaking, beautiful, and moving. Destined to be a classic. The Storm We Made is a celebration of stories that have been silenced or erased. Vanessa Chan writes with admirable power, confidence and grace. By confronting the horror of colonization and war, this book opens the pathway to peace and healing. A significant contribution to world's literature."" --Nguyen Phan Que Mai, author of the international bestseller, The Mountains Sing and Dust Child ""The Storm We Made is brave, funny and immensely moving. One of the most powerful and confident debuts I've ever read. A storytelling star is born!"" --Tracy Chevalier, author of the international bestseller, Girl with a Pearl Earring ""In Vanessa Chan's spellbinding debut, one woman's desire to change her destiny shapes the future of a colonized nation. Combining cinematic grandeur with nuanced storytelling, The Storm We Made offers the hidden history that only fiction can reveal: the everyday yearnings of people surviving a brutal occupation, children trying to make sense of the unspeakable, and the search for love. I'll never forget this book."" --Jessamine Chan, New York Times best-selling author of The School for Good Mothers ""Devastatingly beautiful and extraordinary . . . Vanessa shines an evocative light on this piece of history. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time."" --Jessica George, New York Times best-selling author of Maame ""Vanessa Chan's The Storm We Made is a phenomenon unto itself. This is no mere debut, but rather the summoning of a story buried so deeply in a nation that it could only surface with a talent great enough to do it justice."" --Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk and The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing ""Like the most dazzling historical fiction, THE STORM WE MADE etches intimate details on an epic canvas. Vanessa Chan's characters face agonizing choices under the darkness of colonization and war, and yet she imbues them with an indelible spirit of resistance that never lets you forget the light. A fearless, gripping, morally complex story by a writer to watch."" -Dawnie Walton, national best-selling author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev"

"""One of the best espionage novels I've ever come across."" --CrimeReads ""Vanessa Chan is the kind of author who can completely transport you to another time and place... it is a total page turner."" --Good Morning America, GMA Book Club Pick ""This ambitious and sweeping debut novel explores the fallout of a Malayan woman's decision to become a spy for Japanese forces in World War II, unwittingly helping to usher in a brutal occupation with devastating costs for her family."" --New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice ""'Ambitious' would be a trite term for Vanessa Chan's outstanding debut, a historical novel that thrums with the commingling tensions of its backdrop: the lead-up to the WWII Japanese invasion of what is now Malaysia. Chan writes her characters--particularly the conflicted protagonist, Cecily Alcantara, a former espionage asset to the Japanese Imperial Army--with a precision that neither flinches from the brutality of war nor ignores the humanity within. This is a book with real staying power."" --Elle Magazine ""[T]his debut novel grabs the reader by the throat and never lets go, following a single family through one of World War II's most grisly--and often overlooked--chapters... Moving between perspectives and timelines--between actions and their disastrous, unforeseen consequences--Chan tests the bounds of familial bonds, political sacrifice, and human resilience."" --Oprah Daily, The Best Novels to Read This January ""A wartime story like you've never read before."" --PEOPLE Magazine ""[A] searing debut.... Conquest and colonization have long been fertile subjects in fiction, from Joseph Conrad to present-day writers such as Zadie Smith and Imbolo Mbue. Like them, Chan uses colonialism as a lens through which to examine such themes as racism, colorism, status, poverty and violence.... The author and her relatives carry 'the legacy of colonization' in their bodies, Chan writes, and it was this intergenerational trauma -- and resilience -- she wanted to evoke through [her novel]. With authenticity and passion, Chan succeeds in imparting their pain and will to survive, through singular characters whose flaws and contradictions are as fascinating as their strengths."" --Leigh Haber, Washington Post ""This ambitious and sweeping debut novel explores the fallout of a Malayan woman's decision to become a spy for Japanese forces during World War II. Seduced by promises of an ""Asia for Asians,"" she instead helps usher in a brutal occupation with devastating costs for her family."" --The New York Times ""Vanessa Chan's espionage-laden family epic, which takes place in Malaya under British and Japanese occupation, dissects the moral complexity of decisions made under duress."" --Vanity Fair ""Chan shows us, with clarity and care, how the truest mirror comes from the intimacy of human connection."" --NPR ""The Storm We Made is a searing look at the impacts of colonialism, the horrors of war, and the power of a mother's love."" --Town & Country, ""The 30 Must-Read Books of Winter 2024"" ""The Storm We Made kicks up a weather system of epic proportions, ranging from military terror during World War II to domestic warmth.... The book's greatest power: It makes space for complexity without relinquishing the grip of a good story.... Chan reveals how war is experienced in bodies and hearts, breaking down the morale of those who remain.... This is a novel concerned with power -- how it's given and taken, whom we must align with to get close to it -- and the consuming desire for more.... But simmering beneath all of this is the will to dream -- for the self, the family and the nation.... What makes the book pulse with life is ... 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 ""January may find you dry, blue and still vacuuming pine needles from the carpet. A favorite way to inject excitement into that postholiday apathy? Espionage. Vanessa Chan's historical fiction debut, set in the 1930s and '40s, centers on a Malayan mother of three. Seduced by the promise of an Asia for Asians, she sees that promise break during the Japanese occupation."" --The Morning newsletter, The New York Times ""World War II might be the most popular subject for historical fiction, but Vanessa Chan's debut, The Storm We Made, defies the typical focus on the Western front and a clear-cut distinction between good and evil that characterizes many books... [a] heartbreaking story of a family riven by war."" --Jenny Shank, Minneapolis Star Tribune ""The intrigue begins from page one of Malaysian author Vanessa Chan's much-heralded debut novel. This historical family saga tells the story of a Malayan mother caught up in espionage during World War II through varying points of view, handled expertly by Chan."" --Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle, Datebook ""19 New Books to Cozy Up With This Winter"""

In Vanessa Chan's spellbinding debut, one woman's desire to change her destiny shapes the future of a colonized nation. Combining cinematic grandeur with nuanced storytelling, The Storm We Made offers the hidden history that only fiction can reveal: the everyday yearnings of people surviving a brutal occupation, children trying to make sense of the unspeakable, and the search for love. I'll never forget this book. --Jessamine Chan, New York Times best-selling author of The School for Good Mothers Devastatingly beautiful and extraordinary . . . Vanessa shines an evocative light on this piece of history. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time. --Jessica George, New York Times best-selling author of Maame Vanessa Chan's The Storm We Made is a phenomenon unto itself. This is no mere debut, but rather the summoning of a story buried so deeply in a nation that it could only surface with a talent great enough to do it justice. --Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk and The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing Like the most dazzling historical fiction, THE STORM WE MADE etches intimate details on an epic canvas. Vanessa Chan's characters face agonizing choices under the darkness of colonization and war, and yet she imbues them with an indelible spirit of resistance that never lets you forget the light. A fearless, gripping, morally complex story by a writer to watch. -Dawnie Walton, national best-selling author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev

"""The intrigue begins from page one of Malaysian author Vanessa Chan's much-heralded debut novel. This historical family saga tells the story of a Malayan mother caught up in espionage during World War II through varying points of view, handled expertly by Chan."" --Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle, Datebook ""19 New Books to Cozy Up With This Winter"" ""The Storm We Made is poised to be a breakout debut of 2024."" --Kate Dwyer, Esquire ""An intricate puzzle in which [Chan] deftly moves narrative pieces in time and among viewpoints."" --Booklist ""Exceptionally brave. Heart-breaking, beautiful, and moving. Destined to be a classic. The Storm We Made is a celebration of stories that have been silenced or erased. Vanessa Chan writes with admirable power, confidence and grace. By confronting the horror of colonization and war, this book opens the pathway to peace and healing. A significant contribution to world's literature."" --Nguyen Phan Que Mai, author of the international bestseller, The Mountains Sing and Dust Child ""The Storm We Made is brave, funny and immensely moving. One of the most powerful and confident debuts I've ever read. A storytelling star is born!"" --Tracy Chevalier, author of the international bestseller, Girl with a Pearl Earring ""In Vanessa Chan's spellbinding debut, one woman's desire to change her destiny shapes the future of a colonized nation. Combining cinematic grandeur with nuanced storytelling, The Storm We Made offers the hidden history that only fiction can reveal: the everyday yearnings of people surviving a brutal occupation, children trying to make sense of the unspeakable, and the search for love. I'll never forget this book."" --Jessamine Chan, New York Times best-selling author of The School for Good Mothers ""Devastatingly beautiful and extraordinary . . . Vanessa shines an evocative light on this piece of history. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time."" --Jessica George, New York Times best-selling author of Maame ""Vanessa Chan's The Storm We Made is a phenomenon unto itself. This is no mere debut, but rather the summoning of a story buried so deeply in a nation that it could only surface with a talent great enough to do it justice."" --Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk and The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing ""Like the most dazzling historical fiction, THE STORM WE MADE etches intimate details on an epic canvas. Vanessa Chan's characters face agonizing choices under the darkness of colonization and war, and yet she imbues them with an indelible spirit of resistance that never lets you forget the light. A fearless, gripping, morally complex story by a writer to watch."" -Dawnie Walton, national best-selling author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev"

"""The Storm We Made is brave, funny and immensely moving. One of the most powerful and confident debuts I've ever read. A storytelling star is born!"" - Tracy Chevalier, author of the international bestseller, Girl with a Pearl Earring ""In Vanessa Chan's spellbinding debut, one woman's desire to change her destiny shapes the future of a colonized nation. Combining cinematic grandeur with nuanced storytelling, The Storm We Made offers the hidden history that only fiction can reveal: the everyday yearnings of people surviving a brutal occupation, children trying to make sense of the unspeakable, and the search for love. I'll never forget this book."" --Jessamine Chan, New York Times best-selling author of The School for Good Mothers ""Devastatingly beautiful and extraordinary . . . Vanessa shines an evocative light on this piece of history. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a very long time."" --Jessica George, New York Times best-selling author of Maame ""Vanessa Chan's The Storm We Made is a phenomenon unto itself. This is no mere debut, but rather the summoning of a story buried so deeply in a nation that it could only surface with a talent great enough to do it justice."" --Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk and The Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing ""Like the most dazzling historical fiction, THE STORM WE MADE etches intimate details on an epic canvas. Vanessa Chan's characters face agonizing choices under the darkness of colonization and war, and yet she imbues them with an indelible spirit of resistance that never lets you forget the light. A fearless, gripping, morally complex story by a writer to watch."" -Dawnie Walton, national best-selling author of The Final Revival of Opal and Nev"

Author Information

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.

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