A Choice of Evils
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
ABOUT THE BOOK
This epic novel is set against the backdrop of the Sino-Japanese war, from the time Japan annexed Manchuria in the early 1930s until the end of the Second World War. During these years, a militaristic Japan pursued an aggressive dream to colonize not only China but also the whole of Southeast Asia and beyond. The brutal sacking of Chiang Kai-shek’s new capital, Nanking, which refused to surrender to the Imperial Army, was a graphic example of Japanese retribution in a war of punishment.
The story of these tumultuous years is told through the lives of a disparate group of fictional characters: a young Russian woman émigré caught between her complex love affair with a British journalist and a liberal-minded Japanese diplomat, an Indian nationalist working for Japanese intelligence, a Chinese professor with communist sympathies, an American missionary doctor and a Japanese soldier, who are all brought together by the monstrous dislocation of war. Enmeshed in a savage world beyond their control, each character turns to the deepest part of themselves to find a way to survive.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meira Chand is of Indian-Swiss parentage and was born and educated in London. She has lived for many years in Japan, and also in India. In 1997, she moved to Singapore, where she is now a citizen. Her multicultural heritage is reflected in her many novels, and A Choice of Evils is her sixth novel.
Previous titles:
• Sacred Waters
• A Different Sky
(a Waterstones Book of the Month; recommended by Oprah Winfrey; longlisted for International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2012)
• A Far Horizon
• House of the Sun
• The Painted Cage
(longlisted for the Booker prize)
• The Bonsai Tree
• Last Quadrant
• The Gossamer Fly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the ensuing horrors of WWII provide the background for Chand's (House of the Sun) harrowing exploration of the moral dilemmas presented by war. An internationally diverse group of characters endure the savage force of Japanese imperialism and confront the worst aspects of human nature in their conquerors and themselves. They are: a beautiful Russian woman, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time; a conscious-stricken Japanese diplomat; an Indian would-be revolutionary, manipulated by brutal Japanese handlers; a British journalist, driven to document the destruction but tortured by the ambition behind the need; a peace-loving, Red-sympathizing Chinese professor; and an expatriate American doctor and her two daughters. Chand uses them to examine the effect of war and torture on character, and the triumph of the human spirit over wrenching trials. The novel's strength lies in her knowledge and tolerance of the different cultures from which her characters come. She does not shy away from describing the pure horror of heinous acts, even while she attempts to maintain an evenhanded historical perspective. Wooden dialogue fails to enliven the players, but their reactions and emotions are authentically depicted. The scenes of the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal that conclude the story add useful (if rather didactic) documentation. This often searing work affirms that life is choice, but not always a choice of evils.
