Vanessa Chan was motivated to write by a generational silence. Her grandparents freely shared stories of all aspects of their lives growing up in Malaya (now part of modern-day Malaysia), but would quickly gloss over any inquiries into what life was like during the period of Japanese occupation.
The result is Chan's debut novel, “The Storm We Made,” a harrowing work of historical fiction that seeks to shine a light on the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II. It is an intense and visceral story, immersing the reader into a family's struggle to survive the brutal occupation.
The story opens in 1945, near the end of the Japanese occupation, with parents Cecily and Gordon, and their three children, Jujube, 17, Abel, 15, and Jasmin, 8. They live in a world where children are disappearing daily, and girls are pressed into service at comfort stations. Chan frames this story through the daily minutiae of their lives as they struggle to navigate this world.
Soon, we flashback 10 years, to 1935, to find that Cecily, under the influence of a charming Japanese spy, was lured into living a double life of espionage in the hopes of overthrowing British colonial rule. Liberation, however, turned out to be much different than was hoped for, and Cecily must now live with that fact. The narrative moves between time periods and different family members' points of view, ultimately culminating in another moment of liberation, as the British drive out the Japanese at the end of WWII.
“The Storm We Made” is a familial story of struggle and survival spanning colonialism to imperialism in Malaya. Chan's narrative draws the reader into a hot, humid and gritty world of both the mundane and the extreme. The novel should appeal to readers of historical fiction, family sagas and stories of survival. Visit wcls.org to find “The Storm We Made” and other similarly themed stories.
Jonathan Jakobitz is an avid reader and the branch manager of the Blaine Library.
“The Storm We Made” is the November selection for the Books & Bites book group. Join Books & Bites at the Blaine Library at 1 p.m. on Nov. 20 for a time of community and lively conversation: https://wcls.libcal.com/calendar/events/booksandbites2026
