From the back: Penang, 1939. Sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is a loner. Half English, half Chinese and feeling neither, he discovers a sense of belonging in an unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip shows his new fried around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo trains him in the art and discipline of aikido.
But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. The enigmatic Endo is bound by disciplines of his own and when the Japanese invade Malaya, threatening to destroy Philip's family and everything he loves, he realises that his trusted sensei – to whom he owes absolute loyalty – has been harbouring a devastating secret. Philip must risk everything in an attempt to save those he has placed in mortal danger and discover who and what he really is.

Having studies British colonial history in greater detail (though not focusing on the Far East) I was familiar with the outlines of the historical events in this novel. And training martial arts myself for some time now I'm not completely new to aspects of aikido as described here. Therefore it's not surprising I liked the novel but not only due to these facts. I think Tan Twang Eng manages very well in portraying Philip – as a child of at least two worlds which are not easy to reconcile – and his inner conflicts between opposing loyalties in an especially difficult time.

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