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|title=The House of Trembling Leaves

|sort=House of Trembling Leaves

|isbn=978-1908737175

|website=http://julianlees.com/

}}

To many it may just be another skirmish in the longstanding clan war in the Malaysia of 1936 but the explosion destroys Lu See's village dam and over 30 lives. As far as Lu See's concerned, it's time for her to leave anyway. Rather than face an abhorrent arranged marriage she escapes to Cambridge, England with her Tibetan servant, Sum Sum, seeking a future that combines study with her forbidden true love, Adrian Woo. Adrian comes from a rival family in the village so this isn't a match that pleases everyone. For now Lu See and Sum Sum think they've left trouble and conflict behind but their futures testify differently.

Lu See and Sum Sum are followed by a narrative that picks up their lives at crucial moments. They flee from localised civil war to arrive in England at the moment when it's preparing for a fight of its own against fascism. From there we experience World War II Malaysia under the Japanese, pre-independence Malaysia and Tibet pre- and post-Chinese invasion. This isn't so much one rich tapestry as a living museum, each era dripping with atmosphere, a sense of its own time and that of the location. In fact in many ways the locations are as much characters as the humans but that doesn't mean that the humans sparkle any less.

If you've enjoyed this and would like to read more about Malaysia, we heartily recommend the 2012 Man Booker Prize short-lister [[The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng]].

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