The Gift of Rain

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use, illness, and death.

Philip notices Michiko staring at the moon. For the past week, he has been telling her the story of his life and his meeting with Endo. They have settled into a routine. One morning, he asks her whether she is sick. The pills have stopped working, she admits, and she does not have long to live. She promises that she will last until at least the end of Philip’s story.

In his old age, Philip has worked to preserve as much of old Penang as possible. He uses his wealth to buy many of the city’s old buildings and preserve them as they were in his youth, through the Hutton Heritage Trust. He works closely with a young architect named Penelope Cheah. She is currently working on a restoration of Tokay Yeap’s former home. Lately, however, Philip has been wondering “how much can one hold on to history” (183). He worries that his attempts to cling to the past are foolish.

Philip is interviewed by a local journalist. As well as the regular questions about the Trust’s preservation efforts, the journalist grills Philip about his wartime activities and whether he is “a war criminal who somehow managed to escape justice” (184).