[MPOV] The House of Doors

My rating: 5/5
Goodreads rating: 4.15/5
Published: May 4, 2023

Author: Tan Twan Eng

Genre: Historical fiction, Asian lit, LGBT

From the bestselling, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Garden of Evening Mists, a spellbinding novel about love and betrayal, colonialism and revolution, storytelling and redemption.

The year is 1921. Lesley Hamlyn and her husband, Robert, a lawyer and war veteran, are living at Cassowary House on the Straits Settlement of Penang. When “Willie” Somerset Maugham, a famed writer and old friend of Robert's, arrives for an extended visit with his secretary Gerald, the pair threatens a rift that could alter more lives than one.

Maugham, one of the great novelists of his day, is beleaguered: Having long hidden his homosexuality, his unhappy and expensive marriage of convenience becomes unbearable after he loses his savings-and the freedom to travel with Gerald. His career deflating, his health failing, Maugham arrives at Cassowary House in desperate need of a subject for his next book. Lesley, too, is enduring a marriage more duplicitous than it first appears. Maugham suspects an affair, and, learning of Lesley's past connection to the Chinese revolutionary, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, decides to probe deeper. But as their friendship grows and Lesley confides in him about life in the Straits, Maugham discovers a far more surprising tale than he imagined, one that involves not only war and scandal but the trial of an Englishwoman charged with murder. It is, to Maugham, a story worthy of fiction.

A mesmerizingly beautiful novel based on real events, The House of Doors traces the fault lines of race, gender, sexuality, and power under empire, and dives deep into the complicated nature of love and friendship in its shadow.

My utmost gratitude to Revitalize Books for the chance to read and savour this awesome book! It was such a pleasure reading every single chapter of this novel. I was fully transported back to the 20's... the swinging time when Penang was in its prime with many "angmohs" calling it their home.

There are many stories about Penang in the market, but this one was exceptional in my opinion. I liked how the story was told and the many characters that brought the story to life. Lesley and Robert, Willie and Gerald, even Sun Yat Sen made a cameo appearance. When Lesley decided to bare her soul to Willie, it was truly bizarre yet melancholy, a ''expect the unexpected'' moment for me. 

Mr. Tan truly knows his ways with words. Every prose so meticulously penned and yet the story flourished easily. I liked the extra touch where some Bahasa Melayu was added. It definitely localized the story more, giving it more depth and realistic. It was definitely an easy read even with the many incidents that transpired with the many characters involved.  

I am so happy to have finished this novel, one that I was looking forward to as I have enjoyed the previous 2, The Garden of Evening Mist and The Gift of Rain, a lot!!! I just hope that I don't have to wait another 8 years for the 4th one to be out LOL! If you like historical romance in Asian setting, do pick this one up. In case if you are not aware, there are some LGBT elements to the story so be forewarned ya...