Introduction

In Japanese-occupied Malaya, lives are shattered and a woman discovers her inner strength in a world ravaged by war.

Following the death of their matriarch, the lives of Chye Hoon’s family are turned upside down. Now that the British have fled and the Japanese have conquered, their once-benign world changes overnight.

Amid the turmoil, Chye Hoon’s daughter-in-law, Mei Foong, must fend for her family as her husband, Weng Yu, becomes increasingly embittered. Challenged in ways she never could have imagined and forced into hiding, Mei Foong finds a deep reservoir of resilience she did not know she had and soon draws the attentions of another man.

Is Mei Foong’s resolve enough to save herself, her marriage, and her family? Only when peace returns to Malaya will she learn the full price she must pay for survival.

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Excerpt

1

THEY HAVE COME

The thought hit me as my daughter’s voice pierced the quiet of that beautiful morning of 15 December 1941. I heard her scream ‘Eggs falling on the ground!’ and sensed that our lives were about to change irrevocably.

From the bedroom I half-walked, half-ran into the outer hall. It must have taken no more than a minute, though I’d had a bout of morning sickness and my movements could have been ungainly. I was only six weeks pregnant, but being slim and of small build, my baby was already starting to show, a solid presence whose agitation I was convinced I felt from time to time. I had reached the barlay – a raised platform made of parquet for sitting or sleeping on – when the first blast came. There was a violent quake. The very walls of our house shook. In front of me, panes of glass on the louvre windows rattled so loudly that I thought they would shatter. Even the trunk of the flame-of-the-forest tree in our garden swayed from side to side, its vermillion leaves rustling shrilly and then dropping as if blown by a strong wind. The hefty front door of our house stood wide open.

As I hurried outside and around the corner, I saw the planes in the distance. But perhaps I did not see them – perhaps I only heard them. I imagined a whole formation, unfurling like a flag in the opal sky. For months, the talk had been of nothing but war and now they were here, the Japanese forces who only the week before, on the night my mother-in-law, Chye Hoon, passed away, had made an incursion into northern Malaya. It had not taken them long to reach our mining town. With conflict on our doorstep, we stood on the precipice of a new age.

In the far corner of our garden, our two eldest children stood beside the gardeners, Samad and Kamil, whose hands were raised to their foreheads as they peered at the sky. I had not taken another step before the second blast reverberated. The ground shuddered and my gut sank, the way it sometimes did during menstruation, as if my innards were being sucked into the earth. I saw the black dashes then, gliding across a liquid sky.

Planes rarely flew over our house; when they did, there was likely to be only one, not an entire squadron. The aircraft could have belonged to our British rulers, but for some reason I did not think so.

It took me a few minutes to understand. We had only vaguely heard about bombs then; we did not really know what they were. The planes made a loud buzzing as they began to swoop. I was frightened and at the same time mesmerised by the sight of the dashes falling, one by one, dropping strange oval balls in sleek lines. Some sank straight to the ground; others moved in curved trajectories, zigzagging, buffeted by invisible gusts. It was only when the balls landed that their terrifying power became clear, and my brain made the connection between the earth convulsing and this strange rain.

At that moment I let out a cry. Although the bombs had dropped some distance away, I could feel grit churning under my feet. I thought the land was going to open up and swallow us all. I imagined the limestone hills surrounding Ipoh being blown apart. My stomach lurched and I felt sick.

From the direction of the town, a column of smoke was rising. My only thought was of getting everyone into the house.

‘Go inside! Inside now!’ I screamed.

For once, my son and daughter seemed to move too slowly. I remember pulling them by their hands and Samad lifting my eldest son, Wai Sung, while Kamil grabbed hold of my daughter’s hand as we scrambled inside through the kitchen door. As soon as we had slammed it, I scanned the room and saw that my second son, Wai Kit, was being cradled by one of the servants. Baby Robert was inside too, in the arms of another servant. But there was still my husband, Weng Yu, who had left earlier for his office in the heart of Ipoh town.

The smoke . . . I need a phone.

I remembered that my brother-in-law Weng Yoon, my husband’s fourth brother, who lived next door with his family, owned this modern apparatus.

‘Lock all the doors,’ I commanded Chang Ying, the tiny girl who had once been my personal maid and now served as cook and amah. Only then did I notice how the blood had drained from her face and how she stood shivering with eyes agog. The other servants were equally stricken, like cats in the midst of being run over. Ah Hong, who had worked in the Wong household for thirty-seven years, began to weep. Irritation surged through me, though I kept my temper. In our inner hall the grandfather clock struck eleven times. I knew I would have to move before it was too late. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. There have been many novels set during World War II. In what way does When the Future Come Too Soon differ from other novels you have read in which war served as a backdrop?

2. What do you feel you have in common, if anything, with the protagonist, Wong Mei Foong, and with her husband, Wong Weng Yu?

3. “As our eyes met across the desk, I knew that nothing could ever be the same again. I wished later that I had seized the moment rather than letting it pass. But when it came, I could not find the courage to ask whether he loved me.”
One of the recurrent themes in the novel is that of missed opportunities. What do you believe that Mei Foong could have done differently?

4. Describe the relationship between Mei Foong and Weng Yu at the start of the novel and how it evolves as the story progresses.

5. Wong Weng Yu believes himself to be, and is regarded by those around him, as a thoroughly Westernised man. Do you agree, and why or why not?

6. Discuss how the different characters react to the imminent disappearance of their British rulers and the sudden imposition of a Japanese regime.

7. What did you find most surprising in this novel?

8. “Under the Japanese there was little sense of night and day, of right or wrong; no sooner did dawn break, than dusk settled. Time marched forward as it always had, but we were numb to its passing.” Has your view about the behaviour of the Japanese Army during World War II changed in any way through reading this novel?

9. Describe your reactions to the growing friendship between Mei Foong and Chew Hock San.

10. To what extent do you believe that Mei Foong is responsible for her predicament at the end?

11. What do you think fidelity means in a relationship? In your opinion, does society hold women and men to different standards?

12. Betrayal is another theme in When the Future Comes Too Soon. Discuss the instances of betrayal in the story. Do you believe the British betrayed Malaya?

13. Do you think that Mei Foong will finally disclose to her children what she has kept from them for so long?

14. Discuss the title, When the Future Comes Too Soon. Is this a good title? What would you and members of your group have chosen?

15. What do you feel you have learnt by reading this book?

16. To whom would you recommend When the Future Comes Too Soon and why?

Enhance Your Book Group/Club

1. Consider reading the first book in the Malayan Series, The Woman who Breathed Two Worlds, and discussing it in your group. Can you trace any lessons that each of Mei Foong and Weng Yu learns in the course of each novel?

2. Spend an afternoon with your group taking an introductory lesson in Chinese calligraphy.

3. Plan a viewing of the History Channel documentary, Rising Sun over Malaya, with your group to get a sense of what Malaya was like during the war (NB there are disturbing scenes of a graphic nature).

4. Go armchair travelling with a map of Peninsula Malaya and pin all the places mentioned in this book. Think about the distances travelled by the Japanese army as it marched down the country. If you had been in Mei Foong’s shoes, what would you have done?

5. Connect with Selina Siak Chin Yoke on Twitter, Facebook or her website and invite her to join your book club discussion of When the Future Comes Too Soon, either in person or virtually – she would be honoured to participate if her schedule permits. Even if she cannot join you, send her any questions you may have and she will do her best to provide answers. Follow her on Amazon if you would like to receive updates on upcoming the books in the Malayan Series.

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