In the vast field of Malayan Literature in English—or in the other main languages for that matter—And The Rain My Drink stands out as a towering testimony of a hellish period lived through and experienced by the writer herself. Very few books come close to the wrenching narrative of this book as it unravels and exposes the truths behind the realities of what went on during this time of confused values and even more confused judgments. In the years to come, given the author’s recent demise, as more come forward to offer their own personal testimonies, I am sure the book’s validity and claim to be the major account of jungle warfare and terrorist tactics used by different parties for very different ends, will be of paramount interest and concern to, and for, literary scholars. The writing is unaffected, the backdrop unpleasant for the most part, and the characterization brutally honest and clear. These are qualities we admire in the best of writers and here Han Suyin excels even herself. For more than any other of her books, And The Rain My Drink speaks of history and to history; presenting an articulate and uncompromising view and laying bare the quintessence of what individuals and families had to endure during these tough times in the Malayan jungles because of the absence of real leadership. It is important that young people—and particularly so the young of Singapore and Malaysia (which were one country then, known as the Federation)—read this book and process the many perspectives it offers, for Han Suyin writes not so much for the people in power who made a mess (and therefore are judged by the might of her pen) but for those common human beings who lost so much even though they gave so much. Another Malaysian writer, the late Ee Tiang Hong, has stated in one of his most moving poems that ‘the common man/is history’s poor left-over’ (‘The Common Man’ in Myths For A Wilderness). What we witness in And The Rain My Drink is this common man, ordinary humanity, pitted against ruthless greed for power and tragically miscalculated emphases on the ends at the expense of means. Our young need to experience the disastrous consequences when ends take over means with scant regard for human pain and suffering and while the history books will state this, it is fiction that will bring the enormity home! For this I strongly advocate that And The Rain My Drink be read in schools and colleges because there is a persistent danger that the pursuit of ideals, no matter how worthy, should not be undertaken without due regard to the costs involved. Yes it is honourable to court ideals and even die for these, but where and when the ideals are themselves originating from confused mindsets and set-in-stone paradigms, then it is advisable to be cautious, circumspect and rational. Passions aside, at the end of the day, we are talking about real lives being lost in the wilderness of uncertain commitments, goals and values. While And The Rain My Drink does not pretend to be exhaustive, its coverage and rendering of human plight is comprehensive enough for all to be aware of the terrors that lurk behind uneasy compromises and simplistic solutions to complex issues.