The Heat of the Sun

by David Rain

When recently orpahned Woodley Sharpless encounters Ben Pinkerton - known to all as 'Trouble' - for the first time at the exclusive Blaze Academy, he is instantly enraptured. They are polar opposites: Ben is exotic and daring; Woodley is bookish and frail, yet their lives quickly become inextricable linked. First at school, then in the staccato days of twenties New York, Woodley sees flashes of another person in his friend and slowly discovers a side of Ben's nature that reveals his dark and hidden history.

But as the curtain falls on the frivolity of the twenties and rises to reveal the cruelty of a new decade, Woodley and Ben's friendship begins to fragment. Over the coming years the two men meet intermittently: in Japan before the outbreak of the Second World War and then again amidst the furore of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Change in both their lives, their relationship and their suffering, stand for a generation marked by depression and upheaval, brutality and confusion. The Heat of the Sun is an ambitious and assured novel that captures perfectly two friends, two loves: two lives.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Japan, Literary Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

David Rain is an Australian writer who lives in London. He is the author of the novels Volcano Street and The Heat of the Sun. He has written poetry, articles, and reviews. He has taught literature and writing at Queen’s University of Belfast, University of Brighton, and Middlesex University, London.

Website: www.davidrain.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/David.Rain.author
Twitter: @DavidRainAuthor

Reviews

[Aditi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.”
---- Bob Marley

David Rain, an Australian author, penned his debut novel, The Heat of the Sun based on Puccini's famous opera called, Madame Butterfly, undying friendship, bombings on Pearl Harbor and Nagasaki and about those relationships which are even stronger than blood. Yes, this is a historical novel set in the twentieth century across America and Japan, surrounding the life and times of a boy named Trouble.

Synopsis:
With Sophie Tucker belting from his hand-crank phonograph and a circle of boarding-school admirers laughing uproariously around him, Ben "Trouble" Pinkerton first appears to us through the amazed eyes of his Blaze Academy schoolmate, the crippled orphan Woodley Sharpless. Soon Woodley finds his life inextricably linked with this strange boy's. The son of Lieutenant Benjamin Pinkerton and the geisha Madame Butterfly, Trouble is raised in the United States by Pinkerton (now a Democrat senator) and his American wife, Kate. From early in life, Trouble finds himself at the center of some of the biggest events of the century—and though over time Woodley's and Trouble's paths diverge, their lives collide again to dramatic effect. From Greenwich Village in the Roaring Twenties, to WPA labor during the Great Depression; from secret work at Los Alamos, New Mexico, to a revelation on a Nagasaki hillside by the sea—Woodley observes firsthand the highs and lows of the twentieth century and witnesses, too, the extraordinary destiny of the Pinkerton family. David Rain's The Heat of the Sun is a high-wire act of sustained invention—as playful as it is ambitious, as moving as it is theatrical, and as historically resonant as it is evocative of the powerful bonds of friendship and of love.

David Rain gives a new edge to the opera, Madame Butterfly, which is about a Japanese geisha, Butterfly, who falls and finally marries the U.S.Naval officer, Benjamin Pinkerton, who then returns to his homeland, after the wedding night. Years later, Pinkerton returns back to Japan to claim his blond-haired boy named, Trouble, with his American wife, Kate Pinkerton, as a result, Madame Butterfly kills herself in front of her child. So what happens to this boy called, Trouble, is Rain's novel, The Heat of the Sun is all about.

Woodley Sharpless, a crippled boy left orphaned after his father's death, goes to an all-exclusive boarding school, Blaze Academy, in Vermont, where he befriends Augustus Le Vol and Ben “Trouble” Pinkerton. And the best catch about Trouble is that he has always lived up to the meaning of his name. And as Sharpless and Trouble's friendship bond deepens, Rain unfolds the journey of Trouble through Woodley's eyes, from the first time when Trouble invites to his house in New York to the time when Trouble falls head-over-heels in love to the time when Sharpless fells a connection to Trouble's past to the time when Trouble learns about the secrets of his past to the time when trouble to the time when Trouble sets sail to find his roots, thus losing all touch with his only friend, Sharpless, to the time when they meet again years later, but will their friendship ever be the same again?

Rain's narrative is articulate and and the way he described his scenes are more like a classic movie unfolding right in front of your eyes. The intricate detailing style is quite evident in almost all the passages in the book. The prose is elegant thus keeping you gripped to the plot. Moreover, Rain explores the consequences of American nationalism, problems of Japanese imperialism, uproar of a nuclear kingdom as he travels through the plateaus of Sharpless and Trouble's relationship.

Sharpless, a wannabe writer, was in love with Trouble from the very first time, yet they were friends and their bond was stronger and deeper than any relationship. From Woodley's eyes, we see Trouble's beauty in almost everything. There is also Augustus Le Vol’s account about Trouble being the Japanese prisoner of war is vivid, scary and so raw that it instantly captivates our mind with the horror. Moreover, the characters are crafted out strongly and those can be defined as always evolving in their own skin in the course of some famous historical events. I loved how the author evolved Sharpless from a boy to a grown adult within his narrative. The striking descriptions tele-ports you to the period of roaring twenties in the city Manhattan which is the center of a nuclear project, to the hot city of Los Alamos in Mexico to the oriental city of Nagasaki.

To be honest, at times, the pace became quite slow, but Rain's theatrical style of story-telling did not make us lose interest even for once.

Verdict: Read the debut novel of David Rain that explores the relationship between two young boys who then grow up to be distant from each other and how some consequences not only change them but also their relationship.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, David Rain, for giving me an opportunity to read and review his debut novel.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend once told me she felt envious of anyone reading a certain well known classic American novel for the first time, as she knew they had that wonderful story ahead of them, just waiting to be discovered. The Heat of the Sun leaves me with the same sentiment. Once finished it brings that bitter-sweet feeling of satisfaction at finishing the book, whist knowing I will miss the characters tomorrow.

The characters are as compelling as the historical backdrop is haunting. Standing next to Woodley as he watches Openheimer's Trinity is an image that will be hard to forget, just as the story of the Butterfly herself comes with an emotional punch that left me howling on the Northern Line in rush hour. Trouble is as elusive as he is fascinating, and the relationship between the Woodley and Trouble is beautifully complex in a way that writers are often unable to capture on the page.

As a writer who one day hopes to be a good writer, reading a book like The Heat of the Sun is a very humbling experience. People often say that the best artisans are those who make their work appear effortless; David Rain does this superbly.

[Sian Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
The thing is, I really enjoyed this book to begin with. For the entirety of the first half I was unable to stop reading it. It was gripping, the story was taking interesting twists and turns, the setting was interesting and the writing was immaculate. While the latter two remained consistent until the novels end. I felt the story fell flat after that amazing first half and ended up as rather a disappointment to me. More than anything I think this is a war novel, focusing on American - Japanese relations. Which unfortunately are topics I personally have little interest in reading about. I was reminded of A Separate Peace and also Brideshead Revisited which also have plots around the war but keep it separate enough from the central plot that my absorbtion persisted. Which unfortunately, was not the case with The Heat of the Sun.

[Graeme Aitken · Rating 3 out of 5]

This very original debut novel takes its inspiration from the storyline of Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, and unfolds what became of the young boy, born to Butterfly and her American naval officer lover Pinkerton. Rain’s conceit is that another character from the opera, Sharpless (the U.S. consul to Japan) also had a son, Woodley. These two boys, Woodley and ‘Trouble’ (aka Ben Pinkerton), first encounter one another at boarding school. Woodley quickly falls under the spell of the confident, charismatic Trouble, but their intimacy is short-lived: Trouble is unjustly expelled from the school. Yet, the friends continue to encounter one another as the decades pass, and gradually the closely guarded secret of Trouble’s origins spills out. There is a great deal to admire about this novel: the characters are boldly drawn; the prose is polished and confident; and the plot is intriguing and engrossing. There are also echoes of Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited , notably in the young men’s friendship and also the character of Kate Pinkerton (who like Lady Marchmain tries to control her son via his friend). But the novel is let down by its climax which is excessively overwrought, even if it is meant to be evocative of an opera. More problematic is that the relationship between the two main characters (and also their peers Le Vol and Isamu) remains shrouded in obscurity and enigma. The novel has a homoeroticism which is never made explicit, and ultimately for the gay reader it becomes frustrating to finish the book uncertain of what these characters meant to one another.

[Stephen Jerrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is parallel to Madame Butterfly with the story of the illegitimate offspring of an American sailor and Japanese prostitute. The child is adopted by the father and his new American wife who becomes the evil stepmother of fairytales.
The book focuses on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nagasaki is the place where the child was conceived and the stepmother feels this is the root of all the unhappiness in her life. The author hints that she may have influenced her husband’s choice as lead of the Manhattan Project. I considered in the real world how much personal influence has on political decisions as it’s not entirely clear why Nagasaki was chosen by the Americans for the second nuclear explosion. I did wonder how often political decisions on the face of it made for financial, political or military reasons actually have a human bias such as this.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the way this book started. The two boys meeting at a boarding school, although some of the things that happened at the school were rather horrific. Than they meet up again , years later and renew their friendship. I might have appreciated this more, and I really wish I had re-read Madame Butterfly because I could have understood who some of these characters were meant to be portraying. The prose was great and the book included some widespread history, the Manhattan Project, the bombings of Hiroshima among others. The prose was brilliant in many areas , but somewhere in the middle of the book the author lost me or I got lost. It almost seemed as if the style in the second half was completely different. So this was a good read for me but it could have been so much more.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Few stories are more beloved and compelling than that of Madama Butterfly. As brought to life in Puccini’s timeless opera, Cio-Cio-San, a young Japanese woman of noble birth, is forced into the life of a geisha after her father’s fall from grace and suicide. She falls in love with Pinkerton, an American naval officer for whom an arranged marriage is a matter of temporary convenience rather than long-term commitment. Butterfly takes her vow seriously, though, even renouncing her family and faith to keep her pledge to her husband. Pinkerton soon departs Nagasaki, leaving behind a faithful wife and son who wait patiently for his return. After three years, he does return, but with a new wife and the intention to take his son back to America. Rather than live in disgrace, Butterfly commits hara-kiri using the same dagger as her father.

For most of us, that is where this classic tale ends, no matter how many times we read it, listen to it, or see it played out on stage. Fortunately, David Rain, the author of this engaging debut novel, had the audacity to ask: What ends up happening to the boy? For that matter, what becomes of Pinkerton and his new wife as well as those other characters so pivotal to the original story (e.g., Prince Yamadori, Sharpless, Suzuki, Goro)? In The Heat of the Sun, we get the author’s highly imaginative answers to those questions. That those answers do not produce an altogether effective narrative does not diminish the creativity and thoughtfulness of the effort.

As told through the eyes of Woodley Sharpless, son of the American consul in Nagasaki who served as Lieutenant Pinkerton’s confidant and alter ego, we first meet Ben “Trouble” Pinkerton when the boys are classmates at an exclusive private school. This is by far the most successful part of the book; the author manages to create a subtle and highly atmospheric world that hints at so many of the struggles that Trouble and Woodley will experience throughout their lives. The story then follows the boys as they progress through early adulthood (in Greenwich Village of the 1920s) to the development of the professional careers (in Japan and the United States) to their tangential association with the development of the atomic bomb in middle age (at Alamogordo) and, finally, into their respective old ages.

Sadly, it is in these post-school vignettes that the novel loses a considerable amount of its focus, almost as if Rain could not decide whether he wanted to tell an affecting personal story about a son estranged from his parents or use the book as a pulpit to make sweeping (and heavy-handed) cultural and anti-war statements. Further, the links and parallels to the Butterfly story seemed a little contrived at times; virtually everyone who appeared in the opera makes an appearance in this story at some point. Still, I found reading The Heat of the Sun to be an enjoyable experience, if for no other reason than being transported to another place and time while listening to “Un Bel Di Vedremo” and “Vogliatemi Bene”. On balance, then, this is a book that I can recommend and I would not hesitate to read more of the author’s work in the future.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the exclusive American school known as Blaze Academy, the recently-orphaned narrator of the story is Woodley Sharpless who becomes best friends with the 'new boy' in school, in the shape of Ben Pinkerton - son of a controversial senator, Ben is everything that Woodley isn't. Ben is known, even within his own family, as 'Trouble' - a name which proves appropriate, or which he determines to live up to! Losing touch after school, the pair reunite in 1920's New York when, during all the frivolities of the era, Woodley becomes aware of a darker side to Ben's character, owing partly to his family history. The pair again meet in pre-war Japan, where they appear to be on different sides, yet Woodley is later surprised to be recruited by Ben to work with his senator father on the Manhattan Project - developing the atomic bombs that are to devastate two Japanese cities in order to bring the war to a quicker end. During all these cataclysmic events in world history, the pair's relationship itself becomes somewhat of a rollercoaster ride....
Overall, I thought this was a good read rather than a great one, hence my rating. I don't know if this is because of the 'narration' by the character Woodley - and how reliable or not this is - or whether I just couldn't get a 'handle' on the characters. Much switching of setting and sudden jumps forward in time didn't help me get a good grip on the story but would still read other books by this author as it certainly wasn't a bad read - 7/10.

[Sally Hirst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very patchy. I almost gave up once or twice. It is a tale over long chunk of time in several different places. Diplomats and ex-pats in Japan long ago and then home in the US and the story weaves about following and documenting ties between the more grounded narrator Woodley Sharpless and the mercurial Trouble. It started a bit stodgily, but then he flipped back into their time at boarding school together and that worked well and rocked along, but there were too many events and moves across countries and timespans and none of them really sat that well. Odd moments made you think he was going somewhere more with it (e.g. all those connections to Nagasaki and then Woodley meeting Oppenheimer), but they petered out as it zipped off in some other direction again and again.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a debut novel by a very talented writer. It would be a solid 3 and a half stars. David Rain manages to take the Madame Butterfly story and weave it into the 20th century with a lot of modern twists. The story starts at a boarding school in the 1920's and ends with a modern day memorial at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is an ambitious novel with many characters and a few too many plot twists. I found myself flipping back to previous chapters to try to understand some of the relationships. Parts of the story were a bit too fantastical to be believed and maybe too theatrical for me. But the writing itself is excellent.

[Lauren Coyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book in 2018- and finally read it in 2023. I’m so glad I gave it a chance because I loved the writing style and the story line. One boy over the entirety of his life- figuring life out and getting mixed up in some crazy situations- all intertwined with a boy named Trouble. This was an interesting read about the Japanese/American war and one I’d never would of considered reading beforehand. I’ll be thinking of this book for years to come.

[Caitlin Temme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a few chapters to get into it.... Historic fiction isn't my go-to for reading. Once the character development became clear I was hooked. Two friends who are polar opposites figuring out life. There's an interesting and shocking secret revealed in the middle, which carries the storyline through the rest of the book.

[Steve Charters]

I persevered till I'd read two-thirds and then gave up - it wasn't worth forcing myself on because the text wasn't holding my attention. It seemed to lack narrative drive; one thing happened and then another thing happened but it all seemed rather humdrum, bogged down in overmuch description of period detail. The stakes weren't high enough because the story extended over decades.

[Luke John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligently written expansion on Madame Butterfly, largely dealing with the fall out in the subsequent generation. Despite some moments which verge on the farcical, the work is well presented and lyrically composed.

[KATHY · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different cover than shown. Regardless. didn't catch my interest, unfortunately.

[Daniel Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interested reading with charm and compelling characters, my only problem with the book is how predictable it was.

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

To start, in compliance with FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I received the an advance reader's copy of the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

When I first opened the book and saw that it was set out like an opera rather than having "proper" chapters, I thought it would be rather pretentious. I am not always a fan of authors using these ideas to present their story. In this book, however, it worked perfectly. The story flowed exactly through the sections as an opera would and it reached the perfect crescendo just before the curtain came down on the story at the interval. I was quite drawn into the concept of the opera before I was even half way through the book.

I really liked the authors writing style as well. He had the perfect balance between setting the scene and describing it enough so you can picture it in your mind without being over wordy and going on and on at length just for the sake of it. His writing structure was very easy to read while still being intelligent enough to not make you feel like he was talking down to you.

The story itself was very different to what I had expected when I started reading. I expected more of a tragic love story based around Trouble's father and his Japanese "wife". We still get the love story but just with different people involved, which really kept me reading to see where it was going.

We all know the saying that "truth is stranger than fiction" (one of my favourite sayings) and it applies to this story. Central to the story was the dropping of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a plot which you could not make up as no-one would think it believable. The fact that it is true is astounding. I knew so little about this period of American (and Japanese) history and was glad to be educated by this book. Imagine being at the testing of these bombs and then knowing what they were going to be used for and having no way to stop it, or even worse, being able to stop it and not doing anything about it! I am finding it difficult to express myself here without inserting a spoiler so lets just leave it for now and you will just have to read the book yourself to see what I am trying to say.

I dropped one star from my rating as I felt that the section "Le Vol's Story" was not necessary to the book and just added some confusion in my mind as to where the ending was going. There was also a lot left to the imagination with words unsaid and I must admit to being slightly confused as to what the author was trying to get across at times. It kind of became clear in the end but I still have a niggle in my brain that I either misinterpreted or missed something completely through the omissions.

In summary, a unique and enjoyable book that I would be happy to recommend to a friend.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have said before that my iPod on 'shuffle' has long been my soothsayer, my horoscope, my Magic 8-Ball. But never have I had such a strong musical indication that I should read something as I did this. As I was browsing the Kindle Post, and deliberating over buying this, the Daily Deal, what should come on but, not part of Madame Butterfly itself (which I do also own), but a song from its musical theatre progeny Miss Saigon. It was John's (Sharpless') rousing speech 'Bui-doi', where he asks his audience (pointedly, in the case of his friend Chris (Pinkerton)) what is to become of all the illegitimate children born to American GI fathers and Vietnamese (Japanese) prostitute (geisha) mothers.

They're called Bui-doi
The dust of life
Conceived in hell
And born in strife...
These kids hit walls on every side
They don't belong in any place
Their secret they can't hide
It's written on their face.

So what could be a more perfect answer than reading this, an account purportedly written by Sharpless' (John's) son, of what transpired in the case of the product of one such union, that of Pinkerton and Butterfly (Chris and Kim)?

And with such portent, I'd like to say it was life-changing, best book I've ever read, etc. But it wasn't. I enjoyed it, yes. It was massive in scope and ambition, tied in very cleverly with real-world events, and had some beautifully written parts. But where it maintained links with the original opera, it veered a bit too close to the cute. For example, where Yamadori is singing along with Puccini's La Boheme, and Sharpless Jr writes: "In his old life he must have spent many a night at the opera"; or observes of Pinkerton Sr: "Only when opera swelled around us did he seem content". Bit too self-conscious.

And sometimes Sharpless' self-flagellating love for the undeserving Trouble was just too painful. I'm guessing the author identified more with Trouble (he certainly looks like him!) or else he might have given Sharpless a little more hope of reciprocation.

A more trivial criticism is the sheer length of the chapters (or 'Acts', as they are appropriately named). With so little time for reading at the moment, I found that when I finally reached the end of one of these sections, I felt that I needed a break from the book altogether, hence the reason it took me so long to finish.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspired by Puccini's Madame Butterfly and Luigi Illica's libretto, and other works on which it was based, David Rain has read into the story of Butterfly, expanded it and continued it towards the end of the C20th through the lives of Pinkerton's son Benjamin and Sharpless' son Woodley. Woodley and Ben, known as Trouble, first meet as young boys at Blaze Academy. Bookish Woodley is immediately drawn to the charismatic and extravagant Trouble, although it takes a while, and a turn of events, for the two to establish a relationship, a relationship that will repeatedly wax and wane over the years as the meet, part and meet up again.

Woodley does his best to look after his wayward friend, encouraged, or rather charged with the commission, by Kate Pinkerton, Trouble's step-mother and wife of the now influential Senator Pinkerton. They live it up in the 1920s, meet again in Japan just before the outbreak of WWII, later they find themselves working together on a secret project that will bring an end to hostilities between Japan and the US. But the fall-out could mean they will not see each other again.

This is a story that seems much bigger than its 270 plus pages, it covers so much with so many twists and turns. I found once or twice, if the story was ever in the possible danger of loosing my attention a new turn of events would rekindle my interest, and the more so on each occasion to the extent that the latter part I read in one sitting. It is much helped by the quality of the writing which alone makes the reading a pleasure.

Woodley, who narrates the account portrays himself as a rather lack-lustre character sometimes failing in his convictions, ponderous and limited by a childhood injury that leaves him crippled; but this only accentuates Trouble's wild, extrovert nature with his lithe, boyish physique. There is a third man in their relationship, Le Vol, a friend of Woodley's from Blaze, a friend who is not so taken with Trouble. Throughout there are rare hints of the real nature of the relationship between Woodley and Trouble, and Woodley and Le Vol, and we must wait until the last pages to find even a hint of a confirmation or otherwise; but then we never really doubted, did we?

This is a compelling story, with a cast of colourful and often powerful men and women; and we can feel very safe throughout in the hands of David Rain and his impeccable prose.

[Alex Nagler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Con onor muore"

This is the final aria of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly." It is here that the story ends - Cio-Cio San has committed ritualistic suicide, Sorrow sits blindfolded, American flag in hand, and Pinkerton rushes in, too late to stop it all. Cut to black, applause applause applause, and the opera is over.

Only in David Rain's "The Heat Of The Sun," that's not at all where it ends. That's just the unwritten beginning. This is a book where working knowledge of an piece of the European opera canon (as of 2011 the 7th most frequently performed piece and home to the always beautiful "Humming Chorus") puts the reader in an advantageous position, but it's not required. Sorrow is no longer sorrow, nor is he Joy - he is Trouble. Trouble for everyone involved. Benjamin Franklin "Trouble" Pinkerton II is a ner-do-well. Having been kicked out of this, that, and the other boarding school, he winds up at Blaze, where Sharpless becomes his second in a boxing match, but unexpectedly becomes up his second in life.

The cast of characters of Butterfly are woven through a narrative that slinks its way from the Roaring 20s in New York City to Washington DC at the close of World War Two, bringing everyone's arc to a close, some in unexpected ways. The title itself comes to bear in an odd way that I won't spoil, but the Pinkerton men wind up doing more considerable damage to Cio-Cio San's memory once the book closes.

If you like opera, history, WW2, or any combination of the three, it's an advised read.

[Laura Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps I expected too much.
Perhaps I'm the wrong target for this book.
But as much as the harmonies of Miss Saigon haunt my heart, as frequently as their refrains run through my vein, I was eager to hear the story of what becomes to the boy, the boy revealed at the end of Madame Butterfly at the end of Miss Saigon. What is his story? What becomes his story?

But sadly, The Heat of the Sun, didn't give me what I was looking for in Trouble. I never found his motivations, his dreams, his passions. Instead I saw him here and there doing outlandish things, never truly seeing his motives. I met his best friend, maybe the love of his life, maybe not, a writer with a limp who under achieved and let himself get lost in the rubble of the twenties.

Admittedly this is a guy's story, and I am not a guy. This book is about war and whisky, power and prep school. Not my favorite topics. But I have fallen in love with other books about these topics, because they let me in. With The Heat of the Sun I felt I was always being kept away from the innermost workings of the characters and their stories.

I longed to get to know the characters but instead never did. I couldn't love or hate them, because they were always distant from me, the reader, hiding their feelings and their desires.

And so, like the main characters, I walked away from this book empty.

[Cindi (Utah Mom’s Life) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the idea of a novel following the son of Lt. Pinkerton and his geisha from the famous opera Madame Butterfly. The book is organized like an opera with acts instead of chapters. The narrator, the son of Pinkerton's friend in Japan, Woodley Sharpless tells of the encounters he has throughout his life with "Trouble" Pinkerton. Intertwining their story with the historical events and ultimate war between America and Japan gives added theatrics to the dramatic tale.

David Rain writes well. He creates some interesting characters in his novel, though I had little sympathy for any of the characters--Senator and Mrs. Pinkerton especially are self serving and vile. No one has much regard for consequences to their choices and actions.

There are homosexual overtones throughout the novel. In fact, the story exudes a high tension with the unfulfilled passion between the main characters.

The novel started with the obligatory boys' boarding school scenes and ended with operatic drama, but the middle lagged. I did enjoy the novel's attempt to tell the next chapter of Madame Butterfly, and with my very limited knowledge, I felt it did a good job of staying true to the original while including the characters, setting and elements from the opera in the novel.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked David Rain's The Heat of the Sun much more than I expected I would at the outset. It begins as a typical boys' boarding school narrative which is not one of my favorite genres -- seems to me they're all pretty much the same story over and over. Fortunately, it gets better once the boys are out of school and on their own in the years leading up to World War II and during the war. I enjoyed all the many plot twists and turns, even though some of the coincidental meetings and developments were just a bit implausible. It was a little difficult to suspend my disbelief enough to accept that the Madame Butterfly story was real and that there had never been a famous opera based on the tale. I guess secretly I kept thinking that sooner or later one of the characters was going to say something like, "Hey, doesn't this all sound really familiar?" But that's a problem I have with a lot of historical fiction, and it wasn't enough of an issue to keep me from being thoroughly entertained. Definitely a good read, if you give it a chance.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book feeling quite heartbroken, and unsure why. It took me a little while to get into, but I soon found myself swept up in the lives of Sharpless and Trouble.

I wasn't really curious as to what was going to happen next, instead I felt as though as I was on the journey with the characters, experiencing things as they did; it was a hard book to put down.

At the end of the book I felt a great sense of regret for something lost, and I still can't quite figure out why. It's wonderful when a book makes you feel something, so even though I'm still confused about how the book made me feel (not by the story, I enjoyed the story itself and it wasn't hard to follow), I know that I liked it!

[I didn't know the story of Madam Butterfly, and when I started the book did not realise that it was based on this.]

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the story of "Trouble", illegitimate son of Madame Butterfly and Lt. Pinkerton now living in America, this book tracks a sordid, glorious, exhausting trail through American prep school, the Roaring Twenties, and the second world war.

At fist, the coming-of-age prose reminded me of Knowles 'A Separate Peace', but soon I was reminiscing about F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby', and after that a style all its own. Narrated in the second person by Trouble's lame and less fortunate friend Woodley Sharpless, this ambitious book tracks the lives of both men from the speakeasys of Harlem, to the baths of Nagasaki, to the missile training zones of the Southern US. For me, it was not as successful as either Knowles or Fitzgerald, but it was still an entertaining and alluring book with some moments of lovely prose.

[Jill Lapin-Zell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway, and to be honest, was curious about it after reading the synopsis, but unsure as to whether or not I'd like it. I was pleasantly surprised, and although the beginning was slow for me, I grew to love the eloquent prose and the intriguingly strong characters. Although the author draws inspiration from Puccini's opera, one does not have to be at all familiar with that story to appreciate this novel. It can be read, enjoyed and appreciated merely at face value. The story is a beautiful one of a deep and profound love, friendship and triumph.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book, or rather the first 80 pages I read of it, didn't work for me. The premise is better than the book: it's about Madama Butterfly & Pinkerton's son, Trouble. His Nick Carraway- type friend, Sharpless, does the storytelling. Normally, I quite like this kind of fanfiction, metafiction, story about a story, but this writer didn't make these characters, situation, or plot compelling or engaging for me.

I got this ARC from Amazon Vine in January 2013, but clearly it does work for others here.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A naval lieutenant had an affair with a Japanese geisha which resulted in a son. The lieutenant and his wife are determined to raise the son in the U.S. as their own, but, in the years that follow, the boy's rebellious nature and sense of being an outcast leave him longing for more than his parents can ever provide.

The first half, set during the 20s, was phenomenal and then the story skips ahead to WWII. Something seemed to disconnect halfway through and it completely lost me in the Los Alamos desert. By the end the coincidences and the climactic ending were a little too far fetched.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Styles itself as a self-proclaimed American classic with grand sweeping prose, large gaps in narrative and frequent dropped lines of thought that expect you to make large mental leaps to keep up, but just ended up leaving me feeling frustrated at the author and as though much of what he was trying to get across was flying over my head or way below by conscious thought. Seemed like it was trying hard to be a modern Great Gatsby, so if you loved that you'll probably love this - I didn't, so I didn't. Wish I hadn't finished it: not worth my time.

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent novel; it has the feel of classical literature. In a sense, it continues the story that many of us remember from Madame Butterfly. The story has a wonderful pace and is intriguing. "Trouble" Pinkerton is central to the novel; he is the son of Madame Butterfly. It is impossible to share a lot without giving the story away. This book, though, is worth a read especially due to its original and creative approach.