Darkness Calls the Tiger
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"My adopted people have a story, a legend, that speaks of a time so dark, the sun will turn his back on the mountains and swallow the moon. It is then that the Sharaw--the Tiger-Man--will come prowling, exacting revenge on the darkness. But there is no great darkness in me or my world. It isn't always comfortable, but it has always been predictable . . . until the soldiers came. In the months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Imperial Japan devoured entire Asian countries. It wasn't long until the only thing standing between the West and the Land of the Rising Sun was the mountains of Burma-Kailyn Moran's home by birth if not nationality. The daughter of a Baptist missionary and a native Kachin mountain woman, Kai witnesses her land engulfed by unspeakable atrocity, destroying her family and her hope. It is a time of darkness, and she and the other missionaries must choose which path to take--the way of forgiveness and home or the way of the Sharaw"--
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I love a good work of historical fiction. I was especially interested to read Darkness Calls the Tiger because I’ve never read a story that focuses on World War II in Burma. When you think of the Japanese involvement in World War II, you think of Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March. But their efforts to conquer Burma with an eye to taking over all of mainland Asia were no less atrocious.
Kailyn Moran, or Kai, has grown up in the village of Tingrabum, on the mountain. The Kachin people call her father, John, the Jungle Light, because he shares the light of the Gospel with them, pointing the way to Karai Kasang, the supreme God. But all Kai sees of her father is unrelenting harshness. Since her mother died, he has all but turned away from Kai unless he’s criticizing her, and she feels like nothing she ever does is good enough to earn his praise or his love.
When the Japanese start encroaching on Burmese territory, John sees no need to flee. He confidently states that God will protect them, and he goes on his usual routine visits to other villages, leaving Kai and the new missionary, Ryan, in charge of their village. But war finds them, and Kai and Ryan must try to get the villagers to safety.
This was not an easy read. Tromp doesn’t flinch at describing the brutality of the Japanese soldiers to anyone who stood in their way, and there are some pretty stout descriptions of battles and injuries suffered. She also doesn’t pull back from the very real emotional challenges her characters faced. Her characters don’t have a touchy-feely, “God loves us all and everything is going to be just fine” kind of faith on display. Kai and Ryan wrestle hard with their faith, and that struggle is writ large on the page. Kai wonders how she can trust Karai Kasang when He has let people she loves be hurt or killed, when her father has basically walked away from her. Ryan questions how he can carry on when his efforts seem to go for naught, when every choice he makes seems to be the wrong one and evil seems to be winning the day.
But this is a compelling, beautiful story, well worth the reading of it. Our characters struggle, yes. When they open their eyes and pay attention, though, they can see God’s hand at work. And when they learn to trust that He is working all things, even the hard and ugly ones, together for good, they can find peace, healing of hearts and minds and old emotional wounds, and the ability to forgive even the most loathed of enemies.
If you’ve read and enjoyed The Long March Home by Tosca Lee and Marcus Brotherton, you’ll love Darkness Calls the Tiger.
Originally posted at theplainspokenpen.com.
