A Choice of Evils

by Meira Chand

  For some moments Teng was silent.

  ‘If that is your feeling then that is what you must do. All that you say is right,’ he answered at last.

  The small room seemed to glow brighter in the setting sun. Teng looked up at the shaft of brilliant light and then down at the shadows it cast on the floor, of himself and of Akira. It seemed to him suddenly that, if there was an existence after death, it would have to continue at the level of consciousness attained in a lifetime. This was why earthly life was of such significance. It was not in the dimension beyond life, but only here, where opposites clashed, that the level of consciousness could be raised. And if there were rebirth, it was that level of knowledge taken over in death that would be returned to the world with each new incarnation.

  Teng stepped forward and then stopped to look back once more at the shadows trailing behind them. He walked on and Akira followed.

  PRINCIPAL FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

  Cordelia Addison

  Donald Addison

  John Addison

  Dr Janet Allen

  Dr Chen

  Old Chieko

  Bill Clayton

  Flora Clayton

  Lily Clayton

  Martha Clayton

  Michiko Dayal

  Tilik Dayal

  Mr Fukutake

  Jun Hasegawa

  Colonel Kato

  Dr Keswick

  Nadya Komosky

  Sergei Lekhovich

  Marco Mariani

  Mr Metzger

  Art Morton

  Akira Murata

  Captain Nakamura

  Kenjiro Nozaki

  Jacqueline Nozaki

  Naomi Nozaki

  Shizuko Nozaki

  Yuzuru Nozaki

  Mr Ohara

  Fat Man Ping

  First Secretary Henry Percival

  Mrs Primakov

  Bradley Reed

  Joe Russed

  Ivan Shepenov

  Hugh Smollett

  Rod Smythe

  Mr Strang

  Professor Teng Li-sheng

  Colonel Zayazeff

  Heiner Zimmer

  PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL CHARACTERS

  General Korechika Anami

  Lieutenant Anders

  General Prince Yasuhiko Asaka

  Rash Bihari Bose

  Subash Chandra Bose

  Chang Hsueh-liang

  Chang Tso-lin

  Grandma Chao

  Chiang Kai-shek

  Madame Chiang Kai-shek

  Prince Chichibu

  W. H. Donald

  General Dyer

  Dr Grazier

  Ambassador Grew

  Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto

  Counsellor Shunrokuro Hidaka

  Emperor Hirohito

  Father Jacquinot

  American Consul Johnson

  Joseph Keenan

  Marquis Koichi Kido

  Prince Fumimaro Konoye

  General Douglas MacArthur

  Count Makino

  General Iwane Matsui

  Emperor Meiji

  Prince Mikasa

  Colonel Akira Muto

  Empress Nagako

  Admiral Nagano

  General Kesago Nakajima

  General Maresuke Nogi

  General Sugiyama

  Kantaro Suzuki

  Emperor Taisho (Prince Yoshihito)

  Prince Takamatsu

  Police Commissioner Tegart

  General Hideki Tojo

  Mitsuru Toyama

  Amleto Vespa

  Sir William Webb

  General Heisuke Yanagawa

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The happenings in this book are based closely upon historical events, and many of the characters who appear in this narrative are based upon actual figures and their roles in the era covered. It is, however, important to stress that, while I hope the book may be seen as an historical document, it is also a work of fiction. All portraits of the characters portrayed are fictional, as are many of the events. My interpretation of Emperor Hirohito and other historical figures is purely my own.

  Many books were vital to me in my research, and I am grateful to them all for their illuminations. I must, however, particularly mention Japanese Terror in China by H. J. Timperly, correspondent for the Manchester Guardian at the time of the rape of Nanking. This contains the almost day by day official documentation of the International Committee of the Safety Zone in Nanking, during the time of their ordeal. It contains, as well as the official filing of reports and numerous letters to the Japanese Embassy, confidential reports, personal letters and diary entries of unimpeachable verity.

  Dr Keswick’s letter in the front of the old Bible belonging to Martha Clayton, is taken from Guinness of Honan by Mrs Howard Taylor, for which I am also indebted for an insight into missionary life in China.

  I have also valued greatly the interesting recounting of his life told to me by A. M. Nair in Tokyo shortly before his death.

  I would like to thank Dr Kaoru Sugihara for his advice while planning this book and also Dr Shou-ren Wang. I am most grateful to Prof. John Pritchard for his detailed reading of the finished manuscript for historical accuracy and many helpful comments. I should also like to thank Shegeki Hijino and Prof. Philip Billingsley for a further reading of the text in this regard. And my further thanks to Yoriko Kohno for her generous help with research.

  ALSO BY MEIRA CHAND

  THE GOSSAMER FLY

  ISBN: 978-981-4828-21-5

  Confronted by an arrogant and manipulative new maid after her mother is sent back to England following a breakdown, Natsuko, a young girl of English-Japanese parentage, is thrust into a dark and sinister adult world, causing her to retreat into mounting isolation, confusion, fear and anger, leading to a dramatic conclusion in this emotionally charged story.

  LAST QUADRANT

  ISBN: 978-981-4828-22-2

  In the havoc of a great typhoon, Akiko finds herself stranded with Eva, her adoptive mother, Kyo, the natural mother she has never known and Daniel, a troubled young man who has fallen in love with her. In the brief calm of the typhoon’s eye, the group arrives at the comparative safety of their wealthy English neighbour’s concrete house. There they must wait out the violence of the last quadrant – the wildest part of the storm. As the refugees draw together in a fight for survival and are forced to reckon with their deepest selves, the terrible night becomes a turning point for each of them.

  THE BONSAI TREE

  ISBN: 978-981-4828-23-9

  Liberal-minded heir to a traditional business empire, Jun Nagai brings his beautiful, intelligent English wife Kate Scott back to Japan after a whirlwind romance. A marriage his powerful and complex mother Itsuko naturally disapproves. While Jun is pulled between the two cultures, owing loyalty to both, Kate is thrown into an unfamiliar world. Stripped of all romantic illusions, she struggles to retain her individuality in a world where her role of a wife lies within strict social constructs.

  SACRED WATERS

  ISBN: 978-981-4779-50-0

  Orphaned as a child and widowed at thirteen, Sita has always known the shame of being born female in Indian society. Her life constrained and shaped by the men around her, she could not be more different from her daughter, Amita, a headstrong university professor determined to live life on her own terms. Richly layered and beautifully evocative, the novel is a compelling exploration of two women’s struggle to assert themselves in male-dominated societies of both the past and the present.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Meira Chand is of Indian-Swiss parentage and was born and educated in London. She has lived for many years in Japan, and also in India. In 1997 she moved to Singapore, and is now a citizen of the country. Her multi-cultural heritage is reflected in her novels.

  Also by Meira Chand:

  A Different Sky

  A Far Horizon

  House of the Sun

  The Painted Cage

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  Meira Chand, A Choice of Evils