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Trish Devine grew up under the mountain in Taranaki, New Zealand, where her love for storytelling and curiosity about the world took root. Her fascination with Japan’s rich culture was ignited while living and teaching in Hiroshima, where she witnessed firsthand the enduring strength of its people and traditions.
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Anthropology and a teaching career in culturally diverse communities, Trish has long explored themes of identity, resilience, and connection. As a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors, her lifelong passion for writing culminates in RISING SUN FALLING RAIN, which bridges the landscapes of New Zealand and Japan with a profoundly human story.
Now based on Auckland’s stunning Hibiscus Coast, Trish continues to draw inspiration from her surroundings and her love of exploring the intersections of history and culture.
Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite
Rising Sun Falling Rain by Trish Devine is set in Japan in 1946 soon after the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima. Volunteer Mick Mitchell signs up for a year to help the local people after the devastation. Leaving his parents' New Zealand farm, he is keen to see the world. Japan is a huge culture shock and he has much to learn. He is posted from Yamaguchi to an outpost in the hills. He drives the locals from their village to a hospital where they attend to their sick relatives and friends. Mick shows empathy and kindness, improving the truck and taking food and supplies to the village where the women with “hafu” or mixed-race babies are hidden away. Then he meets Emiko Tanazawa and they fall in love, but they are from two quite different cultures. The scene changes to Mick’s parents, Dorothy who is originally from the Cook Islands, and Jack, and their life back on the farm, where we meet the rest of the family. They are eager to greet Mick on his return a year later, but there is a surprise in store. The story then leaps forward to 1965 and takes the reader back to Japan.
Rising Sun Falling Rain by Trish Devine is so well told that it kept me on the edge of my seat. I was happily turning the pages, until suddenly there was a twist I never saw coming, followed by yet another one. I really liked reading about the Japanese countryside, and the scenes are so well described that I could see it all in my mind. There are many interesting and intriguing characters to meet both in and out of uniform, and one is very different. I was glued to every page, and on the last page, I was in tears. I do not experience this with many books and that makes it so special. This is a truly remarkable first book. I loved the thought-provoking quotes at the beginning of each chapter. This novel strikes at the heart, moves the reader, and at the same time shares information about the culture and mindset of the Japanese. I cannot recommend it highly enough. This book is a must-read if you like a good story told in flowing language, with just the right amount of tension, love, laughter, and loss. I shall insist that it is on my book club choice.
