The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng

Philip Hutton is the teenage son of one of the most powerful trading families in Malaya just before World War 2. Because his mother was Chinese, he never feels like he fits in--with either the Europeans or the Chinese. While his family is in England, he becomes friends with a Japanese man named Endo who has moved onto an island the family owns. What he doesn't realize is that war with Japan is coming soon and his hanging out with a Japanese man will alienate him further from the community. When war does come, Philip tries to use his relationship with Endo to protect his family, but at a high personal cost. The story starts 50 years after the end of the war, when a Japanese woman who loved Endo as a youth tracks down Philip and asks him to tell her about the Endo he knew. This beautifully written book was nominated for the Man Booker Prize.