LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2012 Malaya, 1949. After studying law at Cambrige and time spent helping to prosecute Japanese war criminals, Yun Ling Teoh, herself the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle fringed plantations of Northern Malaya where she grew up as a child. There she discovers Yugiri, the only Japanese garden in Malaya, and its owner and creator, the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the Emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in Kuala Lumpur, in memory of her sister who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses, but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice 'until the monsoon comes'. Then she can design a garden for herself. As the months pass, Yun Ling finds herself intimately drawn to her sensei and his art while, outside the garden, the threat of murder and kidnapping from the guerrillas of the jungle hinterland increases with each passing day. But the Garden of Evening Mists is also a place of mystery. Who is Aritomo and how did he come to leave Japan? Why is it that Yun Ling's friend and host Magnus Praetorius, seems to almost immune from the depredations of the Communists? What is the legend of 'Yamashita's Gold' and does it have any basis in fact? And is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all?
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Just as elegantly planted as his Man Booker-long listed debut The Gift of Rain, and even more tantalisingly evocative. --Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
Delicately complex; effortless elegance --Ruth Browne, Cape Times
Delicately complex; effortless elegance --Ruth Browne, Cape Times
Book Description
Shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Columba
Format:Paperback
I found this second novel by Tan Twan Eng both absorbing and extraordinarily enriching. His hero is a woman. He writes in the first person singular and is obviously very much in touch with the female aspect of his psyche which adds to the authenticity of his plot.
I loved his first novel, 'The Gift of Rain,' and this one has an even greater profundity. I like especially the way in which he connects the past memories of his hero, Judge Teoh Yun Ling, with her present existence.
The real subject of the story is a Japanese Gardener, Nakamura Aritomo. He had once been the gardener of the Emperor of Japan. Yun Ling's story is intimately connected with Aritomo and the unique relationship between the two. There are several interesting characters and each plays a vital part in the unfolding of the story.
On the very first page Tan Twan Eng writes,
- "Thirty-six years after that morning, I hear his voice again, hollow and resonant. Memories I had locked away began to break free, like shards of ice fracturing off an arctic shelf. In sleep these broken floes drift towards the morning light of remembrance."
That's a marvellous paragraph and immediately hooked me on the story. Its a beautiful book full of wonderful and moving images as well as being an intriguing read.
I loved his first novel, 'The Gift of Rain,' and this one has an even greater profundity. I like especially the way in which he connects the past memories of his hero, Judge Teoh Yun Ling, with her present existence.
The real subject of the story is a Japanese Gardener, Nakamura Aritomo. He had once been the gardener of the Emperor of Japan. Yun Ling's story is intimately connected with Aritomo and the unique relationship between the two. There are several interesting characters and each plays a vital part in the unfolding of the story.
On the very first page Tan Twan Eng writes,
- "Thirty-six years after that morning, I hear his voice again, hollow and resonant. Memories I had locked away began to break free, like shards of ice fracturing off an arctic shelf. In sleep these broken floes drift towards the morning light of remembrance."
That's a marvellous paragraph and immediately hooked me on the story. Its a beautiful book full of wonderful and moving images as well as being an intriguing read.
62 of 65 people found the following review helpful
By Caroline
Format:Paperback
Having so enjoyed his first book, I started reading this one with great anticipation. I was not disappointed. His main character, a woman judge who has been tortured by the Japanese when they invaded Penang, approaches the former gardener to the Emperor of Japan, wanting him to make her a Japanese garden in memory of her sister.
His writing is magical and he paints vivid pictures of the Malaysian jungle near Cameron Heights. His introduces a longstanding family friend who is a survivor of the Boer War. Like the Judge he has experienced loss as his family was put in a concentration camp by the British. The battle for independence and the fight against communism also adds further depth to this fascinating story, which is wonderfully crafted throughout.
A must read.
His writing is magical and he paints vivid pictures of the Malaysian jungle near Cameron Heights. His introduces a longstanding family friend who is a survivor of the Boer War. Like the Judge he has experienced loss as his family was put in a concentration camp by the British. The battle for independence and the fight against communism also adds further depth to this fascinating story, which is wonderfully crafted throughout.
A must read.
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
By antony mair
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
In this wonderful book we are plunged into the Far East, and the conflicts between Malays, Chinese and Japanese. Against a background of total savagery in and after the Second World War there is a tale of love and forgiveness that unfolds with the slow inevitability of the garden that is the centrepiece of the book. The two central characters - a former gardener to the Emperor of Japan and the Malayan Chinese prosecutor of Japanese war criminals, who subsequently becomes a judge - are portrayed with astonishing sensitivity, as is the setting in the Cameron Highlands. I loved every single minute of it, and now know where I want to go on my next holiday!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
The garden of evening mists
An excellent,beautifully written book. It is full of interesting historical facts and evocative descriptions. Read more
Published 6 hours ago by Patti Crone
4.0 out of 5 stars
Magical
This book was beautifully written and the story is emotional with some unexpected twists.
My only criticism is that I didn't come to empathise with the main characters,... Read more
My only criticism is that I didn't come to empathise with the main characters,... Read more
Published 1 day ago by littlemissmoo
4.0 out of 5 stars
a magical book
just a lovely book..and a good read..and transports you in to another era and time..with beautiful and evocative writing.and aura
Published 1 day ago by l c maclure
2.0 out of 5 stars
One-sided and Superficial
This book purports to examine the amelioration of inter-race tensions in 1950s Malaya through an appreciation of high culture supposedly common to all. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Jamie Lang
4.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy book club recommendation
I chose this book as it was chosen by my book club and recommended by someone who had already read it. Read more
Published 5 days ago by John O'Sullivan
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Garden of Evening Mists
This was a book group choice and I was a little apprehensive about beginning it as I knew so little about Japanese/
Chinese history. Read more
Chinese history. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Ms. C. A. Hickey
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully informative about a part of the Second World War I knew...
I read this with my Book Club and we all enjoyed it and felt we learnt something about a part of the world, and the war, which we knew little about. Read more
Published 7 days ago by PD
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mists shrouded in mystery
Irritated that the disappearance of the Japanese gardener came straight from the true story of the American silk merchant, Jim Thompson, who walked out into the bush never to be... Read more
Published 18 days ago by rosie.osborne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Encaptures Malaysia
The novel gives a broad brushstroke picture of politiics in Malaysia both now and at the time of the emergency. Read more
Published 19 days ago by DR JONATHAN H DART
5.0 out of 5 stars
overblown
I enjoy reading everything really, and I happily chomped through this, but I think, in the end, it was rather overblown, for my taste.
Published 25 days ago by Jas
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