The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast:
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
This book came out in 2012, and it won the Man Asian Literary Prize.
In The Garden of Evening Mists, Tan Twan Eng weaves a captivating tale of love, loss, and the enduring power of nature. Set amidst the lush tea plantations of the Cameron Highlands, this novel explores the aftermath of World War II and the lingering scars of trauma.
Yun Ling Teoh, a survivor of a Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace in the enigmatic Aritomo, a Japanese gardener exiled from his homeland. As she learns the art of garden design, Yun Ling becomes entangled in a complex web of secrets and lies.
The garden itself, a place of tranquility and beauty, becomes a symbol of hope and renewal amidst the chaos of war and its aftermath. Eng's prose is both lyrical and evocative, painting vivid pictures of the Malaysian landscape and the intricate details of garden design.
The characters are deeply flawed and complex, making their journeys all the more compelling. Yun Ling's struggle to reconcile her past with her present is particularly poignant, as she grapples with the trauma of her experiences and the lingering hatred she feels towards the Japanese.
Kirkus Reviews said,
The unexpected relationship between a war-scarred woman and an exiled gardener leads to a journey through remorse to a kind of peace. After a notable debut, Eng (The Gift of Rain, 2008) returns to the landscape of his origins with a poetic, compassionate, sorrowful novel set in the aftermath of World War II in Malaya…Grace and empathy infuse this melancholy landscape of complex loyalties enfolded by brutal history, creating a novel of peculiar, mysterious, tragic beauty.
The Garden of Evening Mists is a meditation on the power of nature to heal and the enduring nature of love. It's a novel that will stay with you long after you've finished reading it, leaving you with a renewed appreciation for the beauty and fragility of life.
The book is a 4.5 star rated book on Amazon.
It is 352 pages - and the perfect summer read for gardeners.
SI HORTUM IN HORTORIA PODCASTA IN BIBLIOTEHCA HABES, NIHIL DEERIT.