"The Garden of Evening Mists" by Tan Twan Eng made me a) want to visit Malaysia b) recall my visit to the Imperial Garden in Tokyo, Japan. I have to concede that I am not a huge fan of Japanese gardens because I always felt they were a bit too artificial for my taste, but this book's evocative descriptions of a Japanese garden designed by none other than the Emperor's gardener himself, made me want to go back and re-experience the gardens of Tokyo.
Set in Malaysia during World War II the book brings together Yun Ling Teoh the sole survivor of a prisoner of war camp run by the Japanese, and Aritomo the Japanese gardener who was once exiled from Japan and who has chosen not to return to his homeland even after the war ended. Yun Ling becomes Aritomo's apprentice so that she could learn to build a Japanese garden in honor of her sister's memory, and during that process slowly deals with her problems - her sense of betrayal, anger, and her desire for revenge. We also see Malaysia come into its own following the British, Japanese occupation and then struggling to fend off Communist guerillas.
The novel is set in the present with Yun Ling now retired from the Supreme Court, returning to Yugiri the estate of Aritomo to take care of some unfinished business from the past, especially now that she knows she has a debilitating disease that is causing her to lose her memory. As she starts writing down her story, we also learn that Aritomo was not just a master gardener but was also a well respected tattoo and wood block prints artist and Yun Ling herself is the final living proof for his horimono skills.
Why did Yun Ling survive the camp when everyone else perished? What was Aritomo doing in Yugiri? How did he meet his end? Will she build her Japanese garden? What will she do with Aritomo's garden, his wood prints and his horimono?
From the opening sentence "On a mountain above the clouds once lived a man who had been the gardener of the Emperor of Japan" this book had me hooked. I found it hard to put down although the pace was quite slow and meditative. The detailed ceremonies - tea, tattoo, gardening, archery, Chinese mooncake festival - were captivating. The Malaysia of Eng is a melting pot of cultures and nationalities - South Africans, Japanese, Tamils, Chinese, and indigenous Malaysian tribes all figure in the story and anyone familiar with the region knows that it is not far off from the Malaysia of today.
Yes there were some sections of the book that read like a history book and others which were crawling at snail pace, and some that felt rushed but I thought the book was like Aritomo's garden. "A garden is composed of a variety of clocks.... Some of them run faster than the others, and some of them move slower than we can ever perceive". Tan Twan Eng lost out to Hilary Mantel at the Booker, but FWIIW I am still plodding through "Wolf Hall" whereas I easily strolled through the Garden of Evening Mists :)
Set in Malaysia during World War II the book brings together Yun Ling Teoh the sole survivor of a prisoner of war camp run by the Japanese, and Aritomo the Japanese gardener who was once exiled from Japan and who has chosen not to return to his homeland even after the war ended. Yun Ling becomes Aritomo's apprentice so that she could learn to build a Japanese garden in honor of her sister's memory, and during that process slowly deals with her problems - her sense of betrayal, anger, and her desire for revenge. We also see Malaysia come into its own following the British, Japanese occupation and then struggling to fend off Communist guerillas.
The novel is set in the present with Yun Ling now retired from the Supreme Court, returning to Yugiri the estate of Aritomo to take care of some unfinished business from the past, especially now that she knows she has a debilitating disease that is causing her to lose her memory. As she starts writing down her story, we also learn that Aritomo was not just a master gardener but was also a well respected tattoo and wood block prints artist and Yun Ling herself is the final living proof for his horimono skills.
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| Imperial Garden, Tokyo |
From the opening sentence "On a mountain above the clouds once lived a man who had been the gardener of the Emperor of Japan" this book had me hooked. I found it hard to put down although the pace was quite slow and meditative. The detailed ceremonies - tea, tattoo, gardening, archery, Chinese mooncake festival - were captivating. The Malaysia of Eng is a melting pot of cultures and nationalities - South Africans, Japanese, Tamils, Chinese, and indigenous Malaysian tribes all figure in the story and anyone familiar with the region knows that it is not far off from the Malaysia of today.
Yes there were some sections of the book that read like a history book and others which were crawling at snail pace, and some that felt rushed but I thought the book was like Aritomo's garden. "A garden is composed of a variety of clocks.... Some of them run faster than the others, and some of them move slower than we can ever perceive". Tan Twan Eng lost out to Hilary Mantel at the Booker, but FWIIW I am still plodding through "Wolf Hall" whereas I easily strolled through the Garden of Evening Mists :)
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