The Garden of Evening Mists in Around the Year in 52 Books

Jul 03, 2018 Trish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, book-club, zsrc-2018-2-summer

Every so often you read a book which is so well written that you find yourself utterly drawn into it. This is one of those books. Beautifully written, evocative and poignant, and covering difficult topics (memory loss, Japan in WWII) without being sensational.

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May 26, 2022 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio, era-world-war-2, wouldnt-normally-read, 100-best-of-21st-c, fiction, historical-fiction, literary-schmiterary, all-time-favorites

The mountains are as I have always remembered them, the first light of the morning melting down their flanks.

A few weeks ago, I was discussing with some Goodreads friends about whether we had read a perfect novel. This is it. (Or, close to it.). This is the perfect novel.

This is a book about forgetting and remembering, about betrayal and loyalty. Maybe that sounds too grandiose. This is a book about people who have been through some serious shit, suffered, lived to tell the tale, and still ...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Maggie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, romance, asian

This is the story of Yun Ling, a Chinese lady living in Malaya who was tortured as a POW by the Japanese during World War II. She dreams of growing a Japanese garden in honour of her sister Yun Hong who died in the camp, and comes to Yugiri, the Garden of Evening Mists, a garden grown and maintained by the former gardener of the Japanese emperor, Aritomo. The story yoyos back and forth between Yun Ling's time with Aritomo and a time many years after Aritomo when missing in the jungles around the This is the story of Yun Ling, a Chinese lady living in Malaya who was tortured as a POW by the Japanese during World War II. She dreams of growing a Japanese garden in honour of her sister Yun Hong who died in the camp, and comes to Yugiri, the Garden of Evening Mists, a garden grown and maintained by the former gardener of the Japanese emperor, Aritomo. The story yoyos back and forth between Yun Ling's time with Aritomo and a time many years after Aritomo when missing in the jungles around the Cameron Highlands, when Yun Ling, as an ageing lady, has been diagnosed with progressive aphasia and starts recording her memories of her time with Aritomo. The Japanese scholar Tatsuji seeks out Yun Ling for help on a book on Aritomo's woodblock prints, and through his accounts of what he has learnt about Aritomo's life, secrets and mysteries are uncovered.

Tan's writing is incredibly atmospheric. His descriptions of the mists of the Malayan mountains convey a sense of mystery, sorrow and reflection. His words are well chosen to paint pictures of anger, bitterness, tension, fear, calmness, and relief, without using excessive or unnecessary words. It's a sign of his talent that he managed to create an almost surreally peaceful environment in the cool highlands, when all around were the dangers of muggy post-war Malaya. His characters feel real. Magnus, Frederik, Emily, Ah Cheong and Tatsuji all come to life, and the main characters especially have layers upon layers that nevertheless come together in a cohesive whole.

To be frank, Yun Ling's character grated on me. She had too much pride for me to like her, but her anger and independence were in keeping with her experiences in the war camp.

I found it fascinating to read a book set in Malaysia – no, Malaya. I live in Singapore, and the histories of places whose names no longer exist, like Malaya and Batavia, as well as of Singapore itself, were close to my heart. He drops occasional references to things only people who have been to Southeast Asia would know, like the appearance of Jim Thompson in one of Magnus' braais. Jim Thompson is a real man, an American who set up the silk industry in Thailand, just like how Aritomo transplanted himself to Malaya, then went missing in the jungles of Malaya one day, just like Aritomo. ...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Alison Rose rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: poc-authors, 4-star-books, male-authors, read-in-2012

This is more like a 3.5, I'd say. The writing is beautiful and the imagery is strong, but I felt so lost at times because the jumping back and forth in time was just not as clearly defined as it could have been. I got confused about what part of the main character's life I was in at certain points. The action is also a bit slow for much of it, though I'd say the final third picks up and is much more intriguing. I just wish it had been edited a bit better, to lessen the frustration of following a ...more

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