The Garden of Evening Mists

By: Tan Twan Eng

Narrated by: Anna Bentinck

Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Malaya, 1951. Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands. 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 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 the gardener and his art, while all around them a communist guerilla war rages. But the Garden of Evening Mists remains a place of mystery. Who is Aritomo and how did he come to leave Japan? And is the real story of how Yun Ling managed to survive the war perhaps the darkest secret of all?

©2012 Tan Twan Eng (P)2012 W.F. Howes

Perfect

Would you consider the audio edition of The Garden of Evening Mists to be better than the print version?

Yes

What other book might you compare The Garden of Evening Mists to and why?

The Gift of Rain by the same author. Two of the finest literary achievements in the last several decades.

What does Anna Bentinck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Marvelous nuance

If you could take any character from The Garden of Evening Mists out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Silly question. I'd prefer to have dinner with the author or narrator.

Any additional comments?

This is an exquisite work beautifully performed. I only wish an equally talented male narrator (Jonathan Aris) would be commissioned to narrate The Gift of Rain by the Tan Twan Eng.

Loved it

As an avid gardener I could imagine the beautiful world I heard about in the book. The story of what happened in Malaysia during WW2 was eye opening. Enjoyed every minute of it.

A great story exploring coming to terms with life

The story of a woman who has gone from being a prisoner of war during world war ii to being a justice in the Malay supreme court. Through the symbol of a Japanese garden it explores how she comes to tem with some of the disappointments in her life as well as some of her triumphs.

Iron Orchid

What did you love best about The Garden of Evening Mists?

This is an exquisite tale of abuse, self-sufficient survival...and a slow recovery of self. It's set in the exotic (to me) culture of Malaysia during-and-after WWII. An iron-willed Malaysian girl is imprisoned by the marauding Japanese during their invasion of the island at the start of WWII. All is lost during her imprisonment...except her will. She survives but the cost of that survival is significant. Yet, as wounded and defended as she is, she allows life to bring her out of her emotional confinement through her relationship with a Japanese gardener and an Afrikaner champion. The book is unforgettable.

What does Anna Bentinck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The reader, Anna Bentinck, embodies the complexity of characters...in all of their complexity...with wit and depth. I loved her performance.

Poetic

Poetic literature with the heartbreaking history of the narrating character revealed mystically. Enjoyed the narration and the character voice personas.

Wow, best listen I have had in a long time...

Where does The Garden of Evening Mists rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my all-time favorites.

Have you listened to any of Anna Bentinck’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I will seek out her work from now on.

Any additional comments?

I never knew I was interested in Japanese gardening until now. This book, with the fabulous narration, was hypnotizing.

Beautiful on So Many Levels

The Garden of Evening Mists is beautifully written by Tan Twan Eng and narrated by Anna Bentinck. The descriptions of the Japanese garden of Yuguri will transport you to the Cameron Highlands of Malaya. But this book goes so much deeper than that. The characters are full of depth and each have their own individual stories which weave together in a story of love and survival during the Japanese occupation of Malaya. I highly recommend this book anyone interested in historical fiction or Asian culture.

Enchanting History

I have read many books on the Occupation of China by the Japanese pre and during WWII. This book by Tan Twan Eng is one of the most interesting. There is a great deal of history explained while telling a story of human involvement by many participants of different Nationalities required to do a certain job that conflicts with the emotional consequences of doing that job. The book held my interest on every page with no particular plot to be explained. Instead, I was wanting to know the impact brought upon the many characters by the historical events being played out. Those events, as the events of my own life, can be explained although not necessarily resolved to my liking. An excellent story.

Lyrical writing, fascinating story

I loved the beauty of the writing in this book. The attention to detail in the prose--the lyrical descriptions and wonderfully imaginative word choice made for a very stimulating and artistic read, in keeping with the major theme of the philosophy and creation of a Japanese garden. In addition there is a compelling story of an interesting protagonist set during and after WWII in what is now Malaysia.
I recommend this highly.

A delicate mystery

This is an amazing story of unforgivable crimes and affection. The characters are so complex. They are capable of great kindnesses and terrible crimes and are real as a dime.
What is clearest is that this is a mixture of cultures where they cannot really possibly understand each other. Yet they work together, love each other and leave each other astonishing gifts.
The accents in the reading are annoying. I got past that but I can see where they would be a stumbling block. you might want to listen first.