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

What a Wonderful Story

What a great book. I enjoyed the narrator and how she switched between characters. Highly recommended, almost gave 5 stars, I wish we had a half star because this book is 4.5 stars.

A garden of delights for the reader

If you could sum up The Garden of Evening Mists in three words, what would they be?

Lyrical, informative, compelling

What did you like best about this story?

The panorama of Malaya just after WWII encompasses the Japanese concentration camps, the glory of the Japanese garden, the art of the tattoo, a narrator who is moving toward dementia, all told by a wonderful reader.

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

no

Who was the most memorable character of The Garden of Evening Mists and why?

The old Japanese gardener, who was the Emperor's gardener, now building a life and garden in Malaya.

Any additional comments?

For the reader who enjoys beautiful writing, with dollops of history and the arts, told in first person, present tense, to establish a rhythm and quiet calm.

Like a Japanese woodblock print

Would you listen to The Garden of Evening Mists again? Why?

No. I never listen again to the same story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oh, please Dear Audible do not create a high school homework for me....

Which scene was your favorite?

It's so stereotypical to ask such questions...

If you could rename The Garden of Evening Mists, what would you call it?

This entire "review" is not only artificial, but treats readers like not very brights children.

Any additional comments?

Now I am curious: Are they going to publish my "comments"?

An artfully told tale, beautifully narrated

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

Interestingly, what I loved best is the performance. The author gives us characters from a variety of countries speaking English in distinctive accents. Ms. Bentinck's performance brings these voices to life so beautifully that, at times, you find yourself not caring so much about the slowly unfolding story as you are captivated by the sound of the characters. And while the story does build slowly, it builds very surely. The author has you firmly in his grip.

What did you like best about this story?

It is a gripping story filled with moral ambiguities and interesting surprises. It is beautifully constructed, like the artwork described within the story. The author uses language in many beautiful ways.

Any additional comments?

Just beautiful; a great read.

I loved this book and walk the garden

What made the experience of listening to The Garden of Evening Mists the most enjoyable?

Getting to know the 3 main characters the woman, the teacher and the garden. I could almost see the action.

Dreadful Accents

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

I can only assume the book is better than the narration. The narrator has a pleasant enough voice when she is reading naturally, but when she lapses into her impersonation of Chinese, Japanese, South African accents, it is such a jolt it has ruined the book for me.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Very much so. Terrible accents. Compared with narrators such as Simon Vance and Jim Dale who bring individual characters to life so you know in an instant who is talking, this narrator made me wince.

Awful offensive accents

The narrator chose to give characters broken English when their lines are not written that way. I wish I could return this audiobook, never disliked an audiobook so much.

Intriguing story

Beautifully written. But sometimes difficult to hear because of the terrible events that occurred during war time and impact it has on people.

A Wonderful Story Well Read

At first I objected to the narrator’s use of accents, but then I was very grateful for them, because it put me into a place which is not familiar. In retrospect I could listen to it all again.
Tan Twan Eng is a glorious storyteller and a wonderful painter with words. He brings a less familiar period of history, at least to this Westerner, vividly to life.
If you have not read or listened to The Gift of Rain, don’t miss that either.

Lyrical . . . Mystical . . . Beautiful

It took me a long time to get through this book, but I was captivated by it . . . the narration was perfect . . . I felt like I was there, in the garden of evening mists . . . I have always loved Japanese gardens, felt an unusual peacefulness there . . . and this book reconnected with me with those feelings . . . I did not know the history of the occupation of Malaysia by the Japanese during WWII . . . I am amazed more and more about what I DON'T KNOW as I listen to the audio books from Audible that include fictional stories of the past. You will not be disappointed.