REVIEW: The Garden of Evening Mists (Tan Twan Eng)

Book: The Garden of Evening Mists

Author: Tan Twan Eng

Premise: Teoh Yun Ling was seventeen years old when she first heard about Aritomo and the garden. A man of extraordinary skill and reputation, Aritomo was once the gardener for the Emperor of Japan. But a war would come to Malaya, and a decade passed before she would travel to see him.

This book covers Yun Ling's life during the the 20th century, focusing mostly on her time spent with Aritomo in the 1950s. She ends up spending time learning the art of gardening and in so, heals the wounds inflicted on her during WW2. I learnt a lot about what happened in Malaysia both during and after the war. I wasn't aware of how bad the Japanese invasion was or the political turmoil that followed. I loved the setting of the garden on the edge of the jungle. I also loved the characters and their complex histories. A really good book!