The Garden of Evening Mists

The Garden of Evening Mists is the second English-language novel by Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng, first published in November 2011. The book follows protagonist Teoh Yun Ling, who was a prisoner of the Japanese during the World War II, and later became a judge overseeing war crimes cases. Seeking after the war to create a garden in memory of her sister, who was imprisoned with her but did not survive, she ends up serving as an apprentice to a Japanese gardener in Cameron Highlands for several months during the Malayan Emergency. As the story begins, years later, she is trying to make sense of her life and experiences. The novel takes place during three different time periods: the late 1980s, when the main character returns to the Japanese garden, Yugiri, of her apprenticeship and begins to write her memoir; the early 1950s, when the main events of the novel took place; and World War II, which provides the backdrop for the story. Critical reception for the book was generally favourable. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and awarded the Man Asian Literary Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. It was adapted into a feature film by HBO Asia in partnership with three other production companies and released in 2019.