Teaser Tuesdays – The Garden of Evening Mists

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

I started this book last week and it’s a lovely, leisurely read. The writing is beautiful, and I can understand why it made into the Man Booker shortlist. Here’s a quote that talks about the protagonist’s loss of memory…

I have become a collapsing star, pulling everything around it, even the light, into an ever-expanding void. Once I lose all ability to communicate with the world outside myself, nothing will be left but what I remember.

My memories will be like a sandbar, cut off from the shore by the incoming tide. In time they will become submerged, inaccessible to me. The prospect terrified me. For what is a person without memories? A ghost, trapped between worlds, without an identity, with no future, no past.

~ The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

Lovely writing, isn’t it?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
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9 Comments

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    1. says: Nish

      @bookskeepmesane: It is a sad book, but also quite redemptive, I think. It’s a novel about World war 2 in Asia when Japan attacked Malaysia, so it is sad, and expected.

      About the protagonist losing her memory, that’s only a very small part of the book, and it’s aging/dementia related.

    1. says: Nish

      @Book Blather: I think you will like this one. It’s very well-written. I went into it expecting it would be a little boring (lot of reviews highlight the gardening aspect, which is not my thing), but there’s a lot happening otherwise too.

    1. says: Nish

      @thebluebride: You should try this book. It’s a lovely blend of Chinese, Japanese, Malay, and old colonial British culture all mixed in. Wonderful read 🙂