Pain, why did you behave so grotesquely, did you not feel anything when you You chop her fingers, why did you rape those girls, why did you inflict so much Of those who’ve committed them and the ones who’ve endured them. There seems to be a strange complicity in the voices Of the Occupation war, the concentration camps, of atrocities, of power, ofīelonging, of separation. In the cacophony of faint whispers, they’re telling me loud stories The voices are many they crave for attention they want toīe heard. Like a savage, the cloudy white scatter engulfs me, eating parts of me, making them disappear I’m walking but I don’t see my legs. The heaviness conceived by the eyes isn’t really there I don’t feel anything but a tingle as I trespass further. I wonder if the ubiquitous mist protects or hides what lies underneath it looks heavy, yet balancing itself perfectly it’s movement, if any, is inconspicuous. It’s beautiful, but is that why it’s strange? I hear voices but I can’t see anything. There’s something strange about the place. ( Questions from the Man Book Prize website.In the middle of the forest, amidst the plantations, I see a garden a quaint Japanese garden.

What feelings are you left with having completed the novel? Although containing many violent scenes, readers have commented that they found the story comforting, leaving a feeling of calm and tranquillity. How and to what extent has Yun Ling’s capacity for intimate love and affection in later life been affected by her experiences in the internment camp and or her shared time with Aritomo?ĥ. Does Yun Ling’s disposition towards Aritomo and towards the Japanese in general undergo a significant shift in the course of the novel, or does she rather maintain a constant though compartmentalised attitude throughout?Ĥ. Given this statement, do you get the sense that Yun Ling is a reluctant narrator?ģ. It was a constant battle for me to crack her open. And yet at the same time she wanted to-she had to-reveal those secrets. Because of what she had gone through, and what she had become, no one was allowed into her head. because Yun Ling very much wanted to keep her secrets to herself.

Tan Twan Eng said his novel was difficult to write How does Tan Twan Eng use the garden as a metaphor for memory?Ģ.

Memory is one of the main themes of The Garden of Evening Mists.

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