A Literary Departure
Apr. 28th, 2018 08:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearI decided to take a break from my more usual reading material and go for something a bit more literary. I chose The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng, which tells the story of Yun Ling, who is a prisoner in a Japanese internment camp at the end of World War Two and later apprentices to one of the Emperor's former gardeners, to learn the art of designing and maintaining Japanese gardens.
After spending some years learning about how to write commercial fiction, it's always interesting to experience a very different type of book. GoEM is slow, measured, rich , descriptive - it draws you in gradually, immersing you in a detailed setting and telling a story of inner reflection and quiet despair. And it does so extremely well.
The protagonist, seen at several different stages of her life, is very complex, and the various timelines weave in an out of each other, building up a beautiful and horrifying layered tapestry. The past is a place of fear and pain for Yun Ling, with the memories of her treatment as a prisoner, and what she had to do to survive, weighing heavily on her. But the future holds no promise of peace, as a neurological condition threatens to rob her of both language and understanding.
In the middle of her story, there is Aritomo and his garden, both of which provide her with some small snatches of calm, love and rest. Though, even these things are threatened by both external and internal obstacles.
The complexities of war are portrayed well, showing both the big picture of atrocities and suffering, but also demonstrating the effects on individuals on both sides of the conflict.
My favourite parts of the book are those that deal with landscape and the significance of the various aspects of a Japanese garden. The book is very firmly rooted in place, and the land plays an extremely important part. This is where the beauty is found, and where I appreciated the exquisite prose the most.
Overall, I thought the book was excellent, and involving, but it didn't fully engage my emotions. I sensed both the horror and the joy, but I experienced them at a remove, which meant my journey through the book felt lacking, and I failed to connect properly to the characters.
After spending some years learning about how to write commercial fiction, it's always interesting to experience a very different type of book. GoEM is slow, measured, rich , descriptive - it draws you in gradually, immersing you in a detailed setting and telling a story of inner reflection and quiet despair. And it does so extremely well.
The protagonist, seen at several different stages of her life, is very complex, and the various timelines weave in an out of each other, building up a beautiful and horrifying layered tapestry. The past is a place of fear and pain for Yun Ling, with the memories of her treatment as a prisoner, and what she had to do to survive, weighing heavily on her. But the future holds no promise of peace, as a neurological condition threatens to rob her of both language and understanding.
In the middle of her story, there is Aritomo and his garden, both of which provide her with some small snatches of calm, love and rest. Though, even these things are threatened by both external and internal obstacles.
The complexities of war are portrayed well, showing both the big picture of atrocities and suffering, but also demonstrating the effects on individuals on both sides of the conflict.
My favourite parts of the book are those that deal with landscape and the significance of the various aspects of a Japanese garden. The book is very firmly rooted in place, and the land plays an extremely important part. This is where the beauty is found, and where I appreciated the exquisite prose the most.
Overall, I thought the book was excellent, and involving, but it didn't fully engage my emotions. I sensed both the horror and the joy, but I experienced them at a remove, which meant my journey through the book felt lacking, and I failed to connect properly to the characters.
