The Garden of Evening Mists

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Tan Twan Eng’s first novel, The Gift of Rain, also explores the trauma of the Japanese occupation in Malaya. If you’ve read it, how did this book feel in comparison? If this was your first experience with the author, did the novel’s blend of historical weight and intimate, lyrical storytelling resonate with you?

2. What was your initial impression of Yugiri, the Garden of Evening Mists? How vividly could you picture it based on the descriptions in the novel? What emotions did it evoke for you? 

3. The central relationship between Yun Ling and Aritomo is complex and develops slowly. Did you find their bond, which moves from apprenticeship to intimacy, believable and compelling?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. The novel suggests that creating art is a way to impose order on a chaotic world. When you face uncertainty or stress in your own life, what kinds of structured activities or creative outlets, if any, help you find a sense of stillness or control?

2. Did the Japanese principle of shakkei, or “borrowed scenery,” change the way you think about how we construct our own lives and identities? In what ways do you see people “borrowing” from their pasts or surroundings to create meaning in their present?

3. Yun Ling’s work for the War Crimes Tribunal highlights a conflict between institutional justice and personal healing. Have you ever felt a gap between what is considered a legal or official resolution and what is needed for personal peace or closure?

4. What did you think of Aritomo’s demanding and often severe teaching methods? Have you ever had a teacher or mentor whose methods seemed harsh at first but who taught you something valuable? 

5. The story is framed by Yun Ling’s aphasia, which threatens to erase her memories as she tries to record them. How did this element shape your thoughts on the nature of memory and its importance in defining who we are?

6. Magnus advises Yun Ling that holding onto hatred is self-destructive. In your experience, is forgiving those who have harmed or wronged you a necessary component of healing?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does the setting, caught between the recent trauma of the Japanese occupation and the ongoing violence of the Malayan Emergency, influence the characters’ search for identity? What does the novel reveal about the struggle to form a national and personal identity in the shadow of competing colonial histories?

2. The narrative presents serene Japanese aesthetic traditions like garden design and archery alongside the brutal history of Japanese war crimes. What statement do you think the author is making by placing these conflicting aspects of a culture in such close proximity?

3. The Golden Lily operation and the existence of secret labor camps that included enslaved labor and forced sex work represent histories that were deliberately erased. What does the novel say about a nation’s responsibility to confront these hidden, painful parts of its past, especially when official records fail?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The narrative is framed by an older Yun Ling writing her story to combat her encroaching aphasia. How does this non-linear structure, which mimics the fractured way we recall traumatic events, impact your reading experience and understanding of the story?

2. What significance does the garden, Yugiri, hold within the novel? How does its meaning transform from a memorial for Yun Hong to a canvas for Aritomo’s art, a place of healing for Yun Ling, and finally, a potential map to a war crime?

3. The novel joins a tradition of literature exploring memory and complicity in post-war settings. How might its perspective on these themes compare to a work like Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World, which also features a protagonist re-examining his past actions during a time of great national change?

4. Aritomo’s decision to create the horimono on Yun Ling’s back is a pivotal moment. What does this act of tattooing her scarred skin reveal about the connection between pain, art, and the body as a record of history?

5. Both Frederik and Aritomo offer Yun Ling very different kinds of companionship and worldviews. What do her relationships with these two men reveal about her journey and the choices she makes to define her own life?

6. The motif of maps appears through Aritomo’s antique charts, the “Stone Atlas,” and ultimately the horimono itself. What does the novel suggest about the power and limitations of maps in charting not just physical landscapes, but the internal terrain of memory and trauma?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Aritomo and Yun Ling spend years creating a garden to reflect a very specific philosophy. If you were tasked with designing a small, personal garden or a single room to represent a significant memory or relationship in your life, what key elements or principles, like shakkei or mono no aware, would you use in your design?

2. The horimono becomes a living map of Aritomo’s knowledge and Yun Ling’s experience. If you were to design a symbolic tattoo for a character from another book you’ve read, what would it look like and what secrets or history would it hold?

3. Imagine you are Professor Tatsuji discovering Yun Ling’s written manuscript decades later. You have one chance to add a historical footnote to clarify a single mystery from her story. Which event or relationship would you choose to illuminate, and what would your note reveal?