Myrmidon are delighted to announce that they will be publishing Tan Twan Eng’s much anticipated second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, on 11 February 2012 in hardcover (ISBN 978-1905802494) and export paperback.

Tan Twan Eng’s first novel, The Gift of Rain, published by Myrmidon, was longlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2007.

“Readers loved The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists explores some similar themes,” says Kate Nash, sales and marketing director at Myrmidon. “36 of the 54 reviews on amazon for The Gift of Rain are five star reviews and the rest, apart from one three star review, are four star. Since we launched the ebook late last year it has not dropped out of the amazon.co.uk top 100 literary fiction.”

The Garden of Evening Mists is set in Malaya after the second world war. Yun Ling Teoh, a scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle fringed plantations of Northern Malaya where she grew up as a child. There she meets the enigmatic Aritomo, exiled former gardener of the Emperor of Japan. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, Yun Ling seeks to engage Aritomo to create a garden in Kuala Lumpur, in memory of her sister who died in the camp. Aritomo refuses, but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice ‘until the monsoon comes’. Then she can design a garden for herself. But the Garden of Evening Mists is also a place of mystery and dark secrets.

Tan Twan Eng was born in Penang but lived in various places in Malaysia as a child. He studied law through the University of London and later worked as lawyer in one of Kuala Lumpur’s most reputable law firms. He also has a first-dan ranking in aikido and is a strong proponent for the conservation of heritage buildings. He lives in Cape Town where he is working on his third novel.

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