Paperback: Penang, 1939.
Sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is a loner.
Half English, half Chinese and feeling neither, he discovers a sense of belonging in an unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat.
Philip shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo trains him in the art and discipline of aikido.
But such knowledge comes at a terrible price.
The enigmatic Endo is bound by disciplines of his own and when the Japanese invade Malaya, threatening to destroy Philip's family and everything he loves, he realises that his trusted sensei - to whom he owes absolute loyalty - has been harbouring a devastating secret.
Philip must risk everything in an attempt to save those he has placed in mortal danger and discover who and what he really is.
About the author: Tan Twan Eng was born in Penang, Malaysia. He worked as an intellectual property lawyer in Kuala Lumpur before becoming a full-time writer. His debut novel, The Gift of Rain, was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2007 and has been widely translated.
The Garden of Evening Mists (2012) is his second novel and was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2012 and won the Man Asian Literary Prize. He divides his time between Kuala Lumpur and Cape Town.
Do visit Tan Twan Eng's website for more news and updates.
Rating: 4/5
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