Cape Town-based Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng’s The Garden of Evening Mists has been translated into 16 languages – and counting – and the covers for the various editions provide some fascinating viewing.
Eng was longlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize, for his debut, The Gift of Rain. The Garden of Evening Mists won the 2013 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize, and was shortlisted for 2012 Man Booker Prize and the 2014 IMPAC Dublin Award.
Set chiefly during the Japanese occupation of Malaya and the years afterwards, The Garden of Evening Mists is the story of a young law graduate, Yun Ling Teoh, who is taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II, and ultimately finds some solace as an apprentice of an austere Japanese gardener.
Have a look how various cover designs interpret the story:
Local/UK edition (Myrmidon):
UK edition (Canongate Books):
UK limited edition (Myrmidon Books)
(with slipcase, signed and individually numbered bookplates)
US edition (Weinstein):
US large print edition (Clipper):
Estonian edition (Varrak):
Hungarian edition (Tarandus Kft):
Thai edition (Owl Publishing House):
Taiwanese edition:
Spanish edition (Berenice):
Italian edition (Elliot Edizioni):
Polish edition (ZNAK):
Romanian edition (Polirom):
Russian edition (Exmo, draft cover):
German edition (Droemer):
Macedonian edition (Matica Makedonska):
Dutch edition (Xander):
Which cover do you like best?
Have you seen any other local books with interesting international covers?
Let us know, on Facebook, Twitter or in the comments below.
Book details
- The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
Book homepage
EAN: 9781782110170
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- The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
EAN: 9781782110187
Find this book with BOOK Finder!