Try an audiobook on us
The Garden of Evening Mists
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Fishermen
- By: Chigozie Obioma
- Narrated by: Chukwudi Iwuji
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 136
Told from the point of view of nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fishermen is story of an unforgettable childhood in 1990s Nigeria. When their father has to work away, the brothers take advantage of his extended absence to skip school and go fishing. At the forbidden nearby river they encounter a madman, who predicts that one of the brothers will kill another. What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact will transcend the lives and imaginations of both its characters and its readers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The dangers of self-fulfilling prophecy lyrically told
- By Julie Fisher on 14-07-16
-
The Year of the Runaways
- By: Sunjeev Sahota
- Narrated by: Sartaj Garewal
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 231
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 213
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 212
The Year of the Runaways tells of the bold dreams and daily struggles of an unlikely family thrown together by circumstance. Thirteen young men live in a house in Sheffield, each in flight from India and in search of a new life. Avtar has a secret that binds him to protect the choatic Randeep. Randeep has a visa wife in a flat on the other side of town. And Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his past in Bihar.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Out of the shadows.
- By Rens de Groot on 21-10-15
-
True History of the Kelly Gang
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Gianfranco Negroponte
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story3 out of 5 stars 1
Peter Carey's stunning, Booker Prize-winning novel about Australia's most famous outlaw. As he flees the police, Ned Kelly scribbles his narrative in semiliterate but magically descriptive prose. To his pursuers he is a thief and a murderer. To his own people he's a hero for opposing the English. Ned, who saw his first prison cell at 15, has become the most wanted man in the wild colony of Victoria, taking over towns and defying authority.
-
The Lowland
- By: Jhumpa Lahiri
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 48
Born just 15 months apart, Subhash and Udayan Mitra are inseparable brothers, one often mistaken for the other in the Calcutta neighborhood where they grow up. But they are also opposites, with gravely different futures ahead. It is the 1960s, and Udayan - charismatic and impulsive - finds himself drawn to the Naxalite movement, a rebellion waged to eradicate inequity and poverty; he will give everything, risk all, for what he believes. Subhash, the dutiful son, does not share his brother’s political passion; he leaves home to pursue a life of scientific research in a quiet, coastal corner of America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it
- By Baloo on 28-03-15
-
The Green Road
- By: Anne Enright
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 173
A darkly glinting novel set on Ireland’s Atlantic coast, The Green Road is a story of fracture and family, selfishness and compassion - a book about the gaps in the human heart and how we learn to fill them. The children of Rosaleen Madigan leave the west of Ireland for lives they never could have imagined in Dublin, New York and various third-world towns. In her early old age, their difficult, wonderful mother announces that she’s decided to sell the house and divide the proceeds.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another Family Gathering
- By Sharon on 23-08-15
-
A Gentleman in Moscow
- By: Amor Towles
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 134
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 128
Soon to be a major TV series starring Kenneth Branagh. On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov - recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt - is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol. Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval. Can a life without luxury be the richest of all?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The best book I’ve listened and read in a long time
- By Bean on 29-11-18
-
The Fishermen
- By: Chigozie Obioma
- Narrated by: Chukwudi Iwuji
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 149
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 136
Told from the point of view of nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fishermen is story of an unforgettable childhood in 1990s Nigeria. When their father has to work away, the brothers take advantage of his extended absence to skip school and go fishing. At the forbidden nearby river they encounter a madman, who predicts that one of the brothers will kill another. What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact will transcend the lives and imaginations of both its characters and its readers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The dangers of self-fulfilling prophecy lyrically told
- By Julie Fisher on 14-07-16
-
The Year of the Runaways
- By: Sunjeev Sahota
- Narrated by: Sartaj Garewal
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 231
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 213
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 212
The Year of the Runaways tells of the bold dreams and daily struggles of an unlikely family thrown together by circumstance. Thirteen young men live in a house in Sheffield, each in flight from India and in search of a new life. Avtar has a secret that binds him to protect the choatic Randeep. Randeep has a visa wife in a flat on the other side of town. And Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his past in Bihar.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Out of the shadows.
- By Rens de Groot on 21-10-15
-
True History of the Kelly Gang
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Gianfranco Negroponte
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story3 out of 5 stars 1
Peter Carey's stunning, Booker Prize-winning novel about Australia's most famous outlaw. As he flees the police, Ned Kelly scribbles his narrative in semiliterate but magically descriptive prose. To his pursuers he is a thief and a murderer. To his own people he's a hero for opposing the English. Ned, who saw his first prison cell at 15, has become the most wanted man in the wild colony of Victoria, taking over towns and defying authority.
-
The Lowland
- By: Jhumpa Lahiri
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 48
Born just 15 months apart, Subhash and Udayan Mitra are inseparable brothers, one often mistaken for the other in the Calcutta neighborhood where they grow up. But they are also opposites, with gravely different futures ahead. It is the 1960s, and Udayan - charismatic and impulsive - finds himself drawn to the Naxalite movement, a rebellion waged to eradicate inequity and poverty; he will give everything, risk all, for what he believes. Subhash, the dutiful son, does not share his brother’s political passion; he leaves home to pursue a life of scientific research in a quiet, coastal corner of America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it
- By Baloo on 28-03-15
-
The Green Road
- By: Anne Enright
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 173
A darkly glinting novel set on Ireland’s Atlantic coast, The Green Road is a story of fracture and family, selfishness and compassion - a book about the gaps in the human heart and how we learn to fill them. The children of Rosaleen Madigan leave the west of Ireland for lives they never could have imagined in Dublin, New York and various third-world towns. In her early old age, their difficult, wonderful mother announces that she’s decided to sell the house and divide the proceeds.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another Family Gathering
- By Sharon on 23-08-15
-
A Gentleman in Moscow
- By: Amor Towles
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 134
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 128
Soon to be a major TV series starring Kenneth Branagh. On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov - recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt - is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol. Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval. Can a life without luxury be the richest of all?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The best book I’ve listened and read in a long time
- By Bean on 29-11-18
-
Wise Children
- By: Angela Carter
- Narrated by: Tracey Ullman
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 110
Angela Carter's last book, Wise Children, was written and published whilst she was dying from cancer, in 1991. Transcending her physical deterioration in admirable fashion, Carter made this a most life-affirming novel, in support of the vitality of 'otherness.' This Audible exclusive production, expertly read by Tracey Ullman, stands in celebration of a legendary author known for the richness of her imagination, wit and feminist insight.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bottled joie de vivre
- By Ms on 22-08-18
-
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jonathan Aris, Paula Wilcox
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 855
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 468
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 468
Imagine a nation banishing the outside world for two centuries, forbidding its subjects to leave its shores on pain of death, and harbouring a deep mistrust of European ideas.
Set in Japan in 1799, a young Dutch clerk, Jacob de Zoet, is about to embark on a strange adventure of duplicity, love, and murder - and all the while the axis of global power is turning.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet
- By Robin B on 27-07-10
-
The Valley of Amazement
- By: Amy Tan
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Joyce Bean, Amy Tan
- Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 62
Shanghai, 1912. Violet Minturn is the privileged daughter of the American madam of the city's most exclusive courtesan house. But when the Ching dynasty is overturned, Violet is separated from her mother in a cruel act of chicanery and forced to become a "virgin courtesan." Half-Chinese and half-American, Violet grapples with her place in the worlds of East and West - until she is able to merge her two halves, empowering her to become a shrewd courtesan who excels in the business of seduction and illusion, though she still struggles to understand who she is.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Draws you from word to word, you can't stop.
- By Rebecca on 09-12-13
-
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
- By: Richard Flanagan
- Narrated by: Richard Flanagan
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 402
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 373
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 373
August, 1943. In the despair of a Japanese POW camp on the Thai-Burma death railway, Australian surgeon Dorrigo Evans is haunted by his love affair with his uncle's young wife two years earlier. Struggling to save the men under his command from starvation, from cholera, from beatings, he receives a letter that will change his life forever. This savagely beautiful novel is a story about the many forms of love and death, of war and truth, as one man comes of age, prospers, only to discover all that he has lost.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Awful.
- By Barbara on 17-10-14
-
Half of a Yellow Sun
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Zainab Jah
- Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 336
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 311
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 311
Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, works as a houseboy for a university professor. Olanna, a young woman, has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos to live with her charismatic new lover, the professor. And Richard, a shy English writer, is in thrall to Olanna's enigmatic twin sister. As the horrific Biafran War engulfs them, they are thrown together and pulled apart in ways they had never imagined.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
In my living memory
- By julie on 19-10-17
-
Midnight's Children
- By: Salman Rushdie
- Narrated by: Homer Todiwala
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 29
This Audible production expertly brings to life Salman Rushdie’s postcolonial masterpiece Midnight’s Children, available for the first time unabridged in audio. Written in the magical-realist style that Rushdie is renowned for, Midnight’s Children follows Saleem Sinai - a child gifted with extraordinary powers after being born at the exact moment India becomes independent. The captivating events that unfold act as an allegory for India’s transition from colonialism to independence as Saleem finds himself 'handcuffed to history', with his fate entwined with that of his newly independent state.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
good narration
- By Judith on 16-10-18
-
The White Tiger
- By: Aravind Adiga
- Narrated by: Bindya Solanki
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 348
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 186
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 185
Balram Halwai is the White Tiger - the smartest boy in his village. Too poor to finish school, he has to work in a teashop until the day a rich man hires him as a chauffeur, and takes him to live in Delhi. The city is a revelation. Balram becomes aware of immense wealth all around him, and realizes the only way he can become part of it is by murdering his master. The White Tiger presents a raw and unromanticized India, both thrilling and shocking.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A fine Booker winner
- By FJWynne on 28-12-08
-
A Tale for the Time Being
- By: Ruth Ozeki
- Narrated by: Ruth Ozeki
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 660
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 590
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 597
Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery. In a small cafe in Tokyo, 16-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyber-bullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun and great-grandmother, and the joy and heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place - and voice - through a diary.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A bit of a struggle
- By Andy Parsons on 24-11-13
-
Do Not Say We Have Nothing
- By: Madeleine Thien
- Narrated by: Angela Lin
- Length: 20 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 132
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 121
Ai-Ming tells the story of her family in revolutionary China, from the crowded teahouses in the first days of Chairman Mao's ascent to the events leading to the Beijing demonstrations of 1989. It is a history of revolutionary idealism, music and silence, in which three musicians - the shy and brilliant composer, Sparrow; the violin prodigy, Zhuli; and the enigmatic pianist, Kai - struggle during China's relentless Cultural Revolution to remain loyal to one another and to the music they have devoted their lives to.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Read the book, the audio ruins it
- By Lucy Mac on 31-12-17
-
Elephant Moon
- By: John Sweeney
- Narrated by: Helen Johns
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 359
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 335
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 337
As the Second World War rages, the Japanese Imperial Army enters Burma, and the British rulers prepare to flee. But the human legacy of the British Empire will be left behind in the shape of 62 Anglo-Burmese children, born to local women after affairs with foreign men. Half castes, they are not acknowledged by either side, and they are to be abandoned with no one to protect them.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Heartwarming
- By Granny June on 28-01-16
-
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
- By: Simon Mawer
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 594
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 320
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 324
Marian Sutro is an outsider: the daughter of a diplomat, half French, half British, naive yet too clever for her own good. But when she is recruited from her desk job by SOE to go undercover in wartime France, it seems her hybrid status - and fluent French - will be of service to a greater, more dangerous cause. Trained in sabotage, dead-drops, how to perform under interrogation, and how to kill, Marian parachutes into southwest France with an urgent mission....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A great thriller, but also beautifully written
- By Jill on 10-05-12
-
Love Is Blind
- By: William Boyd
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 282
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 259
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 258
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Love Is Blind by William Boyd. Love Is Blind is William Boyd's sweeping, heart-stopping new novel. Set at the end of the 19th century, it follows the fortunes of Brodie Moncur, a young Scottish musician, about to embark on the story of his life. When Brodie is offered a job in Paris, he seizes the chance to flee Edinburgh and his tyrannical clergyman father, and begin a wildly different new chapter in his life. In Paris, a fateful encounter with a famous pianist irrevocably changes his future - and sparks an obsessive love affair with a beautiful Russian soprano, Lika Blum.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Boyd on Top Form
- By Mark on 27-09-18
Summary
Short listed for the Man Booker Prize 2012.
Malaya, 1949. After a career spent helping to prosecute Japanese war criminals, Yun Ling Teoh - herself the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp - seeks solace among the jungle fringed plantations of Northern Malaya. There she meets the enigmatic Aritomo, an exiled former gardener of the Emperor of Japan. Yun Ling asks Aritomo to create a garden in memory of her sister. But the jungle holds secrets of its own…
More from the same
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars113
-
4 Stars74
-
3 Stars25
-
2 Stars8
-
1 Stars6
Performance
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars89
-
4 Stars55
-
3 Stars17
-
2 Stars11
-
1 Stars5
Story
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars94
-
4 Stars54
-
3 Stars23
-
2 Stars6
-
1 Stars4
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Sarah
- Melton Mowbray, United Kingdom
- 02-12-12
The best listen of 2012
This story works on so many levels. The writing is effortlessly evocative and graphically descriptive of the settings. It seamlessly weaves together a number of disparate themes; loss, war, gardening and tatooing and is thought provoking without hammering any message home. Characters leap from the page and live with you while you're not listening. I cannot rate the narration highly enough. Anna Bentinck is quite superb - she renders Far Eastern accents perfectly and even manages to convey the age of the main character at different stages of the story. Her tone and pace are perfect. If there was an audio oscar, she should receive it!
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Craig
- London, United Kingdom
- 13-11-12
Wonderful text, narration problematic.
This lovely book is for the most part very well narrated.
However, there are a lot of characters where the narrator has decided to attempt accents. The Chinese and Japanese accents are eyebrow-raising, but the South African accent is shockingly bad, veering wildly between bad Dutch, bad New Zealand, some kind of weird growling and very occasionally a sentence that sounds approximately like a real South African accent.
This wouldn't be too bothersome except for the fact that there is a LOT of dialogue with the South African characters and it's incredibly distracting. Perhaps if you have never heard a South African accent before it won't bother you too much, but be warned - for anyone who knows the accent it may spoil your enjoyment of the book.
Apart from the accent problems the narrator has a beautiful voice and reads the text very well.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs
- United Kingdom
- 13-12-12
Absolutely brilliant
I don't understand why this didn't win the Booker prze. A beautifully crafted book which works on so many levels. Like a Japanese garden it drew me in until I was completely absorbed. This story of love, hate, loss, death and reconciliation doesn't shrink from the most compelling and harrowing revelations. Place and time weave in and out, held together by the calm and gentle pace of the text and the simple yet enchanting descriptions of the landscape. A book I will never forget. Also, the narration is superb. Anna Bentinck brings both the characters and the landscape vividly alive.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kate
- 12-07-14
Haunting tale of rebirth
If you could sum up The Garden of Evening Mists in three words, what would they be?
Unforgettable EnlighteningBeautiful
Who was your favorite character and why?
Aritomo - he is the wise man of the story; we see in him the complexities of loyalty which conflict induce. A figure of mystery too - his presence haunts all sections of the story.
Which character – as performed by Anna Bentinck – was your favourite?
Yun Ling - such a prickly and opinionated woman on first acquaintance but, as her story is unfolded, we see what has made her the way she is and understanding grows. Anna Bentinck's voices cope well with the emotions Yun Ling confronts and avoid any confusion that might arise for a listener..
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
War is a palette of many colours.
Any additional comments?
I have learned a great deal about the Pacific War from reading Tan Twan Eng's two novels. (The gift of rain is his first). They confirm for me the power of fiction in helping one to understand the differing stresses and consequences that military action places on populations caught up in conflicts.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-10-13
Deeply evocative, beautiful story
The story takes place through three distinct time periods: Yun Ling's older character as a recently retired judge, her teenage self in the POW camp and her 30ish year old character living near the Cameron Mountains.
On first listening to the narration, it took me the first 6 chapters or so to fully engage with the story, at which point I then had to flick back in my paper copy (reading group) to check details. Following that I was absolutely hooked! I listen to audio books instead of the radio on the drive to work, yet found myself having to continue reading as soon as I walked through the front door.
The intimacy that Eng creates with the most subtle of character gestures and the evocative depictions of the landscape and scenery leave a deep imprint in one's life after reading this book. I will often go through a day or so of 'mourning' after reading a particularly moving story during which I process the story and almost 'miss' the characters in my life, however I fear that it will take me considerably longer with Garden of...so great is the effect of the numerous sub plots and the heart-wrenching metafiction of the stories of love and loss.
A beautiful, beautiful story...do read/listen to it, your life will be richer for it...a particular favourite scene being the meteors in the garden...enchanting.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ros
- 20-08-15
Complex and emotional
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. Beautifully written story with many threads woven into the life of the central character. Examines and vividly paints the period of the Malaysian emergency and the aftermath of the war with the Japanese . Nothing is trite, easy or predictable and there is a deep understanding of cultural dilemma.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Magnus. This rough South African Boer and his uncompromising views on the British, his determination to succeed as a tea planter and his raw, plain speaking courage are part of a shell that protects a loving, caring and protective nature for those closest to him.
What about Anna Bentinck’s performance did you like?
She brings the characters to life and has a lovely voice. Sadly her South African accent is not the best, but it doesn't spoil the book as there is so much else to enjoy about her narration. I have been seeking out other stories she has read because of this one.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No - there is too much to take in.
Any additional comments?
I was completely engrossed and emotionally involved with this book. It needs to be listened to more than once - there is so much to experience.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- L. Muncaster
- UK
- 14-12-13
Engaging and thought provoking
What made the experience of listening to The Garden of Evening Mists the most enjoyable?
Having read The Gift of Rain on my kindle (and very much enjoyed it), I was keen to get stuck into Tan Twan Eng's follow up. Although there are some similarities between the books and the characters portrayed, the story of Yun Ling Teoh is evokative and opens a window on a little known historical setting (in the western world anyway).
What about Anna Bentinck’s performance did you like?
Anna Bentinck has a fantastic voice for narration. She sensitively portays the growth and journey of the main character although I did listen to some of the accents with a general sense of discomfort.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- Gillingham, United Kingdom
- 09-04-13
Fantastic
A beautiful and unexpected story so well read it really transported me. My husband also raved about it (he doesn't normally 'do girly books'!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- Hereford, United Kingdom
- 07-04-13
Lovely evocative account of South East Asia
Lovely evocative account of South East Asia - from the sounds and colours of the rainforest to the different cultures living alongside each other all wrapped into an interesting account of an unlikely friendship between a Japanese Prisoner of War and the Japanese Emporer's gardener.The unusual angle looking at the Japanese in Malaya in the war and the differing opinions of Brtish rule - from the Straits Chinese to the Africaans gave the story a different feel all together. Very well read as well
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- gille
- eThekwini, South Africa
- 11-03-13
Nee dankie!
I enjoyed this book and for the most part loved the narration, but I do have to agree that the South African accent was AWFUL! Perhaps if an accent can not be captured correctly, it would be better not to try. I had to pretend the South African characters were some other strange species altogether, before I really began to enjoy the telling of this story.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Nancy Luey
- 01-12-16
I found this book boring
I read 80% of this book and could not read any more. I found it thoroughly boring. Lots of words but nothing actually happening.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- ej
- 25-02-15
A beautiful story and brilliant narration
An engrossing picturesque novel, superbly written. The narration is equally impressive. I am sure the story will remain with me forever..The brilliance of both the writing and the narration make for an unforgettable experience.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer
- 18-08-13
brilliant listen
Any additional comments?
A great book which makes the consequences of war and life under colonial rule for ordinary people very real. The South African accent slips quite a bit, but not enough to be distracting.
-
Overall1 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Chrissie
- 03-01-13
Disappointing
I have listened to half of this book. I dislike it. It is contrived and unbelievable. The book tries to do too much, and thus does nothing well. The characters do not pull you in; they stay there flat between the pages of the book.
IF you decide you DO want to read it, do not pick the audiobook narrated by Anna Bentinck!!!!! The book is set in three different time periods. This is more confusing in an audiobook than in a paper book. I do NOT like the narration. There are Chinese and Japanese characters. When all but one of them speaks, you will cringe. Ask yourself to mimic a Chinese person trying to speak English. THAT is what you have to listen to here. It may be typically correct, but it is ever so unpleasant.
Oh, and I keep falling asleep as I listen to this book! Some lines are poetic and beautiful, but essentially lulling. I have started over several times, but each time I fall asleep!
Then I got mad, and went back again. But it was so:
1. boring (I HAVE listened to this.)
2. and confusing (Which time period am I in now?)
3. and annoying (Ugh, must I listen to this pigeon-English?)
4. and contrived (Romance, hidden treasure, murder, internment camps, Communist terrorists....)
5. and unbelievable (Central figure, the sole survivor of a Japanese Internment camp, agrees to become an apprentice gardener to a famed Japanese gardener, the gardener of Emperor Hirohito! And the details make it even more unbelievable. She manages to lift huge stones, agrees to remove her gloves that protect her hands that were damaged in the camp so she can feel the e-a-r-t-h..... Yup, not only unbelievable, but melodramatic too. I forgot to mention the serious medical problem.)
So I am stubborn. I cannot just quit this book, can I? I went then to Wikipedia and looked it up. What is ahead of me? OMG, it is not going to get more believable. No, I cannot take this anymore! This book goes back to Audible! I LOVE that Audible lets you return books.
The good things: some pretty lines and a teeny bit taught about Japanese gardens. They ARE truly magnificent. Should I give this book two stars? How can I do that if I absolutely cannot finish it?!
0 of 1 people found this review helpful