Tan Twan Eng 3 Book Set (The Gift of Rain, The Garden of Evening Mists & The House of Doors)

This three-book collection brings together novels by Tan Twan Eng: The House of Doors, The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists. Set largely in and around Penang and Malaya across the early twentieth century, the stories introduce characters whose lives are shaped by friendship, reputation and the pressures of their time.

Moving from a household in the Straits Settlements in 1921 to Penang on the eve of 1939, and onwards to a later journey connected to a renowned Japanese gardener, each novel focuses on personal relationships and the consequences that follow. The set is presented as a single collection of three titles.

Included titles

• The House of Doors
• The Gift of Rain
• The Garden of Evening Mists

Key details

• Three-book set by Tan Twan Eng
• Includes The House of Doors, The Gift of Rain and The Garden of Evening Mists
• Stories set in and around Penang and Malaya across the early twentieth century

Synopses

The House of Doors

In 1921, at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, lawyer Robert Hamlyn and his wife Lesley find their routine disrupted by the arrival of Willie, an old friend. Willie Somerset Maugham, celebrated in his day, is burdened by an unhappy marriage, ill health and business troubles, and he is also struggling to write.

The Gift of Rain

Penang, 1939. Sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton, half English and half Chinese, feels he belongs to neither and lives as a loner. He finds an unexpected sense of belonging through a friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat, who trains him in the art and discipline of aikido, but the relationship comes at a terrible price.

The Garden of Evening Mists

Teoh Yun Ling first hears of Aritomo and the garden at seventeen, but war comes to Malaya and a decade passes before she travels to see him. Aritomo, once gardener to the Emperor of Japan, is known for extraordinary skill and reputation, and Yun Ling seeks his help to create a memorial to her sister, killed by the Japanese.