EXPLORE THE LUSH CAMERON HIGHLANDS OF MALAYSIA with THEBOOKJEANIE

More than a quarter century ago, we used to pack the kids in the car and make the long drive from our home in Kuala Lumpur to the colonial hill station of Cameron Highlands when we needed an escape from the heat and humidity of the capital. There was a fairly modern highway up to the town of Tapah but from there it was necessary to turn off onto a narrow twisting road with literally hundreds of curves and hairpin turns along the way, climbing to an altitude of over 1500 metres at Tanah Rata. The long and gradual ascent began with dense jungle but eventually gave way to undulating fields of emerald green tea plantations. With our windows rolled down, we would breathe in the cool fragrant air, looking forward to the chill in the evening and to roasting marshmallows in the fireplace of our cottage. Days were spent hiking, visiting tea plantations, flower nurseries, and exploring the jungle trails where butterflies, orchids, and waterfalls could be discovered. One day we came across another family: parents, grandmother, and small children all carrying blowpipes for an afternoon hunt. The elusive Orang Asli (original people) were rarely seen and we felt privileged to receive a friendly greeting as they made their way past us on the trail. Visitors were always reminded to "take care not to get lost" with no accurate maps available and few distinctive landmarks. The most famous hiker to lose his way in Cameron Highlands was Jim Thompson, the American who founded the silk industry in Thailand after World War II - he was never seen again after leaving for an evening walk from his villa on March 26th, 1967. 
    In Tan Twan Eng's second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, retired judge, Yun Ling Teoh travels to Cameron Highlands after 35 years on the Supreme Court in Kuala Lumpur. Suffering from a neurological disorder that will soon erase her memories, Yun Ling now wishes to reexamine her painful past, returning to the house where she lived and worked such a long time ago. At nineteen years of age, Yun Ling and her sister, a talented artist, were taken prisoner by the Japanese occupying forces during World War II. Deep in the jungle under harsh conditions of physical and mental torture, the women struggled to survive in a camp established to house prisoners working in a remote mine. Yung Ling was the only prisoner to survive and now lived with the burden of guilt that she could not save her sister. Shortly after serving a brief time as a prosecuting war crimes attorney in Kuala Lumpur, Yun Ling traveled to Cameron Highlands to meet Nakamura Aritomo,  a master gardener who left Japan and the service of the Emperor before the war started, building a traditional Japanese residence and creating a unique garden in the cool central highlands. Her sister, Yun Hong, always dreamed of designing a Japanese garden and the thoughts of that garden sustained her while ironically being held a prisoner by the Japanese. Yun Ling asks Aritomo to design a garden in memory of her sister but he refuses. Instead, he offers her work in restoring his own garden that was neglected during the war, essentially offering an apprenticeship so that she could create her own garden. Initially staying with friends on a tea plantation, Yung Ling is fearful of the Malaysian communist insurgents who have been active in the highlands, kidnapping and murdering the British who still served as colonial powers, as well as Malasian prosecuters like herself who tried cases against their comrades. She feels compelled however to fulfill the promise that she made to create a garden for Yun Hong and reluctantly agrees to Aritomo's conditions.  Over time, Yun Ling begins to respect and admire Aritomo, despite the ingrained hatred that she feels for all Japanese. Eventually she moves into his house, becomes his lover, and for the first time shares some of her painful experiences of the war with him. Both retain their secrets, however, and one day he hands her his walking stick before setting off into the jungle beyond his estate. Like Jim Thompson, he is never seen again, although his remains are discovered months later. Now in her late middle age, Yun Hong has returned to Aritomo's house, his entire estate including the priceless ukiyo-e woodblock prints he created, having been left to her thirty-five years ago after his disppearance.  Her meetings with a collector from Japan bring to light some of the secrets of Aritomo's past as well as her own.   
     As a Malaysian, Eng is intimately part of this culture and landscape, his vivid descriptions evoking my own memories of the sweet smell of pine resin and the scent of fresh tea leaves. The history of Malaysia, known as Malaya before 1963, is little known to the rest of the world, particularly the cruelties endured by the Malaysian people under the Japanese occupation and the terrorism of the communist insurgency after the war. Tan Twan Eng has created a complex but coherent narrative of the inhumanity of war and insurrection as well as the beauty of love and artistic creation, ultimately revealing the powerful burden of memories and the guilt that remains. 

If you want to take a journey back to the British colonial days of Malaysia, I recommend picking up a collection of Somerset Maugham's stories written after World War I in the area known as the Dutch East Indies. As Anthony Burgess notes in his introduction to the 1969 collection titled Maugham's Malaysian Stories, Somerset Maugham was not at all interested in the lives and customs of the native people of this area. Most of these stories describe the Europeans who ventured off to these "uncivilized places" serving as colonial administrators, plantation owners, businessmen, and of course the spouses that accompanied them. The descriptions of the attitudes and behaviors of these individuals are particularly revealing, especially in their dealings with the local residents. Any history of colonialism would benefit from the inclusion of these stories and the perspective that they provide. 

What I am Reading . . . 

Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

And the Mountains Echoed - Khalid Hosseini

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler

Peace is Every Step - Thich Nhat Hanh

KEEP READING AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK!