Quelques années après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la juge Teoh Yun Ling rend visite à l'ancien jardinier de l'empereur du Japon dans les montagnes de Malaisie. Elle vient honorer la promesse faite à sa soeur morte dans les camps japonais : créer un jardin à sa mémoire, le Jardin des brumes du soir. Tandis que l'insurrection communiste fait rage dans le pays, des liens se nouent entre ces deux êtres, le maître et l'élève, que la vie aurait dû irrémédiablement séparer. Roman de l'affrontement entre la barbarie et la civilisation, Le Jardin des brumes du soir est une véritable quête identitaire et poétique qui résiste au chaos de la guerre.

Le Jardin des Brumes du Soir

"The Gift of Rain spans decades as it takes readers from the final days of the Chinese emperors to the dying era of the British Empire, and through the mystical temples, bustling cities,and forbidding rain forests of Malaya." In 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton - the half-Chinese, half-English youngest child of the head of one of Penang's great trading families - feels alienated from both the Chinese and British communities. He discovers a sense of belonging in his unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat who rents a nearby island from his father. Philip proudly shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo teaches him about Japanese language and culture and trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. As World War II rages in Europe, the Japanese savagely invade Malaya, and Philip realizes that his mentor and sensei - to whom he owes absolute loyalty - is a Japanese spy. Young Philip has been an unwitting traitor, and he is forced into collaborating with the Japanese to safeguard his family. He becomes the ultimate outsider, trusted by none and hated by many. Tormented by his part in the events, Philip risks everything by working in secret to save as many people as he can from the brutality he has helped bring upon them.

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