This book starts its journey with BookCrossing from Delphi, Greece
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" In the highlands of Malaya, a woman sets out to build a memorial to her sister, killed at the hands of the Japanese during the brutal Occupation of their country. Yun Ling's quest leads her to The Garden of Evening Mists, and to Aritomo, a man of extraordinary skill and reputation, once the gardener of the Emperor of Japan. When she accepts his offer to become his apprentice, she begins a journey into her past, inextricably linked with the secrets of her troubled country's history. "


~~~~~~To the person who found this book:~~~~~~

Welcome to BookCrossing.com, where we are trying to make the whole world a library!

If you have not already done so, please make a journal entry so we know this book has found a new home. Drop a few lines on where and how you found this book and what you thought of it. You don't need to join BookCrossing and you can remain completely anonymous. However, I encourage you to join so that you can follow this book's future travels. It's fun and free, and your personal information will never be shared or sold.

This book is now yours, and you can keep it if you choose, although I would love you to read and then share it. You can pass it on someone you know or release it once again in the wild, leaving it on a park bench, a phone booth, a hostel lobby...wherever you think it's suitable for the book to continue it's journey. If you pass it along, please make a release note to let others know where you left it.

I hope you enjoy the book!

Wow! What a book! Like most novels dealing with WW2 and its consequences on countries, nations and especially on individuals and on human relationships, this was a very touching and emotional book. It was very interesting due to the specific setting and due to the unusual interests, attitudes and bonds of the main characters too.

Like most historical fiction though, this book didn't avoid some hyperbole both on the characters and on the plot. Many weird coincidences and odd love relationships and behaviors and decisions and the like... I found many elements of the story and of the people's actions hard to swallow while occasionally these didn't make any sense to me.
An other issue I had with this book was that after a strong start, the pace droped considerably in the middle. While the prose and descriptions etc were still beautiful and poetic, at some point the book got so slow-going that I was on the verge to start skipping pages, something I never do... I persisted though and I was rewarded, because the rythme picks up again towards the end, actually the plot accelerates again and while not completely believable, it takes some unexpected twists and turns. The author added many strong and moving scenes and at times I had to remind myself this is a too lyrical male author, not a female one...

As the novel refers to some very different cutlures and life styles than my own, I found many elements of the book poetic and interesting, but sometimes frustrating or incomprehensible too. Malaya/Malaysia culture and attitude towards life, Rice paper lanterns, Japanese gardening, Japanese horimono tattooes, ukiyo-e have their charm and take a significant role in the story, but how long can one read about them? Well, actually for long, but it got too much occasionally...

To make a long story short, I somehow feel this isn't a book I'll rush to read again any time soon, but still I am very glad I read it and I think people should seek out to read it too. Thus this is a second copy I bought for Book Crossing purposes and will start its journey brand-new! This story will stay with me for a while... Very valuable novel despite its flaws...

Let's see what future readers will make out of this book! Let me know : )

Reserved to fulfill a wish...
: )

This book is now travelling across the pond as part of a surprise parcel.

Thank you for helping me celebrate my 3rd Bookiversary, I hope you'll enjoy what you get!

Good Luck little book and Don't forget to write your news from time to time : )

It's here! Arrived safe & sound in Florida today. Thank you so much for your generosity in sending it so far!