Tan Twan Eng: The Master of the Nature Metaphor with his roots deep in the Concrete Jungle

Trees A Crowd

Tan Twan Eng was the first Malay writer to win a number of key literary prizes including the Man Asia Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. David Oakes and Twan Eng first met whilst in Malaysia shooting the film adaptation of his Booker prize nominated “The Garden of Evening Mists”, and on the eve of publication for Twan Eng’s new novel, “The House of Doors”, David seeks to find the secret behind the novelist’s skill at crafting pitch-perfect nature metaphors - despite the truth of Twan wanting “…nature to be ordered”. Here we hear how Twan Eng met the Emperor of Japan’s Gardener, how one should be weary of jungle spirits and tigers should one be 'caught short' in the Malay Rainforest, and how Twan Eng’s heart, despite being born in Malaysia, is actually imbedded into the tow-paths of Richmond upon Thames; “I Dream in English” he says, as he shakes his gin martini...

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