Tan Twan Eng

Tan Twan Eng (Chinese: 陳團英, b. 1972) is a Malaysian novelist known for being the first Malaysian recipient of the Man Asian Literary Prize.[1], the first Malaysian novelist to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and the first Malaysian author to win the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tan.

Tan Twan Eng
陳團英
Born	1972 (age 47–48) Penang, Malaysia
Nationality	Malaysian
Education	Bachelor of Laws
Alma mater	University of London
Occupation	Novelist
Years active	2007–present
Notable work	The Gift of Rain The Garden of Evening Mists
Website	www.tantwaneng.com

Background and life

Tan was born in Penang and grew up in Kuala Lumpur.[1] He is of the Straits Chinese descent.[1] Tan speaks mainly English, Penang Hokkien, and some Cantonese.

Tan studied law at the University of London, and later worked as an advocate and solicitor in one of Kuala Lumpur's leading law firms before becoming a full-time writer.[2]

He has a first-dan ranking in aikido and lives in Malaysia.[3][4]

Career

His first novel, The Gift of Rain, published in 2007, was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. It is set in Penang before and during the Japanese occupation of Malaya in World War II. The Gift of Rain has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Greek, Romanian, Czech, Serbian, French, Russian and Hungarian.

His second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, was published in 2012. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012[5] and won the Man Asian Literary Prize,[6][7] and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.[8][9] The novel was adapted into an award-winning film starring Hiroshi Abe, Lee Sinje, John Hannah, David Oakes and Sylvia Chang and was released in 2020.

Tan has spoken at literary festivals, including the Singapore Writers Festival, the Ubud Writers' Festival in Bali, the Asia Man Booker Festival in Hong Kong, the Shanghai International Literary Festival, the Perth Writers Festival, the Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne, Australia, the Franschhoek Literary Festival in South Africa, the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland, the George Town Literary Festival in Penang, the Head Read Literary Festival in Tallinn, and many more.

Works

• The Gift of Rain (2007)
• The Garden of Evening Mists (2012)

Awards

• Man Asian Literary Prize (2012)[10]
• £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (2013)[11]

References

1. Nicole Idar. "An interview with Tan Twan Eng". Asymptote Journal. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
2. Tan Twan Eng Takes the Proust Seat | Litro
3. Lee Jian Xuan (18 September 2016). "Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng finds the human in the monster". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
4. "Tan Twan Eng". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
5. http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/2012-shortlist-announced
6. "Tan Twan Eng scoops Asia's top literary prize". Man Asian Prize website. 15 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
7. Richard Lea (14 March 2013). "Tan Twan Eng wins Man Asian prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
8. "Shortlist for 2013 Walter Scott Prize Announced". Borders Book Festival. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
9. "Tan Twan Eng wins The Walter Scott Prize". Borders Book Festival. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
10. Lea, Richard (14 March 2013). "Tan Twan Eng wins Man Asian prize". the Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
11. "Tan Twan Eng wins Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction with The Garden of Evening Mists". The Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2018.

External links

• Author interview
• David C.L. Lim. "Agency and the Pedagogy of Japanese Colonialism in Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Bernard Wilson, “Trapped Between Worlds”: The Function of Memory, History and Body in the Fiction of Tan Twan Eng, Asiatic Vol 12/2, 2018