I loved Tan Twan Eng’s The Garden of Evening Mists but his latest novel, The House of Doors, sounded less appealing and I only decided to read it when I saw it had been longlisted (and then shortlisted) for this year’s Walter Scott Prize. Now that I’ve read it, I have mixed feelings about it; there was a lot to like and admire, but it definitely didn’t captivate me the way The Garden of Evening Mists did.
The House of Doors weaves the fictional story of Lesley and Robert Hamlyn around a real life visit in 1921 by the author William Somerset Maugham to Penang, Malaysia – or Malaya, as it was still known at the time. Lesley has spent her whole life in Malaya, while her husband Robert was born in Britain and moved to Penang as an adult. Maugham, referred to as Willie throughout the novel, is an old friend of Robert’s and has come to stay with them at their home, Cassowary House. Leaving his wife behind in England, he is accompanied by Gerald, his lover and secretary.
At first Lesley is not very happy about having visitors and it takes her a while to warm to Willie, but she eventually finds herself confiding in him and sharing with him stories about her past. She tells him about her involvement with Sun Yat Sen, the Chinese revolutionary who came to Penang to raise funds, and about her friend, Ethel Proudlock, who was charged with the murder of a man. Some of the things Willie hears and experiences during his time with the Hamlyns will later find their way into his fiction.
The book is beautifully written, which I had expected from my previous experience of Tan’s work, and the descriptions of Penang itself are particularly lovely and evocative. I can only think of one or two other novels I’ve read set in Malaysia, but it’s a setting I love and I enjoyed revisiting it through Tan’s descriptive writing. The book deals almost entirely with British characters and we learn a lot about the colonial lifestyles and attitudes of the time, but although Tan Twan Eng himself is a Malaysian author, if you’re hoping for a Malaysian perspective you won’t really find that here. Through the Sun Yat Sen storyline, we are given a little bit of insight into Chinese revolutionary politics, but again we see this from Lesley’s point of view, through her interactions with Sun Yat Sen and his associates.
The plot moves quite slowly, maybe because so much of the story is told in the form of flashbacks. At times I was bored, but one part of the book that I did find gripping was the Ethel Proudlock storyline. It’s based on a real murder case which I knew nothing about before reading this novel, so I had no idea what the outcome was going to be. Maugham used the case as the inspiration for his 1927 play The Letter, which was made into a film starring Bette Davis. There are references to other Maugham stories, novels and plays throughout the book as well, but they meant very little to me because I haven’t read any of his work apart from The Painted Veil. I think if I’d had more familiarity with Maugham’s writing it’s possible that I would have been able to get more out of this book. I had similar experiences with Colm Tóibín’s The Magician and Damon Galgut’s Arctic Summer, novels about Thomas Mann and E.M. Forster respectively (I haven’t read much of their work either and was left with the feeling that I’d missed something).
The House of Doors wasn’t a huge success with me, then, but the setting and the beautiful writing made it worth reading. The Walter Scott Prize winner is due to be announced later this week and of the shortlisted titles I’ve read so far, My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor is still my favourite with this one second above Kevin Jared Hosein’s Hungry Ghosts. Maybe the winner will be one of the three I still haven’t read!
Book 21/50 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2024
She Reads Novels 
I’ve read similar responses to this novel elsewhere, Helen, suggesting it’s something to be admired rather than loved. But it’s an interesting approach for a Malaysian to take isn’t to describe events from a European point of view especially with the controversy around cultural (mis)appropriation and neocolonialism in literature that frequently raises its head; I’m currently reading Rebecca Kuang’s Yellowface which explores this in depth.
I was surprised that the author didn’t take the opportunity to include a Malaysian perspective in the novel, although maybe he does that in another book, as I haven’t read all of his work yet.
I have this on my radar, Helen, and I appreciate the caveats in your review. I’d still like to read it but will set my expectations appropriately.
Well, you might enjoy it more than I did. It’s a beautifully written book but just didn’t quite work for me.
This novel was a mixed bag for me as well, but my quibbles were a bit different. Lesley’s love affair didn’t come across as life changing as the narrative suggests; it felt trivial, rushed, and passionless. I think it would have made better sense if it had been with the other Chinese character. I was expecting biographical fiction and this was, rather, an origin story of sorts of the short story collection The Casuarina Tree, with which I am not familiar, thus I felt I indeed missed something important. Unlike you, I loved The Magician, but I didn’t care much about Arctic Summer. I felt that both of these latter novels gave fuller versions of the men they were based on than The House of Doors did.
I had similar feelings about Lesley’s romance; I couldn’t really believe in it because there seemed very little actual love or passion there. I had expected it to be with the other Chinese character and I agree that it would have made more sense. And I think having some familiarity with The Casuarina Tree would definitely have been an advantage!
I can see why you’d be disappointed, but this sounds right up my aisle. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll add a link on my Walter Scott page for your review.
Yes, I think you might enjoy this one.
I see it’s coming up in my stack.
BTW, you are doing great on the 2024 shortlist!
Thanks! I’ll be reading In the Upper Country soon too, but don’t have copies of the other two books yet.
That is often my problem. I’ve had to buy ones that I know I’m not even going to like (like Simon Mawer).
I love W. Somerset Maugham’s books, so the fact that he’s in this one as one of the characters interests me, as does the setting. So I might try this one. Though I don’t have a lot of patience these days for really slowly paced stories.
If you love Maugham I’m sure you will find this one interesting. I should probably have waited until I’d read more of Maugham’s books – I think my lack of familiarity with his work was a problem.
I tried this a couple of times but I just couldn’t get into it. Thanks for sharing your candid review.
It took me a while to get into it as well, but I did eventually get pulled into the story.
I loved this book, for the strengths that you very fairly point out and I am planning to read the short story that Maugham wrote about the Proudlock case (though I may already have read and forgotten it). I wasn’t so concerned about perspectives in the novel or lack of them. I enjoy well written novels set in the Far East and am intending to look a few more out. I don’t think it will win the Sir Walter Scott prize though it’s my favourite of the ones I have read, closely followed by Rose Tremain’s latest, Absolutely and Forever.
I did find the Proudlock case intriguing so would be interested in reading the Maugham short story as well. I’m pleased to hear you enjoyed Absolutely and Forever; I’ve loved some of Rose Tremain’s books but not others and am looking forward to trying that one.
Interesting. I’m going to the declaration tonight – I have only missed one since the first W.S. Prize – I’m looking forward to it.
Margaret
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I hope you have a good time, Margaret. It will be interesting to see which book wins.
The lack of a Malayan perspective was disappointing to me too. I had previously read the story version of The Letter and it’s brilliant, as are many of Maugham’s short colonial stories. But that didn’t endear the book to me any more, since all I felt was that Maugham had told the story better. The Garden of Evening Mists remains my favourite too,
I felt more positive than negative about the book overall, I think, but I did feel as if my time might have been better spent actually reading more of Maugham’s work instead.