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juushikaTitle: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
Published: New York: Atria Books, 2009 (2008)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 549
Total Page Count: 112,171
Text Number: 323
Read Because: discovered during random browsing, borrowed from the Corvallis library
Review: When her grandmother dies, Cassandra discovers that as a young child Nell was found abandoned on an Australian dock. Taking up the search for the truth where her grandmother left off, Cassanda tracks the path of Eliza, a 1900s authoress and the only link to Nell's origins. The Forgotten Garden is reminiscent of other multi-generational magical (realist) female sagas—which seems too specific to be a genre, but similarities to Hoffman's Practical Magic and Howe's The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane suggest otherwise. Accordingly, The Forgotten Garden is likely to be a success for fans of those books. Its fantastic elements are subtle and largely allegorical, tying the book into an emotionally resonant, if trite, little package. The bulk of its plot is taken up by the mystery of Nell's origins, but the mystery doesn't warrant 550 pages; it's a breezy, slightly florid voice and three intertwining narratives that make the journey to the truth so long, although Morton manages to avoid frustrating dramatic irony—and surprisingly, the pages speed by. Despite all criticisms, the book is absorbing and quick to read; its themes of identity and family are traditional (read: heteronormative and frankly limiting) but satisfying, and its included fairy tales are an unexpected delight and the best of the book. That's not quite enough for me—I have a love/hate relationship with this mini-genre, and enjoy its premise but often take issue with its execution; The Forgotten Garden falls right in line, and while it's an enjoyable read I demand more from a book than just that. Interested readers will find worst wastes of time, and the book would be ideal distraction over lazy summer days (as a bonus, much of it takes place then), but on its own standing I can't recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Kate Morton
Published: New York: Atria Books, 2009 (2008)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 549
Total Page Count: 112,171
Text Number: 323
Read Because: discovered during random browsing, borrowed from the Corvallis library
Review: When her grandmother dies, Cassandra discovers that as a young child Nell was found abandoned on an Australian dock. Taking up the search for the truth where her grandmother left off, Cassanda tracks the path of Eliza, a 1900s authoress and the only link to Nell's origins. The Forgotten Garden is reminiscent of other multi-generational magical (realist) female sagas—which seems too specific to be a genre, but similarities to Hoffman's Practical Magic and Howe's The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane suggest otherwise. Accordingly, The Forgotten Garden is likely to be a success for fans of those books. Its fantastic elements are subtle and largely allegorical, tying the book into an emotionally resonant, if trite, little package. The bulk of its plot is taken up by the mystery of Nell's origins, but the mystery doesn't warrant 550 pages; it's a breezy, slightly florid voice and three intertwining narratives that make the journey to the truth so long, although Morton manages to avoid frustrating dramatic irony—and surprisingly, the pages speed by. Despite all criticisms, the book is absorbing and quick to read; its themes of identity and family are traditional (read: heteronormative and frankly limiting) but satisfying, and its included fairy tales are an unexpected delight and the best of the book. That's not quite enough for me—I have a love/hate relationship with this mini-genre, and enjoy its premise but often take issue with its execution; The Forgotten Garden falls right in line, and while it's an enjoyable read I demand more from a book than just that. Interested readers will find worst wastes of time, and the book would be ideal distraction over lazy summer days (as a bonus, much of it takes place then), but on its own standing I can't recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
