The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore

Review by Jan:

I have posted this review once already on our Not Your Ordinary Book Group blog, so for those of you who follow both blogs please forgive the redundancy.  Our book group lately has been choosing books that lean toward contemporary fiction, like The French Gardener.  This is the May read for our book group.  We do have book group copies available that are not on our catalog, both in eReader and book format.  If you would like a copy, please let us know.  contact us

First I will begin by saying I fell in love with the environment of this story. It's set on an English country estate, with neglected gardens, stone bridge covered streams, and an abandoned cottage complete with a scrapbook filled with secrets. It reads more like contemporary fiction, or women's fiction, rather than a typical romance.

It begins with Miranda Lambert, an ex-Londoner and writer who we soon learn is not entirely happy living in the country as she secretly sobs in her closet over her unused Jimmy Choos. Her husband, a banker, travels from London to spend the weekends with her and their two children. She is a posh socialite more comfortable in the city than the country that she now inhabits. Her children are lonely and unhappy, starving for attention; her son acts out in aggressive ways, torturing the neighbor's poor donkey and biting classmates.

I was drawn to champion this woman as soon as her husband hit the pages. David is arrogant, belittles his wife, and having an affair with her best friend! On his weekends home, he watches golf and ignores his family. Miranda, after a scolding from her husband to "get it together", hires a cook, housekeeper, and a mysterious French gardener. While cleaning out an abandoned cottage on the estate, she discovers a journal written by the previous owner who was lovingly called Shrub by her husband. The journal chronicles Shrub's love affair with her own French gardener that happened thirty years prior.

We soon learn that Shrub's French gardener in the past is also Miranda's French gardener in the present; Jean-Paul is older but still handsome. The gardener returned for Shrub but found a troubled family in her place. In honor of his lost love, Jean-Paul agrees to stay and rebuild the overgrown garden. As the garden comes back to life so does the family who lives amongst its magical surroundings, and as Miranda reads the secret journal readers also journey through a forbidden love story.

This book intertwines two story lines quite nicely. I will say I enjoyed this book despite the heavy influence of infidelity throughout, both in the past and present. Shrub's affair in the past helps Miranda forgive her own husband's infidelity in the present, so while the affairs are distasteful, there are lessons learned. It is a story filled with secret discoveries, forbidden love, and human weakness. The setting is exquisite, a gardener's ultimate dream, and the cast is fun and quirky. The only other spoiler I will give is that I think it wrapped up the French gardener's storyline in a satisfactory way. I enjoyed the journey of Miranda and her family toward happiness and forgiveness, although I wouldn't have minded if she had punished her husband just a tad longer before allowing him back home.

Hope to see you in our library someday soon,
Jan

The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

Review by Jan:

Every once in a while I will read a book that I think might appeal to literary fiction readers, and so I will post my review on both our popular fiction and literary blogs.  This is the March read for our Not Your Ordinary Book Group.  We do have copies available if you want to become a member, both in book and Nook format.  Please contact us if you are interested.  New members are always welcome.

Now onto my review:

The Woman In Black is a ghost story set in historical England.  At only 164 pages, it is a shorter novel, but beautifully written and well worth a read.  It was first published in the 1980's and is now a major motion picture starring a grown-up Daniel Radcliff. 

The setting is both lovely and eerie. There are no graphic elements in this book, but rather more of an emotional pull toward the character's plight and the mystery surrounding the woman in black. Arthur Kipps, the main character of this story, is a solicitor sent to a small country town to settle the affairs of a deceased client, Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. Arthur becomes increasingly aware that the residents of this country town are keeping secrets about Eel Marsh House, and avoid his questions when asked. When Arthur notices an emaciated woman dressed in black at Alice Drablow's funeral, the residents do not wish to discuss her appearance, or even acknowledge who she might be. Determined to complete his task, Arthur sets out to Alice Drablow's home, Eel Marsh House, a solitary stone structure built on a causeway of marshes; travel is only achievable when the tide is down, leaving Arthur deserted to discover the secrets of the house and the mystery behind the woman in black.

Small spoiler alert: I will say that I truly enjoyed this book, even though I normally prefer a story with a happy ending---even I can step outside my happy-endings-box every once in a while! :o)

The story carries an emotional heaviness made more poignant by the solitary setting. The author's descriptions of the environment are perfect. It almost reminds me of a Hitchcock style story combined with the dialog of a Brontë novel. The suspense and mystery elements are well paced. Toward the middle of the story, however, I became very aware that this mysterious woman in black was not going to find happiness, that there wasn't going to be a benevolent light at the end of a proverbial tunnel for her to float away in peace; I knew the ending would be sad, as it needed to be to justify the burden of fear carried by Arthur Kipps and the other characters of the story.

As always, hope to see you in our library someday soon,
Jan

Request The Woman In Black from the Bangor Public Library

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Review by Jan:

I adored Garden Spells by this author and am very pleased to write that I enjoyed The Sugar Queen just as much.

(Garden Spells review)

The Sugar Queen is about a young woman named Josey who cares for her overbearing mother.  Josey stores candy in her secret closet and reads romance novels and travel books, dreaming of adventure and leaving the responsibilities of her repressed life behind. Everything changes when a local woman named Della shows up in her closet, hiding from an abusive boyfriend, and teaches Josey how to have the courage to reach for happiness.  Josey's emotional journey from an unhappy recluse to social confidence is as heart-wrenching as it is beautiful, and like Garden Spells, every character is worth remembering.

This is a stand-alone book, not connected to Garden Spells, but with a similar setting in a southern quirky community. Once again, the story is sprinkled with just the right amount of magic to keep it intriguing, and with a unique cast of characters, flawed yet exquisitely penned.  Allen's writing style is simply perfect.  I devoured this book in one evening, and I do hope you give it a try.

Hope to see you in our library someday soon,
Jan

Request The Sugar Queen from the Bangor Public Library

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Every once in a while a book comes along that is so special it breaches the genre boundaries.  If I had to categorize this I would lean toward calling it woman's fiction, but I think all readers would find something compelling about it.

Garden Spells came highly recommended to me by one of our patrons. I was compelled to pick this book up simply because of her recommendation, but I must confess what finally motivated me was the awesomely low page count of 286! :o) I was in the mood for a short, light read--but what I received was something so much more. From the moment I started the first page I literally could not put it down until I read the very last amazing word, and consequently went to work the following morning yawning with a very large coffee in hand to get me through the day. So, while this is a shorter book, the content is filled with some of the most beautifully written characters I have read in a very long time.

What touched me the most about this book was the relationship journey between four Waverly women: two sisters, a distant cousin, and a five-year-old daughter. It is set in a quirky southern community, with some magic realism thrown in. Each Waverly woman is born with a "gift." Evanelle, the distant cousin, described as "79 but looks like 120", is compelled to give people items like a lighter, or bed sheets, or a mango peeler. Every item she gives will have a significant meaning in the receiver's life. Claire runs a catering business while using herbs from the Waverly garden to weave a magical evening for her clients through her menu. Sydney has a gift for making people look good, and her daughter, Bay, knows where things belong.

Claire has always accepted her gift, unashamed of being one of the "odd" Waverly women, while Sydney hated the distinction and left town as soon as she was old enough. Now Sydney is running from an horrifically abusive boyfriend, knowing he will eventually harm their daughter, and returns home to the only safe place she knows. Although this is a secondary story line, there is a charming love story involving Claire and her neighbor. There is also a mischievous apple tree who (and I will say who because it has emotions) throws apples at people. If a person eats an apple from the Waverly tree, they will see the most important event of their life, which isn't necessarily a good thing. So, the Waverly women are always burying the apples.

I cannot rave enough about this book! There isn't a character or line I would change. There were moments when the author wrote in Bay's perspective, the young daughter, that were simply beautiful, although heart-wrenching. I was thoroughly touched by this book.

Garden Spells is officially on my top ten favorite reads of the year. It was that perfect!

Hope to see you in our library someday soon,
Jan
Request Garden Spells from the Bangor Public Library