The Forgotten Garden

So I'm going to preface this review with a great big SIGH of satisfied relief. After reading two action-packed thrillers that were fun but well, less than superbly written, I am so happy to have read this. And to think I was about to give up on it in the first fifty pages! I'm really glad I persisted. It was well worth it.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Well, let me start by saying that I am not going to give a synopsis of the story because, well, it's too complicated, and I am not in the mood to sort it out. Besides, Goodreads already provides one for you, and well, quite frankly they probably do a better job of it than I can.

Loved it because...

1. Morton is a beautiful writer. For example, this little gem: "Rose ran the encounter back through her mind, but worry had conspired with fear to wrinkle the edges of her memory and she could no longer tease loose the precise words that had been spoken." I love it...worry conspiring with fear to wrinkle memory. What a perfect way to describe Rose's forgetfulness.

2. The plot is engrossing, especially the mystery as it unfolds over generations. Morton switches between the lives of the three women to tell Eliza Makepeace's story. I love novels that move around in time, especially when the author leaves me hanging on one piece of the story to shift to another era. Granted, towards the end, it got a bit predictable and a tad long. Still, I won't complain. I couldn't wait to see how each character's story turned out, especially Eliza's.

3. Eliza was so nuanced. In fact, I thought all the characters were well written. I loved how they unfolded, layer by layer, over the course of the story. In the hands of a less skilled author, I think some of the characters, in particular Cassandra, could have come off as stock. At first I was afraid that Cassandra would be the victimized, whiny sort. She wasn't. And that was a relief.

4. The bad guy...well, let us say that Aunt Adeline is baaaaad to the bone. And yet you sort of come away feeling sorry for her. And Linus, Eliza's uncle, is extremely creepy. I did not like either character. But it wasn't because they were so bad that you could not feel any sympathy for them. I appreciate an antagonist that you can feel a little bit bad for. It's just plain good characterization.

5. Morton ties into The Secret Garden by bringing Francis Hodgson Burnett into the story and suggesting that Hodgson Burnett was inspired by the garden in this story. Clever! That and I loved The Secret Garden when I was a girl. Actually, I now want to reread it. Oh so many good books and so little time!

6. There are Gothic romance themes spread throughout the novel. And although it doesn't entirely fit the time frame for the story, the juxtaposition of Gothic themes set against Victorian mores of the late 1800s/early 1900s really worked surprisingly well for me. For example, Aunt Adeline is a stickler for rules and a complete prude, or so it seems. However, there is a dark side of her that believes the end can justify the means. And those means are WICKED. It was interesting to see how the two thematic elements, Gothic and Victorian, play out side by side. I'll stop there and refrain from writing an entire essay exploring the comparisons. (Although I sort of really really want to. Which probably makes me really really nerdy.)

My only semi-complaint? Well, like I said, the ending was a little too long and predictable. And things sort of tied up a little too neatly for Cassandra. I love happy endings and all, but it was a touch on the contrived side. But it is really a minor complaint. Over all, I really enjoyed it.



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