The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Book Title: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
Genre: Fiction
My Grade: B
# of Pages: 549
Week Read: Week #29 (7/16 - 7/23/10)
Summary: A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book - a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.
My Thoughts: This is another one of those good, casual reads that you do actually need to devote a bit of focus to. Not really to follow the story itself, but more to keep track of the characters. The basic gist of The Forgotten Garden is that you're following three different characters, in three different times, down one storyline.
As fun, genuine, and engrossing as the book was there was nothing super remarkable about it. The characters, quite frankly, are typical and nothing special. The story, a bit different from what's currently out there, bordered on predictability - things meant to come as a surprise weren't very surprising. Morton's writing was actually really good at transporting you to the various locations we venture too. I felt she gave more life to the places and things rather than the people. There was also a certain fluidity that keeps the reader engaged.
I think The Forgotten Garden is a vacation book. Something to take along and read on your downtime to relax even further. It's fascinating that you will be transported even further away than you already are on your trip, to different times and places. A vacation within a vacation.
Next Book: A God Who Hates by Wafa Sultan • review
Back to the Book List.
Author: Kate Morton
Genre: Fiction
My Grade: B
# of Pages: 549
Week Read: Week #29 (7/16 - 7/23/10)
Summary: A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book - a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.
My Thoughts: This is another one of those good, casual reads that you do actually need to devote a bit of focus to. Not really to follow the story itself, but more to keep track of the characters. The basic gist of The Forgotten Garden is that you're following three different characters, in three different times, down one storyline.
As fun, genuine, and engrossing as the book was there was nothing super remarkable about it. The characters, quite frankly, are typical and nothing special. The story, a bit different from what's currently out there, bordered on predictability - things meant to come as a surprise weren't very surprising. Morton's writing was actually really good at transporting you to the various locations we venture too. I felt she gave more life to the places and things rather than the people. There was also a certain fluidity that keeps the reader engaged.
I think The Forgotten Garden is a vacation book. Something to take along and read on your downtime to relax even further. It's fascinating that you will be transported even further away than you already are on your trip, to different times and places. A vacation within a vacation.
Next Book: A God Who Hates by Wafa Sultan • review
Back to the Book List.