The Forgotten Garden |
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Author:
Kate Morton
By Pan Books
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: £7.99
Our Price: £2.94
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780330449601
ISBN: 0330449605
Label: Pan Books
Manufacturer: Pan Books
Number Of Pages: 350
Publication Date: 2008-06-06
Publisher: Pan Books
Release Date: 2008-05-29
Studio: Pan Books |
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 Light entertainment for a cold winter's day, 2009-01-02
First, let me say this - I'm not normally a fan of 'famliy' saga type novels, and the only reason I purchsed this book was that (a) it was in the sale and (b) I fancied trying something different from my usual list of 'reads'. Secondly, having now read the book over the Christmas break it is fairly clear this book probably isn't going to change your life. However, I wasn't disappointed by the book.
It's a bit on the predictable side, and split between three main characters but it leads you gently by the hand through their different lives. It is paced well and has enough in each chapter to keep you wanting to read the next and the story is as charming as the picture on the front cover. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to someone looking for a deep and meaningful read but if you fancy a bit of light holiday reading, which isn't too mindless, then I would certainly suggest trying it. It's the sort of book I'd lend to my Mum and I would certainly keep an eye out for toerh Kate Morton books in the sales.
fan dabby flipping dozy!!!!, 2009-01-03
I enjoyed the house at riverton but have to say that this was even better!!!! I could hardly put it down and was so totally engrossed in it from the first to the last page.
Just a thought for those of you avid fans too....as I was reading quite often into the small hours and am particular about detail....near the end of the book it is mentioned that marys families address in australia was put in the bottom of the little white suitcase by Eliza just in case.....as in incase she should get lost. so where was mention of the address earlier in the book. who were the one couple who did go in search of the child near the begining of the book....just a thought.....I would love to hear what others thought on this...
and I would love to see both this and the house at riverton turned into movies!!!!!!!!
Showed promise but, in the end, didn't deliver, 2009-01-08
Had I been rating this book about a third of the way through, I would probably have given it 3-4 stars. I think the author has a nice style of writing and introduced some themes which were, initially, compelling. I also love historical mystery books so this promised to be a real treat. So what went wrong? Well two things really, characterisation and editing.
Characterisation is such an important feature of any book for me and I found all the characters here two-dimensional and in many cases, like caricatures. I never really believed that their actions, which often were severe, were justified either from what we'd been told about them or the situations they found themselves in (Nell's complete rejection of her family being the worst example but there are countless others). Consequently, I never really bonded with any of them or cared, in the end, what happened to them.
Equally disappointing, however, was the fact that with a good editor this novel could have been so much better. It would have been shorter for a start. Like many reviewers, I'd figured out the mystery by half way through the book (it's not difficult). To read, quite literally, hundreds more pages of text just to find out you were right was frustrating and the blind alley thrown in towards the end was so obvious it was annoying.
There were also numerous other editing oversights that other reviewers have picked up like an extremely clumsy derivative style, loose threads of ideas that were never taken forward or served any diversionary value but then were not edited out, the unlikely names of English characters and locations (a middle-aged Cornish lady call Robyn to name but one) and the use of dialogue fillers like "she pushed her lips together" over and over again.
I like to be fully engrossed in a story so much so that whilst I'm desperate to know the outcome, I'm equally desperate that it shouldn't end. All these niggles detracted constantly from the story and so I never really felt immersed in it. Indeed, at one point I felt like giving up but by then I'd invested so much time in the book, I felt compelled, albeit reluctantly, to continue. Not the makings of a satisfying read then.
A truly superb read, 2009-01-08
Having read and enjoyed 'The House at Riverton', this one was on my Xmas list - having just finished it, it certainly didn't disappoint. There are several different 'time-lines' in the story - 1900, 1913, 1930, 1976 & 2005 - all intertwined superbly by the author as the story is gradually revealed and the mystery solved. Just as you think you know what happened, there is another twist and you are left guessing again. Whilst the characters do not always evoke your full sympathy, many are 'damaged' in some way - Eliza by the death of her twin, Sammy; Rose by her ultra-protective upbringing; Linus by his tortured childhood; Nell through findiing out at 21 she is not who she thought she was; Nathaniel & Adeline trying to escape their impoverished backgrounds - and you have to feel an empathy towards them (well, most of them anyway!). Whilst thinking back through the plot certain of the elements and 'reveals' are a trifle contrived, but on a first read the book really grips you and you just don't want to put it down if you can help it. However, be aware that it is in fact 645 pages and not 450 as in Amazon's details - not that you would notice, as the book simply flies by. A truly excellent book, with a happy/sad ending!!!
An enchanting read..., 2009-01-01
From the moment I picked up this book, I could not put it down. It draws you in and keeps you engrossed from the first page to the very last. The storylines are very cleverly woven together, giving you just a little more information to the untangling of the story, but not too much so as to keep you reading on for more! I commend Kate Morton for writing a book that is such a joy to read.
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