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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

                      
I really enjoyed Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden.  An abandoned four-year-old girl arrives in Australia in 1913; oh, doesn't that grab you from the start.  She's been told not to tell anyone her name, and so when Hugh, the dock master, attempts to discover who has lost the child and where she belongs, he finds himself stymied.  He takes her home and both he and his wife fall in love with the child, naming her Nell and raising her with love.

Eventually, on the eve of her engagement party, Hugh tells Nell the truth, and it changes her life.  All she knew as truth is proven false.  The mystery of her beginnings and her real family haunt her.

Moving to the present, Nell's granddaughter Cassandra discovers that Nell has left her a cottage in England.   Cassandra realizes that, late in life, Nell had begun an attempt to discover her history and decides to go to England to see the cottage.  Trying to unravel the mystery of Nell's parentage, she follows the diary Nell had kept during her own search.

This really is a fairy tale, and fairy tales are clues to the mystery of how the four-year-old Nell  found herself alone on a long voyage to Australia.  The characters are also like fairy tale characters, not fully developed, metaphorical, symbolic--you know them through intuition and archetypal memory.  Your favorite fairy tales are incorporated and interwoven in many ways, and there are new fairy tales to consider.  The book of fairy tales that crossed the ocean with Nell, tucked into her tiny suitcase, provides clues, both through the stories and the illustrations.

There are many secrets to uncover, and while the story isn't quite realistic-- like most fairy tales, there are kernels of truth hidden in the fantasy.  You will realize much of the mystery before the characters do, and sometimes, you may feel like shaking them, but like Sleeping Beauty, characters past and present aren't always fully conscious.  I loved all of the obvious and subtle fairy tale tropes.

One thing that bothered me, however, was the abruptness of the past, distant past, and present switches.  I often like this technique of switching point of view and time and location, but these sections are not as smooth as they could have been.  Another item that bothered me is the change that occurred in Nell on learning that she was "adopted" (although, informally) and letting that interfere with her relationships with a loving family.

Becoming lost in this fairy tale, if you accept the premise that the book itself is a fairy tale, is easy to do, however, and I have to admit that I found the overall idea enchanting.

Fairy tales, mystery, deception, betrayal, secret gardens, wicked stepmother figure, lost child, an homage to Victorian writers and illustrators and to several children's books...

I must re-read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, a childhood favorite, that I've not read in years.

If you've read Morton's The Forgotten Garden, what did you think?  If you've reviewed it, let me know, and I'll add a link:  Kailana at The Written World 

Fiction.  Fairy tale/Mystery/Historical.  2008.  549 pages.

15 comments:

  1. I haven't read this author's books yet, but she is on my list. I think a new one will be out in the next few months.

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  2. I liked The House at Riverton as well, but despite the flaws in this one, I liked it better. I'll eagerly await the next one!

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  3. I really want to read this. I have "House at Riverton" but haven't read it either. So many books ....

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  4. I agree. So many books! If you get a chance, though, try it and see what you think.

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  5. It was great fun to find your blog and read through your synopsis of books. I'm in a bookclub and always looking for good suggestions. I'm reading The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva and the War of Art by Steven Pressfield - both of them are excellent reads too!

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  6. I keep waiting for the right mood to strike for me to read this. I enjoyed The House at Riverton even though there were aspects of it that bothered me, and I know if I'm in the right mood I'll have a great time with The Forgotten Garden too.

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  7. Odd Chick - thanks for stopping by! I'll look into the books you mention. Aren't we all looking for good new titles? There are so many wonderful books, and I'm always adding to my TBR list!

    Jenny - In some ways, you will find aspects that bother you about this one as well. I enjoyed both books, but I love anything to do with fairy tales.

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  8. I really liked this book too! I am glad I gave it a try! I wasn't sure it was my kind of book in the beginning, but it was good.

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  9. Kailana - Love a little history mystery!

    Zeek - I did enjoy the book, but then, I liked her last one as well!

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  10. Ok, I am excited to read The Forgotten Garden and will add it to my library must reads.

    Thanks a zillion!

    Sharon Lovejoy Writes from Sunflower House and a Little Green Island

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  11. I'm eager to hear what others think about it, Sharon. It isn't perfect, there are a number of nitpicks I could have mentioned, but I liked the fairy tale connections a lot!

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  12. I recently read "The Forgotten Garden" and I loved it. Even though it was long and a bit disjointed with different points of view and different eras mingled in.

    I liked this one better than "The House At Riverton" I eagerly await Morton's new book.

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  13. Chancy, I felt the same way about the switches in pov. Sometimes I really enjoy the technique, but in this case it was distracting and abrupt.

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  14. I LOVED this book. I enjoyed the different points of views. I am excied to read more from Morton.

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  15. Lady B - It was a compelling read, wasn't it? I'm looking forward to her next one as well!

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