Cassandra's grandmother, Nell, has passed away and left everything to her; not only her home and antique stall in Brisbane, but also a cottage on the English coast. Why would Nell have a home in England?, thinks Cassandra; and thus the plot for Kate Morton's novel, The Forgotten Garden, is formed.
The story is told primarily from the perspective of three women in three time periods -- Cassandra in 2005, Nell in 1975-76, and Eliza Makepeace in 1900-1913. It is apparent that Eliza's narrative is linked to Cassandra's and Nell's in some way, but how? Ms Morton does a fantastic job of linking the narratives so the reader is able to put the pieces of the puzzle together themselves - not all at once, just gradually enough that you feel you must keep reading to find out more information.
The Forgotten Garden is not a short book - my paperback edition is 549 pages - but I found it quick and easy to read and extremely enjoyable. It's a mystery, a love story, a tragedy, and in many ways a fairy tale; it's a great novel to escape the present day, even if only for a little while.
Liked this book a lot! I liked it even better after I reread it for my blog.
ReplyDeleteI read it and really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is big, it definitely wasn't challenging and it was pretty easy to figure out the mystery well before hand, but I still really liked it.
I really enjoyed The House at Riverton. Will have to check this one out, too. I'm a fan of all things told in a Gothic and haunting way.
ReplyDeleteI am entering for the Literary Hop. I was torn between this one and ROOM so I commented on both. If you have delete one of my entries, please delete this one.
ReplyDeletemonagarg@yahoo.com