kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
I came to The Memory Garden a fan of M. Rickert's short stories from years ago. I hadn't read a story by her in a long, long time, but as soon as we encounter the teenager Bay, and her garden and past-obsessed Nana, it was like curling up in front of a fireplace with a steaming herb tea.
Rickert has a dreaming quality to her characters that makes them as loveable as a befuddled great aunt in the nursing home. Nana is elderly, and her two former best friends finally reuniting with her long after their terrible secret forced them apart, are also a bit vague.
"Are you having goose pimples? Did someone just walk on your grave? Isn't it just the sweetest place? Can't you just picture it with a little garden of daffodils? Deer won't eat daffodils, you know, but they love tulips. And some rocking chairs and wind chimes?"
This quality was atmospheric and homey in her short stories, but in this novel, some times you loose the thread of the conversation. And basically, this novel is one, long conversation about Nana's secrets, who Bay thinks she is, and how the three friends all don't really see each other clearly.
It's a book to sit with and savor, as the characters savor a flower-themed meal in the book (that had my mouth watering) of chicken with rose-petal sauce and curried dahlia lillies, calendula biscuits, and lavendar-goat cheese stuffaed dates.
And tucked within the story are illuminated moments like this one:
"The snow falls, and Nan feels strangely light. She might at any moment rise out of her clogs and fly above her house and garden, like a sparrow. The now falls, and Nan covers her mouth with one hand, as though to prevent the exhalation that will release her from the gravity of a world more beautiful than anything she deserves."
If you like Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, you'll most likely enjoy this book. A lovely, meandering lovesong of a book focused on growing old, and regrets, and learning to see who your loved ones are, conducted in a garden of witchy herbs and flowers.
Rickert has a dreaming quality to her characters that makes them as loveable as a befuddled great aunt in the nursing home. Nana is elderly, and her two former best friends finally reuniting with her long after their terrible secret forced them apart, are also a bit vague.
"Are you having goose pimples? Did someone just walk on your grave? Isn't it just the sweetest place? Can't you just picture it with a little garden of daffodils? Deer won't eat daffodils, you know, but they love tulips. And some rocking chairs and wind chimes?"
This quality was atmospheric and homey in her short stories, but in this novel, some times you loose the thread of the conversation. And basically, this novel is one, long conversation about Nana's secrets, who Bay thinks she is, and how the three friends all don't really see each other clearly.
It's a book to sit with and savor, as the characters savor a flower-themed meal in the book (that had my mouth watering) of chicken with rose-petal sauce and curried dahlia lillies, calendula biscuits, and lavendar-goat cheese stuffaed dates.
And tucked within the story are illuminated moments like this one:
"The snow falls, and Nan feels strangely light. She might at any moment rise out of her clogs and fly above her house and garden, like a sparrow. The now falls, and Nan covers her mouth with one hand, as though to prevent the exhalation that will release her from the gravity of a world more beautiful than anything she deserves."
If you like Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, you'll most likely enjoy this book. A lovely, meandering lovesong of a book focused on growing old, and regrets, and learning to see who your loved ones are, conducted in a garden of witchy herbs and flowers.
raven_morgan's review against another edition
5.0
This book is BEAUTIFUL. Haunting (both literally and figuratively), filled with wonderful characters and food and flowers. Pretty much recommending it to everyone.
dmwhipp's review against another edition
2.0
With the promise of ghosts, secrets, witches and more, I was hoping for something along the lines of Barbara Michaels or maybe Sarah Addison Allen. Instead I found very descriptive writing, with very little actually taking place. While the characters were interesting I found the story tedious. And old age is depicted as more reliving rather than living, with so many mentions of regrets and physical ailments that it became rather depressing.
sonofthe's review against another edition
5.0
What a great book. Rickert has been publishing excellent stories for something like the past ten years, but this is her first novel. It is full of great characters, mysteries, joy, sadness, discovery, and more. And it's subtle. A couple times I was reminded of Gene Wolfe's writing, but mostly just Mary Rickert's, which is an excellent thing.
I feel there's much more to write about the story, but it's just sitting in my mind, still unfurling. I'll give it another read and come back. If you haven't read any of her stuff, give some of her short stories a try. Here are a few.
I feel there's much more to write about the story, but it's just sitting in my mind, still unfurling. I'll give it another read and come back. If you haven't read any of her stuff, give some of her short stories a try. Here are a few.
pnw_michelle's review against another edition
5.0
For months now I've been starting books and not finishing them, or finishing them but not feeling especially excited about them. The Memory Garden reassured me that I'm still capable of really enjoying novels. I just needed to find the right one. It's the best ting I've read all year.
What's not to love about a book full of witches, gardens, friendship and family and dark secrets?
SO GOOD. Seriously.
What's not to love about a book full of witches, gardens, friendship and family and dark secrets?
SO GOOD. Seriously.
quietdomino's review against another edition
1.0
It was just not the time for me and a book about magic realism to be friends.
ashel3's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dreamofbookspines's review against another edition
2.0
Rickert should've focused on *one* thing and done that well, instead of this trainwreck of different ideas and confusing subplots. It's like she wanted to write a magical realism book, but also wanted to write about the terror of reproductive justice that was the 60s (ish). In the end she ended up doing neither well. I wanted to like it, really I did, because at times the writing reminded me of Sarah Addison Allen. Rickert is not an unskilled writer, but the editor should have been vehement that she needed to pick *one* thing to do well and then made her stick with it.
barry_x's review against another edition
3.0
This was a really pleasant read, which felt quite fulfilling. I felt that spending a lazy, summer's afternoon reading in a nice garden, or enjoying a really satisfying meal, eaten slowly. Which is funny because this is a book where the senses are fully exploited taking in the sights, sounds and smells of eating with friends and the sight and smells of a wild garden. However, to stretch the analogy further, lying around in a field all day may be quite pleasant and relaxing but there isn't much 'depth' to it and that's kind of how I feel about this one. It was okay, it was fun, I enjoyed it but I don't think anything in particular has been explored in any death.
I did quite like the 'magic on the fringes' where, at least in some places it is for the reader to determine whether 'magic' is used. I did like the evocation of what I call traditional midwifery, when it was a role fulfilled by local women rather than the medical profession, including when a local herbalist could help another woman when she needed support with not having a child (indeed, I suspect in any historical witchcraft 'purges' it was more about powerful and knowledgeable women being crushed by a patriarchal, religious society rather than rooting out 'evil witchcraft').
I quite liked the characters, especially the elderly ladies (who may or may not be witches). I liked the exploration of the elements of their friendships and the teases about the nature of their relationships. The younger characters I related to less. The central character Bay seemed a 'young' 15 and I didn't really see her as a young woman on the cusp of adulthood. Most of the younger characters seemed really incidental and added nothing to the book.
I also enjoyed the unravelling of the deeper plot although I felt it was telegraphed significantly. The end was quite rewarding and tugged at my sentimentality strings.
Enjoyed it, but I doubt it will leave a lasting impression on me.
I did quite like the 'magic on the fringes' where, at least in some places it is for the reader to determine whether 'magic' is used. I did like the evocation of what I call traditional midwifery, when it was a role fulfilled by local women rather than the medical profession, including when a local herbalist could help another woman when she needed support with not having a child (indeed, I suspect in any historical witchcraft 'purges' it was more about powerful and knowledgeable women being crushed by a patriarchal, religious society rather than rooting out 'evil witchcraft').
I quite liked the characters, especially the elderly ladies (who may or may not be witches). I liked the exploration of the elements of their friendships and the teases about the nature of their relationships. The younger characters I related to less. The central character Bay seemed a 'young' 15 and I didn't really see her as a young woman on the cusp of adulthood. Most of the younger characters seemed really incidental and added nothing to the book.
I also enjoyed the unravelling of the deeper plot although I felt it was telegraphed significantly. The end was quite rewarding and tugged at my sentimentality strings.
Enjoyed it, but I doubt it will leave a lasting impression on me.