The Red Garden

From the author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Rules of Magic comes a transfixing glimpse into a small American town where a mysterious, magical garden holds the truth behind three hundred years of passion, dark secrets, loyalty, and redemption. "[A] dreamy, fabulist series of connected stories . . . [These] tales, with their tight, soft focus on America, cast their own spell."--The Washington Post The Red Garden introduces us to the luminous and haunting world of Blackwell, Massachusetts, capturing the unexpected turns in its history and in our own lives. From the town's founder, a brave young woman from England who has no fear of blizzards or bears, to the young man who runs away to New York City with only his dog for company, the characters in The Red Garden are extraordinary and vivid: a young wounded Civil War soldier who is saved by a passionate neighbor, a woman who meets a fiercely human historical character, a poet who falls in love with a blind man, a mysterious traveler who comes to town in the year when summer never arrives. At the center of everyone's life is a mysterious garden where only red plants can grow, and where the truth can be found by those who dare to look. Beautifully crafted and shimmering with magic, The Red Garden is as unforgettable as it is moving.
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Community Reviews
Extra points for the Johnny Appleseed story from someone born in Leominster with Central/Western Massachusetts ties.
I loved this book. It spans about 250 years with each chapter moving forward 10-20 years. It's more like a bunch of short stories that have a common thread. The characters are strong and beautifully written. Such a pleasure to read!
I'm discovering that Alice Hoffman books are either hits or misses for me. And this one just wasn't up to par for me. I'm not a big fan of short stories these days, but I'd liked a couple of her other novels in the past, and so I thought I'd give this other genre a try.
It was just OK. And while I rarely can put a book aside and NOT read until the end, I did so here with ease. I just simply lost interest in this collection of stories, and didn't care to continue in Blackwell...
It was just OK. And while I rarely can put a book aside and NOT read until the end, I did so here with ease. I just simply lost interest in this collection of stories, and didn't care to continue in Blackwell...
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