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- Verified Buyer
The Red Garden by Alice HoffmanSet in the Berkshires, this novel feels like a series of interconnected short stories on the founding families of a small town called "Bearsville". If not for the strong pioneer spirit of the founding mother , Hallie, and her relationship with a hibernating, nursing bear this town would have never bloomed. This town did bloom but remained small, cozy and full of colorful characters.Each chapter is chronographic through time. This book embraces all sorts and conditions of men. The focus however remains on the women of the town and how they shaped history of Bearsville. There is a garden plot that is blood red and in this garden if you plant a white flower a red flower will appear. Bodies are buried there--but are they human or something else? Is that reason the garden is red? What is the deal with ghost of a young girl near the river? How important are eels to this community and how does that change?If I could pick out a theme, it would be that life is a combination of tapestries. Each generation weaves another part of the history tapestry with their life experiences. Beauty queens fall in love with beastly ugly mountain man, young girl runs off with horse traders, an annual celebration of young girl ghost near the river helps to forms link among generations. Additional joys include: an eel-woman, lesbians, a school teacher with a fascinating past....As a writer, Hoffman uses words sparingly yet gets incredible visions placed into your head without a bunch of superficial descriptions. That is a talent.So how did I feel about this book? I loved it. Since reading it, my mind has come back to it several times, thinking of assorted characters and plot twists. Since I define a good book as one that I remember after I have finished it, a book that brings up questions that I like to explore within myself and outside in the world and a book that is beautifully written--then this book certainly fits that bill on all counts.
