Nick Newman
Transworld Digital
30 January 2025
320
eBook - PDF
Literary Fiction
ARC via NetGalley
Two elderly sisters tend a large walled garden, planting and reaping crops according to the plans left to them in an almanac by their mother. They are entirely self-sufficient, they believe that the outside world is a wilderness and that they will only survive if they remain in the garden and live as their mother dictated. They live in one part of a large house inherited house, the doors to the upper levels sealed off – the secrets of their past sealed along behind them. And they dare not look beyond the walls for fear of what lurks outside.
But then the arrival of a young boy unsettles their careful lives and makes them begin to question the existence they have so carefully forged and the ‘truth’ that has been laid out for them in this strange new world. One sister believes that everything their mother has taught them will keep them safe; the other longs for the possibilities of a different life she might have lived. Meanwhile the boy is perhaps not quite as innocent as he seems…
The Garden started strongly. I found the premise interesting and the world building elements were well handled, so we got a continually building understanding of the sisters and their situation. Nonetheless, I did still have a few questions that were not answered, which made the ending a tad unsatisfactory for me. After such a slow buildup things seemed to conclude a little too abruptly. Regardless, the book had plenty of atmosphere and the pacing was generally well handled, which kept me wanting to read on. The two sisters both came across well as fully developed characters, but the boy who enters the garden felt a little less well defined, and many of my lingering questions at the end related to him and his motivation. Overall, though, it was a pleasing and original tale, so I am giving it four stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC vie NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment