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May 2021 book of the month club
- Thread starter rubysmama
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- #62
Ok, guess I'll start the reviews ...
This was my first novel by Kate Morton, and it did not disappoint. Although I did occasionally get confused with all the different characters, I really enjoyed reading this book, and was sorry when it ended. I was impressed with the slow, but steady, process in which the author revealed the secrets.
Poor Eliza. She had such a sad life, and the only part that might have been happy - when she and Rose became friends as kids – was skipped over by the author.
She wasn’t the only one who had a sad life, as really every character did. And no one had a happy ending, except maybe Cassandra and Christian.
As someone who enjoys gardening, I loved the concept of the Secret Garden. I could picture it in my mind with the maze and surrounding walls, and kept wondering if something like it exists in the real world.
There’s probably more I could post, but as usual I neglected to take notes as I read.
As for a rating, I'd give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.
This was my first novel by Kate Morton, and it did not disappoint. Although I did occasionally get confused with all the different characters, I really enjoyed reading this book, and was sorry when it ended. I was impressed with the slow, but steady, process in which the author revealed the secrets.
Poor Eliza. She had such a sad life, and the only part that might have been happy - when she and Rose became friends as kids – was skipped over by the author.
She wasn’t the only one who had a sad life, as really every character did. And no one had a happy ending, except maybe Cassandra and Christian.
As someone who enjoys gardening, I loved the concept of the Secret Garden. I could picture it in my mind with the maze and surrounding walls, and kept wondering if something like it exists in the real world.
There’s probably more I could post, but as usual I neglected to take notes as I read.
As for a rating, I'd give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.
I had read this book a few years ago and thought I remembered quite a bit of it but I didn't, it was like reading it for the first time.
Like others, I found the different time scales a bit confusing and couldn't remember who certain characters where when they only popped in and out of the story, Ruby, Robyn, so I did a rough family tree and found that helped.
My favourite era was with Eliza, I loved the description of London in 1913, such thick fog, the ripper scare and many lost their lives under the hooves of horses as poor Sammy did.
Adeline Mountrachet was a horrible person, controlling poor Rose by using illnesses. She treated Eliza dreadfully while Eliza made the ultimate sacrifice in having a child for Rose but that made me wonder just what type of man Nathaniel was. Sad that he and Rose died in the manner they did and just when they were about to start a new life together.
Linus had an unnatural obsession for his sister Georgina and it made his life a misery.
I didn't find the era with Cassandra as interesting as the others but glad she found out what had happened to Eliza.
I loved the description of the walled garden and could picture it.
I give this book
Like others, I found the different time scales a bit confusing and couldn't remember who certain characters where when they only popped in and out of the story, Ruby, Robyn, so I did a rough family tree and found that helped.
My favourite era was with Eliza, I loved the description of London in 1913, such thick fog, the ripper scare and many lost their lives under the hooves of horses as poor Sammy did.
Adeline Mountrachet was a horrible person, controlling poor Rose by using illnesses. She treated Eliza dreadfully while Eliza made the ultimate sacrifice in having a child for Rose but that made me wonder just what type of man Nathaniel was. Sad that he and Rose died in the manner they did and just when they were about to start a new life together.
Linus had an unnatural obsession for his sister Georgina and it made his life a misery.
I didn't find the era with Cassandra as interesting as the others but glad she found out what had happened to Eliza.
I loved the description of the walled garden and could picture it.
I give this book
In my schooldays I hated having to write about a book I'd read, and that hasn't changed at all. And now I don't know where to start.
This book is always compared with "The Secret Garden", by Frances Hodgson Burnett (who even made an appearance at the garden party in "The Forgotten Garden". I loved "The Secret Garden" as a child, but can't remember too much about it now.
The beginning of "The Forgotten Garden" showed promise. I was never a fan of fairy stories so I soon had some misgivings.
And Nell was my first problem: her complete change of character when she was told her "parents" were not her real parents, just did not ring true, and I was hoping there would be some reconciliation or remorse on that score.
But - this is a fairy tale - the people involved are either good or bad, they have no "defined character", they just perform. In fact, the only really interesting person was Eliza!
Half way through the book, I was ready to give up, but 100 pages later, the pace quickened and I just had to know how it was going to end.
It was obvious early on that Nell and Cassandra were descendants of the authoress (Eliza) and the painter, Nathaniel. So, you just had to keep reading to find how that was going to be explained.
It was not just the jumping around between the three main characters which was irritating, but some flashbacks to Rose were (deliberately) not chronological. We were still wondering where she got the scars on her stomach, when the thimble episode had been mentioned much earlier. Her excitement about being pregnant was described almost immediately after returning from America so one wondered if she was in fact even married at the time. Still, it all added to the suspense.
I felt as though the book had been edited but not enough! There were too many details which were completely unnecessary as they did not add to the story or were not really used to their advantage. At the moment I can only think of the portrait of Rose but with Eliza painted over. Cassandra had spotted the fact that it had been manipulated by Nathaniel. Wasn't it likely that she would have had it restored to its original condition so that at last we had a picture of the fiery beauty?
But for me, the biggest disappointment was the ending. Very abrupt. Bang, bang! You're dead! Back to the fairy tale: digging in the garden you don't find rotting bones and shoes, just the treasure!
I know that most reviews of this book are very positive. As I often read the book reviews in the Guardian newspaper, I searched there. As expected, highly recommended - but it was classified under children's books (suitable for ages from13 to 99). And that made me think!
I give this book
This book is always compared with "The Secret Garden", by Frances Hodgson Burnett (who even made an appearance at the garden party in "The Forgotten Garden". I loved "The Secret Garden" as a child, but can't remember too much about it now.
The beginning of "The Forgotten Garden" showed promise. I was never a fan of fairy stories so I soon had some misgivings.
And Nell was my first problem: her complete change of character when she was told her "parents" were not her real parents, just did not ring true, and I was hoping there would be some reconciliation or remorse on that score.
But - this is a fairy tale - the people involved are either good or bad, they have no "defined character", they just perform. In fact, the only really interesting person was Eliza!
Half way through the book, I was ready to give up, but 100 pages later, the pace quickened and I just had to know how it was going to end.
It was obvious early on that Nell and Cassandra were descendants of the authoress (Eliza) and the painter, Nathaniel. So, you just had to keep reading to find how that was going to be explained.
It was not just the jumping around between the three main characters which was irritating, but some flashbacks to Rose were (deliberately) not chronological. We were still wondering where she got the scars on her stomach, when the thimble episode had been mentioned much earlier. Her excitement about being pregnant was described almost immediately after returning from America so one wondered if she was in fact even married at the time. Still, it all added to the suspense.
I felt as though the book had been edited but not enough! There were too many details which were completely unnecessary as they did not add to the story or were not really used to their advantage. At the moment I can only think of the portrait of Rose but with Eliza painted over. Cassandra had spotted the fact that it had been manipulated by Nathaniel. Wasn't it likely that she would have had it restored to its original condition so that at last we had a picture of the fiery beauty?
But for me, the biggest disappointment was the ending. Very abrupt. Bang, bang! You're dead! Back to the fairy tale: digging in the garden you don't find rotting bones and shoes, just the treasure!
I know that most reviews of this book are very positive. As I often read the book reviews in the Guardian newspaper, I searched there. As expected, highly recommended - but it was classified under children's books (suitable for ages from13 to 99). And that made me think!
I give this book
I enjoyed a lot of things about this book, the fairy tale emphasis and the short stories by Eliza included, the garden and cottage descriptions, Eliza as a character, Cornwall (I've read so many books in Cornwall some day I have to visit there), trying to figure out the mystery.
I did feel early on that Nell was the child of Eliza, and likely Nathaniel but I didn't guess how. Or how Nell wound up alone on the boat. I knew it had to be some reason to have Nell be safe, a better life. I didn't like killing off Eliza but I guess had to be to make the story.
Adeline was horrid, Linus was sooo creepy. I thought more would happen with his character. Glad it didn't. I liked Eliza and her wild ways and not being fazed by Adeline and just doing her thing.
I had a little bit of a hard time with the more minor characters too- "where did that person come from??" and it took a bit to adjust to the jumping around timelines. I was hoping Jack the Ripper wasn't going to make a real appearance too.
And a romance for Cassandra, kind of fairy tale ending that way.
I say
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I did feel early on that Nell was the child of Eliza, and likely Nathaniel but I didn't guess how. Or how Nell wound up alone on the boat. I knew it had to be some reason to have Nell be safe, a better life. I didn't like killing off Eliza but I guess had to be to make the story.
Adeline was horrid, Linus was sooo creepy. I thought more would happen with his character. Glad it didn't. I liked Eliza and her wild ways and not being fazed by Adeline and just doing her thing.
I had a little bit of a hard time with the more minor characters too- "where did that person come from??" and it took a bit to adjust to the jumping around timelines. I was hoping Jack the Ripper wasn't going to make a real appearance too.
And a romance for Cassandra, kind of fairy tale ending that way.
I say
.- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #66
A lot of the reviews on Goodreads are actually negative. But maybe that's normal for the reviews that get posted there.
I've always wanted to read it, but never have.
I liked that their romance was not a main focus of the book, but that they found each other, and presumably had the fairy tale happy ending.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #67
Just a few questions about the book I found online that I thought might work to further our discussion. Any thoughts / comments?
1. The story jumps between 3 time periods – Eliza and Rose in the early 1900s, Nell’s trip to England in 1975 and Cassandra in 2005. How did you feel about the intertwining of the three lines? Did you feel they balanced well? Was one better written than the others?
2. Could you see Eliza and Rose realistically acting the way they did? Was it believable that a husband like Nathaniel would actually go along with their plan?
3. It must be extremely difficult to write a book of more than 500 pages? Do you feel the length was justified, or do you think she could have shortened the story without losing any of the substance?
1. The story jumps between 3 time periods – Eliza and Rose in the early 1900s, Nell’s trip to England in 1975 and Cassandra in 2005. How did you feel about the intertwining of the three lines? Did you feel they balanced well? Was one better written than the others?
2. Could you see Eliza and Rose realistically acting the way they did? Was it believable that a husband like Nathaniel would actually go along with their plan?
3. It must be extremely difficult to write a book of more than 500 pages? Do you feel the length was justified, or do you think she could have shortened the story without losing any of the substance?
1..personally I think the author jumped from one decade to another too quickly, I feel the story would have flowed better if she had written more about the decade in question for longer, it would have been less confusing. I thought the story of Eliza was the most interesting and would have enjoyed more of that.
2..I could see Eliza and Rose behaving as they did even though their upbringing was poles apart. Rose was governed by her controlling mother and found Eliza full of life and adventure. Eliza saw life for living. I don't think Nathaniel would have gone along with the plan, I think he was quite a weak character but wouldn't treat Rose or Eliza in such a way so for me, I found it unbelievable.
3..Hard to tell if the story would have been spoilt if shortened. I wasn't overly impressed with the Cassandra part, could have gone with less of that and more of Eliza.
2..I could see Eliza and Rose behaving as they did even though their upbringing was poles apart. Rose was governed by her controlling mother and found Eliza full of life and adventure. Eliza saw life for living. I don't think Nathaniel would have gone along with the plan, I think he was quite a weak character but wouldn't treat Rose or Eliza in such a way so for me, I found it unbelievable.
3..Hard to tell if the story would have been spoilt if shortened. I wasn't overly impressed with the Cassandra part, could have gone with less of that and more of Eliza.
Just as well I skipped this month! I'd actually (normally) have time to read it now, but my concentration is SHOT! I think that July I should be picking things up again!
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- #70
This was a good book, and one you should consider reading in the future.
Meanwhile, we'll be here, well in the July thread, waiting for when you're ready to join us again.
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- #71
1. The story jumps between 3 time periods – Eliza and Rose in the early 1900s, Nell’s trip to England in 1975 and Cassandra in 2005. How did you feel about the intertwining of the three lines? Did you feel they balanced well? Was one better written than the others?
I liked the intertwining of the 3 lines, and did think they mostly balanced well. My only issue was trying to keep all the characters straight, particularly the women in the Cassandra period - the hotelier, realtor, etc. I think this is a book that would really work to read a second time, just to see how all the earlier mentions of people fall into place. But at 500+ pages, it was a big enough commitment for the first read, and not one I'm likely to make again. Too many other books to read ...too little time.
2. Could you see Eliza and Rose realistically acting the way they did? Was it believable that a husband like Nathaniel would actually go along with their plan?
I thought Nathaniel had a bit of a crush on Eliza, so figured he wasn't too ... uhm. inconvenienced by his role in the plan.
3. It must be extremely difficult to write a book of more than 500 pages? Do you feel the length was justified, or do you think she could have shortened the story without losing any of the substance?
Possibly a little bit could have been edited out, however, most of what happened, especially in the earlier eras, ended up having a bearing on the present.
I liked the intertwining of the 3 lines, and did think they mostly balanced well. My only issue was trying to keep all the characters straight, particularly the women in the Cassandra period - the hotelier, realtor, etc. I think this is a book that would really work to read a second time, just to see how all the earlier mentions of people fall into place. But at 500+ pages, it was a big enough commitment for the first read, and not one I'm likely to make again. Too many other books to read ...too little time.
2. Could you see Eliza and Rose realistically acting the way they did? Was it believable that a husband like Nathaniel would actually go along with their plan?
I thought Nathaniel had a bit of a crush on Eliza, so figured he wasn't too ... uhm. inconvenienced by his role in the plan.
3. It must be extremely difficult to write a book of more than 500 pages? Do you feel the length was justified, or do you think she could have shortened the story without losing any of the substance?
Possibly a little bit could have been edited out, however, most of what happened, especially in the earlier eras, ended up having a bearing on the present.
If you enjoyed this book then you will most probably enjoy her first book, The House at Riverton. Again it's a monster read 500+ pages and covers different times but well worth reading.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #73
Just put it on hold. There's 4 others by her, as well. If they're all that long, I'll have to pace myself.
The first 2 are her best, the third not bad, forth ok but fifth I didn't even finish it was so bad.
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- #75
That happens a lot with authors, in that their first releases are their best ones. What did you think of The Lake House? I have had that on my wish list for a while, so someone must have recommended it, at one time or another.
Not too impressed, I think she put her all into the first three books.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #77
Put As The Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer on your substantial list. It's 765 pages long but really good.
Also, any and all of the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon. ALL over 700 pages, ALL excellent. There are eight main works, several novellas, a graphic novel or two, a cookbook (!?!?!), and two companions. Final major work to be released very soon. I shall go into mourning.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #80
I've only read the main books, back in 2017, so I've been impatiently waiting for book 9 too, which per her website finally has a release date - Nov 23, 2021. So less than 6 months to go.
But that's not the last book!
Also per her website, "After BEES, I will be working on Book Ten (no title yet), which will be the last book in the OUTLANDER series of major novels that focus on Jamie and Claire. Book Ten will be another Large Novel, so it will take some time (several years at least) to complete. "
So no need to go into mourning for several more years.
