Monday, August 20, 2012

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman


The Red Garden

I started listening to this on a CD in the car, but then realized it was a series of related short stories. Listening to a book makes it more difficult to realize when one story finishes and another starts, and so I got the book and decided to read it instead. 

The story is that of Blackwell, Massachusetts, from the founding of the town to the present day. The town is imaginary, but it is typical of others in the area. The first few chapters are the founding of the town, and the separate stories are sometimes linked to previous ones and sometimes stand alones. 

Some of the stories were classics and memorable, but when it came to discussing the book many people couldn't remember a lot of the individual stories. While previous stories were often referenced to, I would have liked more of a flowing feel to the book. It was a little too strange for my linking, and not one of the favorites we have read. 


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