The Secret Garden Club by Wendy Lynn Newton

 

One morning three weeks before spring, Hilary Toohey found her beloved husband, George, lying dead in the garden, George having slipped on the wet paving and hit his head, dying instantly.  This is the sad beginning to the sweet, funny, whimsical story of how Hilary came to meet the members of the Secret Garden Club.

Wendy Lynn Newton writes the best dialogue. Hilary and her daughter, Bernie, have great rapport, and Hilary’s interactions with everyone she meets are all gems. There is a misunderstanding  with Hilary getting hold of the wrong end of the stick and causing herself a lot of unnecessary grief while she is already struggling to come to terms with losing George,  as well as trying to help Bernie sort out her life. The Secret Garden Club meanwhile all feel obliged to become part of Hilary’s life, to honour their obligations to George’s memory.

Passages from the writings of Henry David Thoreau through the book are all part of the general feel for love of nature, gardens and gardening. In my imaginary screen adaptation I have cast Asher Keddie as Hilary; I can see Asher delivering those cute, offbeat lines perfectly!

Published by Pan Macmillan.

My Own Country by Abraham Verghese

 

I’ve read Abraham Verghese’s stunning novels, Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water, and now I’ve finally gotten to his memoir, My Own Country, about his time in Tennessee, working as a doctor/researcher/infectious diseases specialist in the early days of the AIDS epidemic.

Dr Verghese has written about his research into the HIV infection which was spreading out rapidly from the big American cities to the country. He was non-judgmental towards his patients and became involved in their personal lives, showing great compassion. There was a lot of fear of the unknown about AIDS, even among medical professionals, and Abraham worked hard to make sure his patients got the best treatment available. He spent a lot of time with them and their families, and sometimes unwound by having a game of tennis or long, solitary walks after work; this dedication to his work sometimes meant he wasn’t able to give his wife and two little boys the time and attention he should have, which by the end of the book appeared to be leading to troubles with his marriage.

There are a lot of  graphic descriptions of patients’ symptoms and medical procedures, but there is also so much of Abraham’s heart and soul poured into this memoir, it all makes for an unforgettable, beautifully literary read.

I’ve just spent some of my Mother’s Day present money on ordering The Tennis Partner, which I will now eagerly await.

Published by Vintage Books

Storybook Soul by Sarah Todman

 

This is a little book of poetry from the beautiful mind of Sarah Todman. Its contents are: ‘heart stories’, ‘head stories’, and ‘stories’.

I loved every one of these poems, as will everyone who reads them. If, in baring her soul, Sarah was able to reach so deeply into mine, I know she will find her way into anyone else’s who is lucky enough to read this exquisite collection.

I want to talk about individual poems but then again I want everyone to have the experience of reading them for the first time. I will though just mention one story: ‘if you hit the red dirt’. This is perfection in a poem.

Thank you so much for sharing your poetry, Sarah. I’m going back now to read it all again.