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Thursday 10 July 2008

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton


This is superb. Kate has really moved up a notch since The House at Riverton which won the Richard and Judy Summer Read last year.
Once again we have a time slip novel, 1900's, 1970's and 2005. The novel moves, on the whole, between Brisbane and Cornwall. The settings in 1900 -1913 are deliciously Gothic, well fleshed and convincing. The fact that we follow Nell through all time periods, makes an interesting link. Her writing has acquired a depth, as I really felt I came to know the major players in this novel and even the minor characters were drawn in such a way as to be very real. Also,the resolution of the mystery was not so far fetched as to be unconvincing.
The time changes and characters are all handled deftly, and the mystery keeps you reading to the last pages to find out what happened.
I read the first half of this book very quickly but then found myself slowing down, always a good sign, as I did not want to finish it . Yes, and at the end I cried!

This is quite a large book running to 645 pages, it would make a brilliant and engrossing read for a holiday. I also think that many of the themes running through it would make it an excellent reading group book and I will be buying extra copies here in Bournemouth for that purpose!

See also interview below with Kate Morton!

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