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Product Description
Review
“An absorbing portrait of a town, told through its unforgettable people….masterful.”--People, four stars
“[A] dreamy, fabulist series of connected stories . . . These . . . tales, with their tight, soft focus on America, cast their own spell.”--The Washington Post
"Hoffman’s writing is so beautiful it’s almost painful to read….Hoffman makes the magic she writes about feel so real, as though I could at any moment, find myself in the town of Blackwell and the mysterious garden that bears only red fruit."--Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters
“The Red Garden is recommended to readers who enjoy, in addition to beautiful prose, magical realism and different narrators over time. . . . Alice Hoffman is an author not to be missed.”--Historical Novels Review
"Alice Hoffman, herself a shining star among American novelists, possesses the stunning ability to express the numinous in the most prosaic language. Somehow, without elaborate wordplay, she manages to communicate a yearning interpretation of the life we all live, opening the reader’s eyes to the otherworldly riddles that make things appear just a trifle askew—when we notice them, that is. And Alice Hoffman certainly notices them. One secret of her ongoing appeal, year after year, book after book, is her keen perception. And in The Red Garden, Hoffman delivers a body of stories that explores the depths of reality as well as its enduring quirkiness."--Book Page
"In gloriously sensuous, suspenseful, mystical, tragic, and redemptive episodes, Hoffman subtly alters her language, from an almost biblical voice to increasingly nuanced and intricate prose reflecting the burgeoning social and psychological complexities her passionate and searching characters face in an ever-changing world."—Booklist, starred review
"Hoffman has done it again, crafting a poignant, compelling collection of fairy tales suffused with pathos and brightened by flashes of magic. Her fans, as well as those of magical realism in general, will be enchanted."—Library Journal, starred review
"Fans of Hoffman’s brand of mystical whimsy will find this paean to New England one of her most satisfying."—Kirkus Review
"The novel moves forward in linked stories, each building on (but not following from) the previous and focusing on a wide range of chracters....The result is a certain ethereal detachment as Hoffman’s deft magical realism ties one woman’s story to the next even when they themselves are not aware of the connection. The prose is beautiful, the characters drawn sparsely but with great compassion."—Publishers Weekly
From the Hardcover edition.
“[A] dreamy, fabulist series of connected stories . . . These . . . tales, with their tight, soft focus on America, cast their own spell.”--The Washington Post
"Hoffman’s writing is so beautiful it’s almost painful to read….Hoffman makes the magic she writes about feel so real, as though I could at any moment, find myself in the town of Blackwell and the mysterious garden that bears only red fruit."--Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters
“The Red Garden is recommended to readers who enjoy, in addition to beautiful prose, magical realism and different narrators over time. . . . Alice Hoffman is an author not to be missed.”--Historical Novels Review
"Alice Hoffman, herself a shining star among American novelists, possesses the stunning ability to express the numinous in the most prosaic language. Somehow, without elaborate wordplay, she manages to communicate a yearning interpretation of the life we all live, opening the reader’s eyes to the otherworldly riddles that make things appear just a trifle askew—when we notice them, that is. And Alice Hoffman certainly notices them. One secret of her ongoing appeal, year after year, book after book, is her keen perception. And in The Red Garden, Hoffman delivers a body of stories that explores the depths of reality as well as its enduring quirkiness."--Book Page
"In gloriously sensuous, suspenseful, mystical, tragic, and redemptive episodes, Hoffman subtly alters her language, from an almost biblical voice to increasingly nuanced and intricate prose reflecting the burgeoning social and psychological complexities her passionate and searching characters face in an ever-changing world."—Booklist, starred review
"Hoffman has done it again, crafting a poignant, compelling collection of fairy tales suffused with pathos and brightened by flashes of magic. Her fans, as well as those of magical realism in general, will be enchanted."—Library Journal, starred review
"Fans of Hoffman’s brand of mystical whimsy will find this paean to New England one of her most satisfying."—Kirkus Review
"The novel moves forward in linked stories, each building on (but not following from) the previous and focusing on a wide range of chracters....The result is a certain ethereal detachment as Hoffman’s deft magical realism ties one woman’s story to the next even when they themselves are not aware of the connection. The prose is beautiful, the characters drawn sparsely but with great compassion."—Publishers Weekly
From the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
The Red Garden introduces us to the luminous and haunting world of Blackwell, Massachusetts, capturing the unexpected turns in its history and in our own lives.
In exquisite prose, Hoffman offers a transforming glimpse of small-town America, presenting us with some three hundred years of passion, dark secrets, loyalty, and redemption in a web of tales where characters' lives are intertwined by fate and by their own actions.
From the town's founder, a brave young woman from England who has no fear of blizzards or bears, to the young man who runs away to New York City with only his dog for company, the characters in The Red Garden are extraordinary and vivid: a young wounded Civil War soldier who is saved by a passionate neighbor, a woman who meets a fiercely human historical character, a poet who falls in love with a blind man, a mysterious traveler who comes to town in the year when summer never arrives.
At the center of everyone’s life is a mysterious garden where only red plants can grow, and where the truth can be found by those who dare to look.
Beautifully crafted, shimmering with magic, The Red Garden is as unforgettable as it is moving.
From the Hardcover edition.
In exquisite prose, Hoffman offers a transforming glimpse of small-town America, presenting us with some three hundred years of passion, dark secrets, loyalty, and redemption in a web of tales where characters' lives are intertwined by fate and by their own actions.
From the town's founder, a brave young woman from England who has no fear of blizzards or bears, to the young man who runs away to New York City with only his dog for company, the characters in The Red Garden are extraordinary and vivid: a young wounded Civil War soldier who is saved by a passionate neighbor, a woman who meets a fiercely human historical character, a poet who falls in love with a blind man, a mysterious traveler who comes to town in the year when summer never arrives.
At the center of everyone’s life is a mysterious garden where only red plants can grow, and where the truth can be found by those who dare to look.
Beautifully crafted, shimmering with magic, The Red Garden is as unforgettable as it is moving.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disenchanted,
By
This review is from: The Red Garden (Hardcover)
Alice Hoffman usually writes of magic and darkness with elan, with great heart and hope. The Red Garden has a hint of magic here and there, but little heart and no hope. It's primarily darkness, chock full of traumatic events and despair. There is one theme: life is brutal. It's a series of short stories that are linked by place and ancestry but by the fifth story, the links are lost. I believe the cause was inadequate character development; I didn't understand what drove the characters, why they acted or felt as they did, so they were eminently forgettable. The stories were so depressing, I dreaded picking up the book. Very glad to be done with it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful,
This review is from: The Red Garden (Hardcover)
I've been reading Hoffman for years and have been left a little disappointed by her last few efforts. They weren't terrible, but they weren't that memorable either. I'm about 3/4 of the way through The Red Garden, and I have to say that Hoffman is back in top form. It's definitely one of her best in years! I love the short story ide, and how they're all related somehow.If you've never read Alice Hoffman before I would suggest you start here, or if you haven't read her last few this one is worth it.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (115 customer reviews) 124 of 125 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Alice Hoffman Magic,
By Katawampas - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Red Garden (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
This story is pure Alice Hoffman magic. She begins the story in 1750 with the settlers who founded the town of Bearsville, MA (name changed to Blackwell in 1786). Every chapter moves the story to another time period concluding sometime in the 2000's. The book reads like a seamless book of short stories, each chapter informing and building on the previous. Hoffman has a gift for sharply focusing on the main character of each time period as she moves the story of this small mountain town along, revealing an inner truth.Characters come to town, live, leave, die, wander, return but always carry the thread of the town with them. The characters are so beautifully written, it's hard to choose a favorite chapter/story. The two chapters I enjoyed most were "The Principles of Devotion", the story of a loyal dog living at the grave of his owner and the "Monster of Blackwell", a young man who separates himself from society and lives in the mountains outside Blackwell. These chapters are achingly beautiful. The red garden refers to the founder's (Hallie Brady) garden where the soil is as red as blood and everything that grows in it is red. Perhaps a symbol of life and death; the connection we all have to nature and each other. Hoffman doesn't go on and on with flowery prose; her writing is edited, beautiful and powerful. She always manages to capture the beauty of a moment and the setting of the story, infusing it with her understanding of humanity. 51 of 54 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
TIME WAS TRICKIER THAN HE'D IMAGINED IT TO BE,
By Pamela A. Poddany "Book Freak!" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Red Garden (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
THE RED GARDENAlice Hoffman once again mixes the mystical and logical and bakes us a wonderful array of stories that are sure to please. THE RED GARDEN consists of a series of short stories all inter-woven and blending together to create one of the best books Hoffman has ever written. As the stories unfold, we first meet one Hallie Brady and a handful of other settlers who are stranded during inclement weather. They survive the hardships of their first winter together and create a new town called Bearsville. This first story or chapter, THE BEAR'S HOUSE, starts in the year 1750, with the final story, KING OF THE BEES, taking place currently. Hoffman introduces us to a number of engaging characters who are all somehow related to someone in this small Massachusetts town. Each character tells their story and we are constantly meeting interesting, wonderful, and magical people. The same characters pop up here and there throughout the entire book. Each story is different and enchanting, moving through time and history, taking the reader on an awesome journey. History and fiction blend well together in this book; we are walked through the late 1700's, the Civil War, the Depression, love, family life, new people in town, despair, marriages, affairs, ghosts, hardships, the struggles and victories of every day life, etc; even Johnny Appleseed makes an appearance. The reference to the red garden -- which seems to bind together this little town -- is a garden where everything grows red -- green beans, lilac bushes, cucumbers, and so on. Is this a magical piece of property? I literally flew through the pages of this book. Hoffman has always been a favorite author of mine although her past few books were a bit of a disappointment. For me, she totally redeems herself in this new book. This is the Hoffman I love. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of reading any of Hoffman's works, THE RED GARDEN would be a fantastic place to start. Thank you. Pam 32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lushly written and magical.,
By Sheri in Reho - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Red Garden (Hardcover)
Pre-release customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program
If you're all about realism and everything making sense, this is probably not the book for you; however, if you're able to surrender to magical storytelling and a more fairy tale approach, I highly recommend it.Hoffman begins her series of stories about town of Blackwell, Massachusetts, with the town's original settlers in 1750. Most prominent among them is a true frontier woman--Hallie Brady. Hallie, you see, saves the original settlers from starvation during their first winter, when the menfolk weren't quite up to the task! It is in this first story that the long-running theme of bears and the red garden begins. The book's title refers to the garden from which it is said only red things grow. There is a history to this garden, of course; a sad one which involves both Hallie and bears...or rather one particular bear whom she befriended that first hard winter. Through hundreds of years and generations descending from those first settlers, Hoffman tells the story of this area, these people and this garden. I think my favorite story is from 1956, called The Monster of Blackwell. A very Beauty and the Beast kind of story--sad but also tender and beautiful. The writing here is splendid for the most part, though I found the book's last two stories a terrible disappointment--an ending not befitting this lovely book in my opinion. Hoffman does a superb job in describing the environs. I could see it in my mind as I read--always my favorite kind of storytelling. Her way with words is just joyous to read. A few excerpts: "There were little frogs in the puddles and white butterflies with green specks on paper-thin wings circling the purple thistle. The sun was like honey, falling in splashes." "She felt as if she had stepped into a pool of treachery..." "The only way to fight evil is with joy, Azurine had written. Forget everything we've ever been taught." "I wondered if the electricity at Luna Park had seeped into his skin, and that was why his meanness grew, like a charge, burning brighter throughout the spring." Chances are you may not like all the stories (or all the people) equally, but the sum of the parts is most definitely worth reading. Sit down with a cup of coffee, throw a blanket over your legs and settle in for a trip to The Red Garden. |
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