Reviews

Threading the Labyrinth by Tiffani Angus

funktious's review against another edition

Just really poorly written. I liked the idea of the story and the vibe but the writing was barely above A Level English standard. 

paracyclops's review

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is a very entertaining historical/supernatural fantasy, that explores the history of a fictional country-house garden in Hertfordshire. The story is told through the eyes of various gardeners through the centuries, as well as a contemporary American gallerist who inherits the house and garden out of the blue. It walks like a ghost story a lot of the time, but it's really a changeling tale—although the presence of faerie is very subtly and ambiguously elucidated. With a title like <i>Threading the Labyrinth</i> and topics like these, you might expect a contusion of heavyweight, intellectual themes, but Tiffani Angus keeps the tone light and entertaining. She's much more interested in the experiential magic of an old garden than she is in the detailed cultural history of garden design or horticultural practice, and the story is largely about what it's like to live and work in a place like that. The supernatural scaffolding serves as a pretext to visit a variety of historical eras, which are realised in distinctive ways, each with their own tone, colour, and language. Personally I felt that I would have liked a little more to chew on, but this is a very readable, enchanting story, that rewards without making excessive demands. I gobbled it up in a couple of days, and stayed fully engaged with its varied and believable characters right to the last page.

koshkajay's review

mysterious

3.5

lyrafay12's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

izzysaround's review

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

neilw's review

4.0

A truly fascinating novel that gradually unwinds its story in beautifully written turns and recursions, and gifts you with glimpses of the luminous wonders that inhabit the walled garden at the book's heart. There are some truly lovely characters to be found in the historical chapters. Very much recommended.

nwhyte's review

5.0

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3646632.html

A lovely novel about an English garden that connects a its contemporary American owner with past generations. I really love any work of literature that displays a rooted sense of place, dinnseanchas in Irish. Rather beautiful and engaging.

sadie_slater's review

3.75

 Tiffani Angus's debut novel Threading the Labyrinth tells the story of a garden, and its occupants, over four centuries of history; kind of a Children of Greene Knowe or Tom's Midnight Garden for adults, or possibly a serious version of the BBC's Ghosts. In the present day, Toni, a struggling gallery owner in New Mexico is surprised to be told that she has inherited the remains of a stately home in Hertfordshire, where she finds the remains of a walled garden which seems to change while she looks at it. Toni's explorations in the present are interspersed with stories from the past: the gardeners and servants who maintain the garden; the ladies of the manor whose inheritance the house and gardens are, but whose husbands have the power to control and change them without their wives' consent; the ghostly figures glimpsed in each generation.

This is a gorgeously written book; the descriptions of the garden and the plants are wonderfully vivid and evocative, and the characters feel real and rounded. The way the novel is structured means that the plot emerges gradually from the links between the different time periods rather than following a linear structure, and I did sometimes feel that I wasn't quite managing to keep up with what was going on, but it is a lovely and rather beguiling book and a very impressive debut. 

weaverofbooks's review

5.0

꧁Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ꧂
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squaresofliving's review

4.0

I started this book, going in without knowing anything. It turned out to be a great story about a garden filled with ghosts. I loved all the flowers and garden talk, I loved how it jumped through different times (although in my kindle version it became a bit confusing at times - I've ordered the paperback and think that it'll be a bit clearer in that format), and I love the thought of time, the living and the dead, coexisting.
I got some really strong The Secret Garden vibes from the descriptions of tending the gardens, and I absolutely adored that!
I do enjoy books that kind of "just goes on" but I did think to myself at a few times that I wished it had had a clearer purpose? Compared to all the different times, the now felt a bit thin, and a bit too rushed at the end.