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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Yes, big spoilers!
It starts so well.
But then, quite appropriately, it fades and wilts.
Alice repeatedly has her agency taken from her. Things are *done* to her again and again. She has her first love taken away. She has her brother taken from her. She falls into a new job. She falls into a toxic relationship, with no seeming awareness of the echoes of her abusive dad. She has her job that she loves taken from her without a fight. The characters who have lied to her, beaten and stalked her, don't face any consequences. It's so frustrating and so unsatisfying. It's missing those beats that elevate a story: a confrontation with June over her lies and dissembling; Dylan getting the comeuppance he richly deserves.
It gets the two stars for the style and the evocative details of the flowers and the stories of the Flowers.
I finished the book, but I wanted so much better.
It starts so well.
But then, quite appropriately, it fades and wilts.
Alice repeatedly has her agency taken from her. Things are *done* to her again and again. She has her first love taken away. She has her brother taken from her. She falls into a new job. She falls into a toxic relationship, with no seeming awareness of the echoes of her abusive dad. She has her job that she loves taken from her without a fight. The characters who have lied to her, beaten and stalked her, don't face any consequences. It's so frustrating and so unsatisfying. It's missing those beats that elevate a story: a confrontation with June over her lies and dissembling; Dylan getting the comeuppance he richly deserves.
It gets the two stars for the style and the evocative details of the flowers and the stories of the Flowers.
I finished the book, but I wanted so much better.
An amazing journey through the main character's life. Highly recommended!
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked that every chapter was linked to a flower and its meaning. The book was a bit slow sometimes. It also reminded me "där kräftorna sjunger".
Trust yourself: trust your story. All you can do is tell it true.
We meet Alice Hart at nine years old - the daughter of Agnes and Clem. She loves the saltwater of the bay, her mother’s garden and the library. She grows up full of love for her Mum and in fear of her father. Her mother is pregnant with her baby sibling. Alice cannot work out how she can keep her mother and baby sibling safe. And then there is a disastrous fire. Alice comes to the hospital and is taken away by her unknown grandmother, June.
June takes her home to Thornfield, home of her female ancestors for four generations. These women had managed to create a flower farm in the middle of a drought - and the flowers were a special language for those who could not speak their emotions. But what June can never do is tell Alice the story of her predecessors. Or her current family. June is desperate to keep Alice safe but in not passing on the stories is she cursing her to repeat the deadly cycle?
The farm that June leads is personneled by Flowers - women with stories . The first was Twig. A woman whose children were removed because she did not fit the mould. Later came Candybaby, with the blue hair - abandoned on the doorstep wrapped in a blue ball gown. Each in their own way helped to harvest the flowers with a hidden message - such as the Sturt Desert Pea - “Have Courage; Take Heart”. But all the messages seemed useless to Alice Blue when June refused to pass on the family stories.
What good was foresight if you stayed blind to yourself?
A fabulous story of Anglo, Aboriginal and immigrant women, who all have surviving violence in common. But mostly the story of Alice, who struggled through from childhood through the problems of other people’s stories and the resulting violences that hurt her deeply although she had no part in their origin.
5 stars - Highly Recommended
We meet Alice Hart at nine years old - the daughter of Agnes and Clem. She loves the saltwater of the bay, her mother’s garden and the library. She grows up full of love for her Mum and in fear of her father. Her mother is pregnant with her baby sibling. Alice cannot work out how she can keep her mother and baby sibling safe. And then there is a disastrous fire. Alice comes to the hospital and is taken away by her unknown grandmother, June.
June takes her home to Thornfield, home of her female ancestors for four generations. These women had managed to create a flower farm in the middle of a drought - and the flowers were a special language for those who could not speak their emotions. But what June can never do is tell Alice the story of her predecessors. Or her current family. June is desperate to keep Alice safe but in not passing on the stories is she cursing her to repeat the deadly cycle?
The farm that June leads is personneled by Flowers - women with stories . The first was Twig. A woman whose children were removed because she did not fit the mould. Later came Candybaby, with the blue hair - abandoned on the doorstep wrapped in a blue ball gown. Each in their own way helped to harvest the flowers with a hidden message - such as the Sturt Desert Pea - “Have Courage; Take Heart”. But all the messages seemed useless to Alice Blue when June refused to pass on the family stories.
What good was foresight if you stayed blind to yourself?
A fabulous story of Anglo, Aboriginal and immigrant women, who all have surviving violence in common. But mostly the story of Alice, who struggled through from childhood through the problems of other people’s stories and the resulting violences that hurt her deeply although she had no part in their origin.
5 stars - Highly Recommended
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is beautifully written. The language is so lush and powerful, vividly painting emotions and worlds. I particularly enjoyed how flowers, fire and the ocean were pivotal connections to Alice, and were the main imagery used in the book. This is a book I would study for now it uses language.
The book did make me uncomfortable at times because of its subject manner. I didn't know what to expect when diving into this book. I had picked it up because it had a pretty cover, and it definitely had a pretty gut. But what really took me by surprise was how well Ringland portrays abuse. I feel like she did so very articulately and carefully. I found myself panicking when Clem was particularly violent and broken when Agnes and even Alice couldn't break the cycle.
I really enjoyed the world building, especially the history of Thornfield. I was so enthralled by Ruth, June and Agnes. It also explored how sometimes an individual's life can just be utter shit. Alice was so traumatised yet pulled through.
I actually did enjoy June was a character. She was flawed and traumatised and did her best to make decisions based on her own context rather than Alice's. She so desperately wanted to do right by Alice that she ended up hurting her. While it was heartbreaking to learn she died after Alice left, I loved the tragedy of it. Death doesn't care if you've had a fight; it'll take bed use it can. It was heartbreaking she died without closure and it fit the tragedy of Thornfield.
The only things I didn't enjoy:
• Adult Alice's section of the book wasn't as enjoyable as child Alice. I really enjoyed reading her as a child and her struggle with identity. I felt like Alice as an adult was very boring and passive. She has more fire as a child.
• The emphasis on Dylan. I understand abuse can isolate you, but even before him, Alice was so absorbed by him that we barely got to interact with Lulu and Ruby. Alice thrives with female connections, so this was disappointing.
• How rushed the revelation of Charlie was. I barely got to know him. The ending was sweet but I felt disconnected from it.
• How we brushed over Clem and Sally (that's fucked up).
• How we brushed over Candy and Clem. There was such emphasis on this relationship yet it was never explored and was seemingly replaced by Sally's relationship with him.
• How we never learned more about Agnes.
• Did I miss the part where Alice decided to write?
• Moss was barely there and yet was such a healthy relationship for Alice.
I felt the book dove deep in storylines that ended up abandoned or tied up too neatly in a handwave, and spent less time on the interesting bits that I felt defined Alice's journey.
The book did make me uncomfortable at times because of its subject manner. I didn't know what to expect when diving into this book. I had picked it up because it had a pretty cover, and it definitely had a pretty gut. But what really took me by surprise was how well Ringland portrays abuse. I feel like she did so very articulately and carefully. I found myself panicking when Clem was particularly violent and broken when Agnes and even Alice couldn't break the cycle.
I really enjoyed the world building, especially the history of Thornfield. I was so enthralled by Ruth, June and Agnes. It also explored how sometimes an individual's life can just be utter shit. Alice was so traumatised yet pulled through.
I actually did enjoy June was a character. She was flawed and traumatised and did her best to make decisions based on her own context rather than Alice's. She so desperately wanted to do right by Alice that she ended up hurting her. While it was heartbreaking to learn she died after Alice left, I loved the tragedy of it. Death doesn't care if you've had a fight; it'll take bed use it can. It was heartbreaking she died without closure and it fit the tragedy of Thornfield.
The only things I didn't enjoy:
• Adult Alice's section of the book wasn't as enjoyable as child Alice. I really enjoyed reading her as a child and her struggle with identity. I felt like Alice as an adult was very boring and passive. She has more fire as a child.
• The emphasis on Dylan. I understand abuse can isolate you, but even before him, Alice was so absorbed by him that we barely got to interact with Lulu and Ruby. Alice thrives with female connections, so this was disappointing.
• How rushed the revelation of Charlie was. I barely got to know him. The ending was sweet but I felt disconnected from it.
• How we brushed over Clem and Sally (that's fucked up).
• How we brushed over Candy and Clem. There was such emphasis on this relationship yet it was never explored and was seemingly replaced by Sally's relationship with him.
• How we never learned more about Agnes.
• Did I miss the part where Alice decided to write?
• Moss was barely there and yet was such a healthy relationship for Alice.
I felt the book dove deep in storylines that ended up abandoned or tied up too neatly in a handwave, and spent less time on the interesting bits that I felt defined Alice's journey.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced