Take a photo of a barcode or cover
alioshakaramazov 's review for:
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I wasn't expecting much when I first started to read this book. I'm not a native English speaker and therefore this was never part of my cultural background, I wasn't familiar with the story or knew much about the author. What struck me most at first was of course the colonial themes and racist tones, but I managed to get though that, and once we are in England it becomes a little more palatable in that sense.
Of course, what drives the plot of the book is the character developement set in motion by the 'magical' garden itself. I found the evolution of the character of Mary Lennox to be well done, Dickon is a literal angel, and Colin is on thin ice. I had to roll my eyes every time a lower class character is described as "innocent", there's also a weird thing about Yorkshire being the best place on Earth where no one can be sick if they think good thoughts. We don't get an ending for two thirds of the trio, and I found that a bit strange. But overall nice story, it did make me want to go tend my garden and plant more flowers, so I guess that's a win for Hodgson Burnett.
Of course, what drives the plot of the book is the character developement set in motion by the 'magical' garden itself. I found the evolution of the character of Mary Lennox to be well done, Dickon is a literal angel, and Colin is on thin ice. I had to roll my eyes every time a lower class character is described as "innocent", there's also a weird thing about Yorkshire being the best place on Earth where no one can be sick if they think good thoughts. We don't get an ending for two thirds of the trio, and I found that a bit strange. But overall nice story, it did make me want to go tend my garden and plant more flowers, so I guess that's a win for Hodgson Burnett.