Book Review
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton This is a past to present book. The past
Nell, who she thought she was … wasn't…The story of her life, in finding herself. So what was her name- And why was she abandoned on a voyage from England to Australia- The present Cassandra, who is. When Nell died in Brisbane 2005, Cassandra (Nells grand daughter) became a detective in finding out Nells past, with inheriting a derelict “Manor”, she travels to England, Cornwall to discover the truth, but what does Cassandra find- Secrets and “stories” of the local village has Cassandra biting her nails (but at least not the toothbrush). I'm afraid the “past to present” jumped around abit for me, I found it wasn't a smooth transition (to say, like Barbara Erksine who does this exceptionally well)..... And I got myself so confused … So for me it felt … Disjointed… So in the end I gave up noting what was what and who was who and just got my head down and just had a jolly good old read… This is the only criticism of this particular book I had. Don't get me wrong though, just because I couldn't follow the story fully, it doesn't mean I didn't like the book, infact on the contrary really. I learnt alot from this book, there were some heavenly surprises and got lost in the magical realm of “the” forgotten garden. Apart from that, Kate Mortons writing is exquisite, the descriptive writing was so enjoyable, it was like wrapping yourself up with soft down feathers (of a duck) from an eiderdown. I adored all the positivity in this book, I found lots of quotes that I highlighted in the book. I was pleasantly surprised by the three fairy tales within the book, I have never struck that before and it added another dimension to the book. Absolutely loved and lived the story line, the concept was incredibly imaginative. Lastly a huge pleasant surprise, as my mouth opened wide and I sat for a while, I couldnt believe a name I just read, however, if I had not read the book before this one I wouldn't have picked it up. Did anyone guess who Nells parents were- I did, it was no surprise to me. I recommend this book to anyone who likes past to present books, who likes historical fiction, especially, Australia (Queensland) and England (Cornwell) and who likes big, thick books, as this ones 648 pages fat. I would like to thank Ellen Read for gifting me this book … What a ride!! what an adventure!! … What a book!!