Customer Reviews

The French Gardener: A Novel

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Seldom does a book come a long that you can just feel your body relax and you just melt away into the story. For me, this summer, The French Gardener did just that.

This book spins two tales that are brought together by a single French gardener and his story of love that could not be and a garden that hold the secret that is slowly told through a scrapbook read by a woman that has a similar story but is not the intended recipient. That may sound confusing but this gentle paced story unfolds in a way that you see the beauty but don't want the love story to come to an end.

Stuck in an isolated country house Miranda has the life that she though she would like; that is until she realizes that her high fashion life and mud don't always come together. Her husband is away at work if he`s not with his mistress, her son is in constant trouble at school, she has no friends, no life, nothing but this rotten garden that was once a showplace.

So what's a girl to do, she hires a French gardener to put the garden to rights and with it a story that will bind them all together in a way that they never thought possible.

Montefiore creates wonderfully likeable characters each with a voice and a story of their own. You can feel the garden, the town, the people and the heartache that must be endured for there to even possibly be a happily ever after.

Freelance journalist Miranda and her spouse David accompanied by their children move from London to Gloucestershire in Dorset although he still works in the big city; she dreams of writing a novel without the city distractions. As David spends increasingly more time in London and away from their home Hartington House, Miranda and the kids struggle to adjust to rustic life; she misses all the glamour and glitter of London while the kids have no earthly idea how to play outdoors when they are used to monitors.

Frenchman Jean-Paul arrives searching for his lost love Ava Lightly whose family once resided in the home that David and Miranda bought. He brings with him a simpler lifestyle especially his love of gardens as he tells them how his Ava loved the feel of rich earth; his cheery optimism is infectious as the kids and Miranda enjoy their time with him as if he a kindhearted Pied Piper.

This is a well written profound tale in which the garden serves as a metaphor of life. The story line is divided into the four seasons with the garden different each time as is a person through the years. This story is poignant due to the wise aging title character who flashes back to the spring of his life so that the audience learns what happened to him and his Ava. Fans will appreciate Jean Paul's wisdom as it is never too late to hug a loved one even if the person you cherish has passed; the good memories provide strong mental hugs.

Harriet Klausner

Love is the magic that makes an abandoned garden grow and brings new life and joy to the hearts of those in despair in Santa Montefiore's novel "The French Gardener". When Miranda and David Claybourne move to the country, they are a family sliding slowly apart. The decision to bring their once=famous garden back to life, with the help of a mysteriour French gardener will reap an unexpected reward for their family and illustrates the power and magic that love can bring. This enjoyable story, rich with characters in the English countryside, is reminiscent of Rosamund Pilcher's writing and is the kind of book you want to share with a friend.

While I don't normally read 'romance' novels, the description and reviews caused me to delve into this title anyway because of my love of anything french, gardening, family dramas and believe it or not, the rainbows. And there is plenty of all the above in this novel-- the author writes very well. I found myself drawn into the garden landscape of crushed gravel paths, old stone bridge, dovecote, hollowed Ash tree and pitched roof country cottage. I don't know if her writing foreshadowed events to come or if it was stereotypical and formulaic, but I've decided to give her the benefit of doubt even with the incredibly handsome frenchman, adulterous husband, betrayal, heart wrenchng love, family honor, etc... So you ask why did you like this novel so much? The rainbows-- I have my own romantic rainbow story that led to my own marriage 15 years ago and I simply could relate afterall. Maybe I'll read a few more romances this year. The author divides the novel into 4 seasons which is a clever personiication of life as it pertains to the main characters of the novel. By the end they all grow and develope and find strength, love and happiness they never imagined possible. It may make you look at your own garden and rainbows'a bit differently.

Normally this isn't my usual type of reading but since I did get this book as a gift I decided to give it a try. Big mistake. All I got when I finished reading was a feeling of disappointment.

The plot goes like this: Miranda, David, and their two children Storm and Gus move to the country. Seems their son Gus has gotten himself kicked out of another London school for biting another student. David still works in the city and lives there during the week, taking the train to visit his family on the weekends. But Miranda is stuck adapting to country life and raising their two kids on her own. Which makes sense since David has a mistress in London. In fact when the reader is given David's POV we are told that he has it all "the perfect family is Dorset and the perfect mistress in London". Lovely. And then if we weren't already aware of David's selfishness he goes on to say that although he loves his wife, "his wife could hardly expect him to remain celibate all week".

Running alongside the present-day story is one that happened years ago between the old owners of the house (Ava and Phillip) and their gardener Jean-Paul. Which ties in to the present in that Miranda and her children, with the help of a recently returned Jean-Paul, begin to restore the gardens to their former glory. While Miranda reads Ava's memories of the past it seems history is repeating itself in Miranda's family.

By the time David actually notices and cares that his family has essentially replaced him it is too late. An old friend of the family is coming for a visit and David's perfect life is about to implode. Or as the book says "he risked everything and lost". Which by now I was pretty much hoping he'd loose it all.

Overall the story was slow to get started and the characters were one-dimensional and didn't grab my attention. This biggest disappointment would be the rushed ending. It's like the author glossed over the whole affair. When David is caught cheating it's a minor confrontation and then she sends him packing. Then David is racked with guilt, asks his friend for some advice (how about keep your pants zipped?), and then it's all forgiven with little or no emotion. While this IS fiction I find this aspect hard to believe. And I don't even care about Ava from the past because her affair is just as selfish as David's. We are supposed to believe that she sacrificed her happiness with Jean-Paul because she wouldn't leave her family. Once again hard to believe since during her and Jean-Paul's affair she repeatedly stated that she loved her husband.

The characters may have grown by the end but it wasn't worth the time it took to get there.

This is my first review so I hope I write a good enough one without giving to much away but giving enough to help you judge.

I truly enjoyed this book. Its a story of a family who moves from london into a home with an over grown garden. Throughout the time of this families story you learn of the distance they all have between husband and wife, parents and children. The only person to help them all change is the french gardener, whom also has learned much from this garden and has great secrets from the past.

These secrets slowly unfold when the mother prepares for the new gardener by making his cottage comfortable for him and along the way finds a scrapbook from the woman who previously owned the house. By reading the scrapbook she finds the magic and love she needs to conquer her relationship with herself, husband and children and at the same time learning alot along with her children and husband from their french gardener.

But that is not all this story tells, for the new owner has a great secret to share with the french gardener that only herself, and the writter of the scrapbook know.

This is a story of love of many sorts and I highly recommend it. It was a page turner as i stayed up late often reading this book, added to the story is the great description of the small town they live in and scenery.

I know I am probably missing something but I do not want to ruin the story for you. :) Enjoy.

I always enjoy Santa Montefiore's books, some more than others though. This was one of her better ones. There was good character development and an enjoyable story line... a "sit down and relax" kind of a book!

The French Gardener: A Novel

I basically purchased this book because of the positive reviews I read on Amazon. And while the book has a certain charm it is was not of the caliber that I had hoped. First off, the book gets off to a very, very slow start, to the point where I was tempted to put it down. However, I hate starting books and not completing so, I read on. Sure enough the last quarter of the book picked up.

Here is the problem, the book reads like a drug store paperback. You know the kind you took away to the beach when you were 14 and dying for a little romance. The characters are not developed, the plot is silly, and you know how the book is going to end 100 pages before you get there. I was not looking for War and Peace but, give me a little intellect. The most fun in the book is listening to the main character Miranda talk about the goodies in her closet, Jimmy Choo, Prada, Gucci ect... but I wasn't reading the Devil Wears Prada! Nor do I want to. The book I read before this was The Help. Which was an extraordinary, rich character driven novel. That may have been why I was so disappointed it was like going from a fine crisp Montrachet to a glass of Boone's Farm strawberry wine. Only a 14 year old could love it!

Some books evoke emotion, some books tell what you emotion should be invoked -- this book is one of the latter. In every sentence it felt like the writer was telling the reader how to feel, instead of writing the story and letting the reader feel it for themselves. It's like when in a movie, a character says to another "You're so beautiful and talented, everyone wants you," but we haven't actually seen anything in the movie that would make us, the viewer, agree or feel that way. Just saying something is so doesn't make it so.

As for the editing, where was the editor? It's the editor's job to take a good effort and make it a solid one, but I don't get the sense that any editor worked with this material. If they had, some of the "let me tell you how to feel" ick might've been removed. This book was completely overwritten.

Actually read this quite awhile ago, but remember it. This was a lovely book. Saw it in an airport and bought it on Amazon. Would like to read another similar book.