Customer Reviews

GARDENS IN THE DUNES: A Novel

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved this novel because of its vivid descriptions of plant life and gardens. I live in an urban environment and flowers, trees, colors and scents are not part of my daily life. I just couldn't get enough, and Silko creates dazzling gardens everywhere throughout her book.

The first section is about a young Native American girl named Indigo, her Sister Salt and their Grandmother Fleet. They are making a life for themselves in a small town in the American Southwest around the turn of 19th century. Their greatest wish is to return to the home of their people, the Sand Lizards, and tend their desert garden in the dunes. But they are in constant fear of being caught by the white government and forced to live in schools or on reservations.

Although the beginning of the book is wonderfully descriptive, I became very engaged with the characters about 50 pages in. Indigo escapes from the Indian school and wanders into the gardens of Hattie and Edward, a wealthy married couple. Edward's monkey, Linnaeus, charms Indigo out of hiding and as the 2 get acquainted, we learn of Hattie's life.

Hattie was a scholar devoted to studying the role of women in early Christianity. However, the all male Harvard review board rejected her thesis topic and when she returns home, she meets and marries Edward, an older man with a professional interest in botany. Edward travels the world in search of plant specimens and his trip to South America to gather rare orchids is described in detail. In Brazil he was sabotaged, causing him personal injury as well as legal and financial difficulties. His leg was hurt so badly that intimacy is painful and unlikely for him, but Hattie wished to marry him regardless of their passionless future. With the intention of curing his money problems, Edward seeks out profitable citrus cuttings guarded closely by the Italians.

Hattie becomes attached to Indigo and persuades Edward to let Indigo travel with them. Edward has planned a trip to Italy and en route they visit their families in Long Island where we get a glimpse into the frivolous lives of the wealthy and visit their cultured gardens. Indigo meets other Native Americans whose land and lifestyle has been taken from them. The story turns to Sister Salt who is now living in the Southwest with other Native American Indian girls. Sister Salt has become a laundress and works in an area where the government is building a dam to divert water to California, taking more life-sustaining farmland away from the Indians. Meanwhile, Indigo, her pet parrot Rainbow, Hattie and Edward travel to England and visit enchanting gardens in Bath, then more charming gardens in Italy where Edward pursues his illegal scheme. There is an underlying theme of the deification of snakes and the worship of the Mother figure that is explored and lends an air of mysticism to the novel.

Throughout the story Indigo and Sister Salt long to be reunited with one another and we always wonder if it will happen. The story could have been edited in several places and I was upset by the violence against Hattie in the end of the novel. Could the author have still made her point without Hattie's loss being so extreme? Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely and I loved the journey it took me on. It is laced with many issues that are thought provoking and still relevant in today's world: feminism, religion, environmental awareness, class structure, oppression and beliefs about our relationships with others, the earth and our spirituality. I loved Indigo, Sister Salt and Hattie. I loved the mesmerizing Ghost Dance, Grandma Fleet's apricot tree, the lively Linneaus, the miniature farm animals, the Rainbow parrot, the eccentric Aunt Bronwyn, the allure of long distance travel by train and by boat, the snake in the water hole and most of all the lush and enchanting gardens.

Review: Gardens in the Dunes by Leslie Marmon Silko

When Leslie Marmon Silko advised Gary Snyder not to look to native American traditions for his poetry, her anger was justified. Garden in the Dunes, Silko's latest work in hardback, may represent the author's mature outlook, synthesizing native and European traditions in one fascinating work which, nevertheless, carries her earlier message. Documenting the horrors of Western European culture as they manifest in the culture of the United States at the end of the nineteenth century, Silko manages to send Hattie, her Caucasian heroine, back to Europe, much as Hawthorne sends Pearl in The Scarlet Letter. Indigo, the child heroine of the novel, encounters everything from a cruel episode recalling D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterly's Lover in the northeastern United States to manifestations of early goddess figures in an Italian black garden. The latter are most recognizable to the child as emblems of her own Sand Lizzard culture, one related to but independent of other Southwest Indian cultures. Silko's condemnation of greedy white males is balanced by Hattie's abortive attempt to bring forth a thesis on the heresies of Southern France, particularly that related to Mary Magdalene. Eventually, Hattie pays the price for her naivete, though she has educated Indigo in the process, loving her and receiving affection from the child in return. More clearly organized and faster paced than Almanac of the Dead, Gardens in the Dunes provides readers with an intriguing, web-like tale of a host of characters, Messianic traditions involving the Ghost Dance, and Biblical symbolism of the Garden of Eden. Lyrical descriptions of gardens, natural plant life, and wide-ranging, episodic action make this poetic book a page-turner, especially for readers who savor fine writing. Thematic motifs of Silko's other works, including the rape of the land and its inhabitants, resonate with Silko's earliest novel "Ceremony." Evil is still at work, though it isn't always the European culture that manifests it. Witchery akin to that witnessed by Lecha in Alaska in "Almanac," a manifestation of the covert 500 year's war waged by native peoples against Europeans, and by Tayo in World War II's wounded, robs characters of life and humanity as they pursue ill-gotten gains. Hattie's husband is too busy trying to recoup his fortune to serve the goddess, as his wound suggests he should have been doing. The real and symbolic impotence of Hattie's marriage drives home root causes, having and gettting, resulting in 50% divorce rates in our time. The adventures of Indigo's monkey and parrot provide comic relief as well as commenting upon the actions of the characters. But, the return of the serpent to the pool in the dunes drives home the allegorical nature of Silko's narrative. A dramatic read, Garden in the Dunes is a classic, for its structure, range of characters, archetypal symbolism, and indictment of what ails us at the turn of the millennium. Leslie Marmom Silko points us in the right direction with beautiful prose, telling European Americans to examine our traditions for the heretical truths and healing to be found therein. She asks us to explore our European gardens while giving us the gift of parallel truths common to all inner traditions. Like Snyder, we need to integrate and balance our lives by restoring European goddess wisdom, avoiding paths of greedy cultural or ecological insensitivity that bring disaster.

While on a camping trip, I settled into this amazing book. Still can't quite identify it -- is it a Botany book? a social treatise? travel book? feminist tract? religious thesis? history book? Visually stunning: the well dressed little Indian with the parrot on her shoulder and the monkey holding her hand; ancient stones and mists of Bath; lusty sun soaked gardens of Italy; the clay painted Indian dancers; a hammock on a boat in the Amazon; the high spirited Hattie; the self-absorbed Edward; all the magnificent gardens -- how on earth does Silko make the transitions in such a believable manner? Yes, of course, the author has an agenda, and magically shows us a version of what she considers important. Mamalinda believes this book is best enjoyed beside a body of water, settling into the trees or by the light of the campfire, and crawling into and living within this masterpiece... and Mamalinda will be looking for the author's other books!

This new novel by Leslie Marmon Silko is a masterpiece. Silko has written another wonderful book about Native Americans, but at the same time we can read the history of Western civilization following the story of these gardens and plants. The prose is always original, intense, lyrical.

Silko's novel is fascinating. Its continent-leaping plot begins and ends with the simplistic lives of the "sand lizard" Indians of the southwest. The great themes of greed and ambition are visited along the way as well as the more intimate ones of loyalty and courage.

As one might expect, when the "civilized" world intrudes into that of the young Indian girls, conflict and betrayal are the result. But politically correct ideas are not played out heavyhandedly here. Deep character development and the heartbreaking story itself are the priority of this writer.

I rarely savor a novel as much as I did this one. In fact, while reading dozens of others concurrently, this one took nearly half a year. There's a marvelous amount of gravity working in these pages.

I am really astonished at the low sales rank for this lyrical and beautifully written novel. Silko's feel for the spirit of place is acute. I was swept along by Indigo's story, and it was enlightening to see the author explore North American history through the point of view of an indigenous female. I wouldn't say this novel was packed with agendas as one of the editorial reviews suggested - simply an alternate point of view achingly rendered.

"Gardens in the Dunes" covers a lot of territory, most of it new--for example, one subplot concerns botanical theft (uprooting specimens of a particular orchid species from its habitat in the Amazonian rainforest, then burning the rest of the habitat to increase the value of the specimens). Silko has obviously done exhaustive research on many different plants and garden types, European and Native mythology, the Ghost Dance, and numerous other topics outside the range of most historical fiction. These details definitely make the novel worth reading.

However, unlike some of Silko's earlier work (ie. "Ceremony"), "Gardens" is written with little attention to prose style. Instead of showing the characters' emotions through their actions or dialogue, Silko is often content to describe them ("Hattie felt sad...") which has little impact for the reader.

Considering the themes it deals with (suppression of Native cultures, women's rights, ecological destruction), the book is fairly apolitical. No one ethnic group is given a monopoly on meaningful spirituality or wisdom. White people are not the villains; the general human failings of greed, dishonesty, ignorance and condescension are what cause trouble, and the people that display these faults are in every culture. The destruction of nature and the oppression of fellow humans are the ills; a respect for the ancient wisdom (of any culture) and the beauty and providence of the natural world are the remedies.

"Gardens" may seem dry to some, but it's well worth the effort to discover Silko's unique and detailed cultural vision.

Overall I liked this book very much. Lush, breath-taking descriptions of the Sand Lizard people and their world, and its contrast to the greed of the white world. I found the characters engaging, and reading this book made me feel a deep sense of loss---the world has lost the wisdom and tradition of Native people. The greedy and destructive ways of one culture have won out and all of humanity is worse off for it.

In terms of criticism of the book, I thought it needed a better editor. Silko has a talent for writing descriptions, but at times the descriptions went on and on for pages. It boggs down the storyline several times. Still, this flaw does not detract from an enjoyable read.

An outstanding, mezmerizing journey with both outstandingly interesting and hideous characters. I didn't want it to end. the journey through several lives, tied together with plants and history was incredibly woven - as a fine literary basket. This book of Ms. Marmon Silko's SHOULD be at the top of the best sellers! I would recommend it very highly.

My favorite novel!!! highly recommend!!! the amazing adventure of a lost soul. a powerful description of various events that takes you into complete personification of their lives. You become part of their identities. At the end you simply do not want to let go but stay with the characters and be part of their adventures.