Customer Reviews

A Garden to Keep (The Derby Series #4)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The New York reviewer precipitated this review--it is obvious that Northeastern snobbery come in to play at least to a degree in his/her review. Be it known: there are educated women in the South, both self- and school-educated, whose lives are filled with the pleasures of poetry, music, drama, and other of the arts and who view life through these lenses. To have the skill to use poetry as the filter through which the main character interprets her life and finds her meaning, is a technical tour de force. It is too bad that the New Yorker found the use of poetry an intellectual affront: the use of it is brilliant and shows great intellectual facility (with understanding) on the part of the writer. I agree that the story is perhaps some pages too long. It is, however, a look at the devastation of Elizabeth's separation and pending divorce, the reasons for it, her role in it, and the insight that new faith brings her. The accurate use of musicians--a college band director--as a main character is unique and shows the special insight that Jamie Turner has achieved. The moment of redeeming faith is handled so adeptly, that it is very real and person, not silly or sentimental.

This is a special book. The character development is wonderful. The humor is understated and never grating. Elizabeth's character is believeable and richly developed. The setting is every Southern small town that has a small college (it could be fifty communities in each Southern state!) but gives us more of Berea and Filbert, S.C. This is a wonderful book and an important one for all who are facing struggles in marriage. Jamie Turner's advice in this book is "tend the garden of your heart."

This book recently won a "Christie Award" in Christian fiction for contemporary fiction. It concerns a middle-aged woman who comes to faith in Christ and learns on the same day that her marriage is in trouble.

Turner takes literary risks, here, in writing a long, rambling first-person account of a woman dealing with betrayal as she's also learning to trust in Christ. The does, indeed, drag in parts and the protagonist is frequently sidetracked by bunny trails and poetic thoughts, however it's good to see a writer, and especially Turner, going beyond the standard cliches used by so many other authors.

Highly recommended!!!

I read the previous review and although the author of it may have a point when he or she describes it as wordy, it is still a wonderful book and not at ALL boring. I have truly enjoyed every minute. The inclusion of the main character's love for poetry adds richness to the book as she struggles to make sense out of a life she has given to God and a life that has been shaken up. Turner includes the element of humor so well that I have found myself laughing out loud at times. I have also enjoyed the other books she has written and when I saw that a new one was out, I went that very day to get it. It has touched my soul in so many ways and I have enjoyed every minute.

I've looked forward to Turner's new book, having read all of her previous ones. I love the way the author intertwines the lives of the characters with each other as we come to know them. In this book Elizabeth is coming to terms with the problems in her marriage as well as confronting some emotional baggage that she has accumulated through the years. Elizabeth's thoughts and feelings are right out there for us to relate to, and in a way that is very descriptive, insightful, honest, and powerful. However,I must agree with some other reviewers who feel that her references to poetry as a way of relating to the events in her life were quite cumbersome. These discourses often cause the reader to suspend thinking about the storyline in order to see where the author is going. I found it quite distracting, but I enjoyed the characterization and story in spite of this drawback.

I truly felt moved by this novel. The language of the novel is rich and evocative and the book to me wasn't long, but complex. Don't read this if you don't want a longer novel you can involve yourself with. Too many novels now skimp on details and this one is a wonderful, brave exception to the rule. If you want to immerse yourself in the story of one woman's road to recovery from heartbreak and her move into life, then you will like this.

Yes, Langston Turner is verbose writer but it is all in keeping with the character, a woman seeking answers from God, from her conscience and who is flawed but learning. Elizabeth's conversion, her marriage, her role as Mother and teacher are all covered with depth. I like that Elizabeth is a mature woman learnign to rectify her mistakes and opening herself up to different experiences. I also loved that this book is about POETRY. While I don't go around quoting poems frequently, I am the kind of person who loves them deeply and could relate to how Elizabeth uses words to shape her life. I've never before read a 'Christian' novel but the artistry of ths novel convinced me that it is possible to send out that message in the modern world and also write something literary.

I bought this book on a fluke from the used book section figuring if nothing else, it would make nice bookshelf filler. It is now one of my favorite all-time books.
For one thing, I like the fact that the protaganist is nearly 50, and is still creative, intelligent, and witty in a quiet way. I feel it is very rare to see vibrant characters over the age of 35. A lot of books, both Christian and secular, focus on building a character's value through her good looks or sitcom- wit. Reading through Elizabeth's eyes made me really crave art and music. I enjoy the way Turner puts words together. When she spoke of a poem "flying," or words "shimmering," I had an urge to go read some poetry. Love of art wasn't the main point of the book, but it was a nice little bonus.
I also enjoyed this book because it included such a varied menagerie of characters. I liked reading about her matter-of-fact lawyer daughter just as much as I enjoyed reading about her funky accross-the-street neighbor.
Though Turner endows Elizabeth with a great deal of depth, it is irritating that she meanders so much throughout the novel. The highly developed character development an insightful storytelling made that forgivable for me, but the rambling may get on some people's nerves.
I am glad that Elizabeth spent some time reviewing her own mistakes. She was a woman who had been sorely betrayed, but she also let God show her where she had made mistakes. The most fascinating part of the story was going with the main character as she learned new things about herself.
I am very glad I got this book, and plan on reading more of Turner's novels.

I have read all of Jamie Langston Turner's novels--she is my favorite Christian author--and this is the only one I have just really NOT liked. The story moves at a snail's pace and the story keeps changing venues and time frames, going from past to present, and the reader is left VERY confused. Also, there are umpteen references to poetry and poets and how they relate to things happening in the narrator's life, so unless you are a huge poetry fan, you may find this tedious, as I did. All in all, I would say skip this one and read JLT's other three novels!

I have not read much Christian fiction literature but found this book captivating. I think that we all struggle with what God wants us to do with our life, and this book showed, in vivid detail, one woman's struggle with that, especially as it pertained to her marriage. I like the fact that this author can present different personalities in her books, and how God uses each one of us in an individual way, to grow and reach others. I liked the references to poetry-in fact-it spurred me on to do my own investigation of poetry and read some of the books the author mentioned. Jamie, keep writing from your heart as you are touching the hearts of others!

This book does seem lengthy at first but was far from boring! It reminded me of how much real art can enrich the life, so I'm already looking for some good poetry books. Hard to believe this book is a novel, the thought processes of the main character being so close to reality. I also liked immensely the portrayal of GRACE in a betrayal situation and could easily replace a few counseling sessions. This is one of my favorite books so far.

The novel follows the story of Elizabeth Landis, a middle-aged South Carolina substitute schoolteacher and poetry enthusiast whose beloved son has just gone off to college. She puts her faith in Christ through the influence of a newfound friend (Margaret Tuttle, introduced in Some Wildflower in my Heart) and learns hours later that her husband is having an affair. The book follows her inner struggle with this devastating breach in their relationship and her attempt to come to grips with her new faith. As she wrestles with bitterness, forgiveness, anger, and grace, God shows her through His Spirit and word that she herself is not innocent as a wife and mother. As she begins to realize that she has wronged her family, and particularly her husband, by her attitude toward her mother-in-law and toward her children, she learns through the Spirit to repent and live in the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ.

This excellent novel, the second of Turner's that I've read, explores the issues of guilt, forgiveness, and the inner struggle with remarkable insight and honesty. Turner uses first-person perspective to create a sense of dramatic irony in which the reader is aware of Elizabeth's failings long before she is, but takes each step of the way through repentance with her. The struggle is realistically long and hard, and there are no easy answers, but her overriding theme - that of grace - is beautifully developed. The book is full of allusions to poets and poetry, but I've never even heard of hardly any of them. It makes me wish I read more, but it also makes it hard going sometimes. The inclusion of the character of Margaret Tuttle was also interesting - I had not realized that Turner carried her characters over from book to book. Margaret is very much changed from her debut in Some Wildflower in my Heart, which inclines me to read whatever was published between these two.

This book, more than any other I've read, honestly and compellingly captures the inner struggle of a believer to do right in the face of temptation, as well as a person's capacity for self-deceit - and for escape from it.