Garden Spells [Bargain Price] [Audio CD]

Sarah Addison Allen (Author), Susan Ericksen (Reader)

Book Description

Release date: August 28, 2007

The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures.

A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants - from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys - except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before.

When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down - along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy - if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom - or with each other.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two gifted sisters draw on their talents to belatedly forge a bond and find their ways in life in Allen's easygoing debut novel. Thirty-four-year-old Claire Waverley manifests her talent in cooking; using edible flowers, Claire creates dishes that affect the eater in curious ways. But not all Waverley women embrace their gifts; some, including Claire's mother, escape the family's eccentric reputation by running away. She abandoned Claire and her sister when they were young. Consequently, Claire has remained close to home, unwilling to open up to new people or experiences. Claire's younger sister, Sydney, however, followed in their mother's footsteps 10 years ago and left for New York, and after a string of abusive, roustabout boyfriends, returns to Bascom, N.C., with her five-year-old daughter, Bay. As Sydney reacquaints herself with old friends and rivals, she discovers her own Waverley magic. Claire, in turn, begins to open up to her sister and in the process learns how to welcome other possibilities. Though Allen's prose can lean toward the pedestrian and the romance subplots feel perfunctory, the blending of horticultural folklore, the supernatural and a big dollop of Southern flavor should find favor with a wide swath of readers. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Take a pinch of marigold to stimulate affection, add a dash of snapdragon to repel evil influences, finish with a generous helping of rose petals to encourage love, then stand back and let nature take its course. It may be the recipe for Claire Waverley's successful catering business, but when it comes to working its magic on her own love life, she seems to be immune to the charms found only in the plants that have always grown behind the Waverley mansion. Like generations of Waverley women before her, Claire has accepted her family's mysterious gifts, while her estranged sister, Sydney, could not run away from them fast enough. Knowing it's just a matter of time before her abusive boyfriend finally kills her, however, Sydney escapes with her young daughter back home to the only place she knows she'll be safe. Spellbindingly charming, Allen's impressively accomplished debut novel will bewitch fans of Alice Hoffman and Laura Esquivel, as her entrancing brand of magic realism nimbly blends the evanescent desires of hopeless romantics with the inherent wariness of those who have been hurt once too often. Haggas, Carol --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged; Unabridged edition (August 28, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 1423333314
• ASIN: B001PTG5AE
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (403 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,380,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Addison Allen is the New York Times Bestselling author of Garden Spells (2007) The Sugar Queen (2008) The Girl Who Chased the Moon (2010) and The Peach Keeper (2011). She was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

135 of 140 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Spellbound by "Garden Spells" October 19, 2007

By Gayla M. Collins VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

In 46 years of reading a plethora of genres, I have come to love "magic realism." Sarah Addison Allen has a gift for delivering it. The Waverley girls of Bascom, N.C. all have been blessed/cursed with special abilities; Claire has a pruned a garden that grows year round and quite rapidly. Each flower is used to enhance dishes for her catering business. Subtle spells can be gained with a pinch of marigold, a dab of crystallized pansies or an apple from a very temperamental tree. Bay Waverly, 6 years old, has a talent to know exactly where everything goes in any home she enters as well as in any life she enters. Her sister, Sydney, who has fought being a Waverley for 10 years, finally embraces her ability to style and cut hair with a magic that spells her customers into feeling self confident and flirty. Their cousin, Evanelle, gifts people items they don't know they need until something happens later. This charmed family is so endearing, so lovely, one can't help but embrace them heartily.

I am nearly jealous of those who have not read it yet. It is a vibrant experience to live between the pages even if they turn so quickly.

As a first time novelist, Allen bewitches with savory prose and keen insight, leaving this reader to want more. Think of the very best fairy tale you were ever told; now pick up "Garden Spells" and read one of the best magical stories for adults this reader has enjoyed in a long, long time.

72 of 78 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars From beginning to end, a wonderful read September 8, 2007

By Ronna M. Marwil

Format:Hardcover

"Every smiley moon, without fail, Claire dreamed of her childhood. She always tried to stay awake those nights when the stars winked and the moon was just a cresting sliver smiling provocatively down at the world, the way pretty women on vintage billboards used to smile as they sold cigarettes and limeade." So begins "Garden Spells." I love books with wonderful beginnings, but sometimes the rest of the book doesn't live up to the beginning. That was not the case with Gardens Spells. It has a delightful beginning and remains delightful through the rest of the book.

This is the story of 2 sisters who each find a different way to cope with a mother who was wild and abandoned them when they were young. Clare creates a very careful, cautious life for herself. Sydney, the younger sister, lives wildly trying to copy a mother she never knew. For a long time they have no contact until circumstances force them together. In the setting of a magical garden, the sisters need to confront their past in order to move forward.

This is the kind of book I like to read on a day when the world seems dark and depressing. It was light, yet still thoughtful. Magic permeates the story. It's full of delightful quirky characters and a romance which could be formulaic if the writer were not so skilled.

Highly recommend.

99 of 114 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical realism, North Carolina style September 2, 2007

By Stephen Richmond VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

In a lifetime of reading, there are a few novels that are especially precious and unforgettable. Garcia Marquez' ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE. Byatt's POSSESSION. Tartt's THE SECRET HISTORY. This first novel by Sarah Addison Allen is to be added to that short list. Her prose is magical, even when dealing with the mundane ugliness of spousal abuse. Her plot is droll, pleasantly complex, and ultimately satisfying in a most soul-saving Southern graciousness. Her characters, even the most minor of them, are deliciously quirky and lovingly strange, in the most outré of ways. There are echoes of such mistresses of the magical as Alice Hoffman, Anne Rice, Joyce Carol Oates, and Joanne Harris, but Allen quite successfully finds her own voice here and provides a coloratura, if not indeed, a bravura performance. Readers of the above-mentioned litteratureuses will find enjoyment with Garden Spells, as will anyone who loves an intriguing tale well told.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars `Life is about experience ..' March 30, 2008

By J. Cameron-Smith TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

This is one of those charming stories that blurs or perhaps even redefines reality by mixing magic and realism in a delightful way. How you define the book very much depends on what you are looking for. I picked up the novel as a light read and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Meet the Waverley women, each with her own special magic. Each of them (Claire, Sydney and Evanelle) can influence the lives of others through the application of their gifts. Each of them has a need which has yet to be recognised and met. In this novel they each learn that meeting their own needs can help them be even more effective in meeting the needs of others. Some wonderfully quirky characters including my own personal favourite: the apple tree.

On her webpage, Ms Addison Allen writes: 'Garden Spells, my mainstream debut, didn't start out as a magical novel. It was supposed to be a simple story about two sisters reconnecting after many years. But then the apple tree started throwing apples and the story took on a life of its own ... and my life hasn't been the same since.'

I can believe it, and I am looking forward to Ms Addison Allen's next novel.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars ...but first, a personal confession. May 15, 2009

By Schmadrian VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I am biased in reviewing this novel, as well as Ms Allen's second, 'The Sugar Queen'. I do not fit the demographic for such fare (namely that of whimsical, magical chick-lit set in the South), as I am a middle-aged guy. However, these two books resonated for me in ways that ended up improving their ratings, simply because I have been greatly affected by the presence of romantic Love in the world, and the effects it can manifest in our lives. Specifically for me, the worst effects: my world was turned upside down by unrequited Love, by not being able to create the future that I saw so clearly for this woman and myself. So I am a member of the choir that this tale preaches to, maybe all the more susceptible because of the heartache I endured...and indeed, still endure more than half a decade later.

That out of the way, let me say that once again, as noted in the title for my review for Ms Allen's second novel, I always want more. It is a personal inclination to see possibility in things, in people, in situations. Not only that, but also the mapping-out of how everything might be brought to a higher state of potential. And with this début from Ms Allen, it's so much clearer to me what her strengths...and her weaknesses...are.

She has a wonderful knack with the fantastical. Presenting it in such a way as to not have it be some circus event, but rather something to be accepted. To be wondered at, but not in a mawkish way. Here is a very, very creative person, who has managed to go back to this well twice (three times, if the blurbs about her next effort are accurate), and provides the willing reader with a lot to smile about. Being able to 'charm' with something, whether it be a song, a painting, a magic act, a film, or a novel, is a blessed gift.... And to the extent to which Ms Allen has mined her talent, 'charm' is precisely what she does. (Again, *if* you're open to the notion, to the genre, to the mindset. If you're not- Well, why are you reading this review?!?) And clearly, her wry sense of humour is something to be pushed center-stage as often as it makes sense. And her good heart is always moving things forward.

But...

But at this point in her career, the author has noticeable weaknesses of craft. Proving to me that though she's published a pair of efforts so far, she's still very much a 'writer-in-waiting'.

First and foremost, her dialogue. Some of it shines. Some of it is perfectly snappy. But there are just too many occasions when it is downright...well, execrable. Really, really, *really* bad. Yes, I know that the genre allows for a lot. But seriously; I found the bad stuff to be painful to read.

Tied into this...and the third aspect, to follow...is her deftness of touch regarding characterization. Or lack thereof. There is in this novel, as well as her second, a tendency towards being facile. Yea, I know; the genre tolerates this...again, it ain't literature...and yet I can't help but feel that she needs to dig deep and develop her chops. There was a lot more that she could have done with the characters. Either she wasn't capable of going deeper, or didn't try. The novel -and the reader- are the losers here.

Finally, there's the question of scope. There's an art to making something refined. Stripped-down. Elegantly charming in its brevity. Just as there's an art to creating the epic. The rich, the dense, the sumptuously-fabric'd. Great failures are possible when attempting either end of the gamut. Just as riding the middle can also result in mediocrity. 'Garden Spells' could have been either achingly spare at its <300 pages, or it could have been riveting at >450. As it stands, it is neither. There are many elements left unexplored. Some things were left dangling. Passages cried out for a fuller treatment...just as many demanded to have even less print used to express them. In the end, 'Garden Spells' is neither exquisitely reserved nor a richly woven. Again, our loss.

Having said all this, and keeping in mind my confession, I enjoyed 'Garden Spells'. It wasn't all that it could have been, but it contained sufficient trigger points (one of the lead characters, Claire, is so very much the literary embodiment of Heidi, 'the one that got away' for me) so as to create a constant tone for me, allowing me to be *moved* time and time again. Not enough to award it 5 stars...but then, I am a harsh critic.

My wish for Ms Allen is twofold: one, that she get the editorial input she deserves, and two, that she's able to plumb more of her talent before she has to leave this particular well and move on to other sources. Read more ›