When writer Whiteson decided to spruce up his Hollywood backyard, he never dreamed that the garden would become as absorbing a creative endeavor as the novel. This book describes the initial lure of the garden, the trial and error planting and the increasing ambition that turned Whiteson's desolate yard into a spectacular story of its own.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Reaching an impasse in the course of writing a novel, Whiteson, architecture critic for the L.A. Herald-Examiner, inspected his overgrown Hollywood backyard and set to work. Digging in the yard was a welcome relief from tapping at a keyboard; he found that he enjoyed the rhythm of going back and forth between mental and physical activity. Whiteson began by completely clearing the neglected yard to provide a "blank page"-he uses the metaphor of his garden as a "green" novel that parallels his "white" work on paper. He reminisces about his father's garden in the former Rhodesia and intersperses the garden story with entertaining commentary on the Los Angeles cityscape and his own neighborhood. As the garden takes shape, Whiteson finds that it has connected his head with his hands, cultivating a surprising quietness. Nongardeners can appreciate this book, and gardeners will be delighted by it.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Did you ever wonder what it might be like to live and garden in Hollywood, California? You can find out in writer and architecture critic Whiteson's account of how he transformed his desolate backyard into a living garden. This is not a book that discusses the horticultural requirements of plants in an arid environment. Its value comes from the author's eloquent reflections on how his garden became part of his emotional and intellectual development as he entered various stages of his life. Whiteson also shares his lifelong memories of family and others who have been forces in his life. He is comfortable with what plants do for him within his home space. It is satisfying to read about someone who finds fulfillment in garden development without a lot of concern for doing what might be considered horticulturally correct plant-growing. For larger public library collections.?Dale Luchsinger, Athens Area Technical Inst., Ga.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Part garden story, part memoir,
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This review is from: A Garden Story (Paperback)
The narrator of this book lives in Holllywood with a dried out, neglected yard. He is a writer and once he begins to think of his garden as the blank pages of a book, he becomes inspired to fill it and care for it. His choices of plants and ornamentation are his personal preference, not necessarily mine. Interspersed with the tale of "writing" a garden are bits of his past. Another element, which I found very interesting, were a couple of tidbits on California history. Much of his garden narrative was tedious. The last chapter was a just huge list of everything in his garden. If I were to rattle on to someone regarding the contents of my garden plantings, I'm sure their eyes would glaze over. However, I still found the book to be a worthwhile read and actually give it 3 1/2 stars.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The garden as a metaphor for ... almost everything,
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This review is from: A Garden Story (Paperback)
In this memoir, Whiteson, who was new to me, relates his decision to create a garden in the yard of his Hollywood home. The book alternates between discussions of the garden and recollections from the author's life. In this sense, the novel serves much like Proust's madeleine, though many of the memories Whiteson recalls are deliberate, the results of calculated attempts to evoke memories through the combination of plants in the garden. We read of Africa, of the Watts Towers (see, e.g., The Watts Towers for more on the topic), the Garden of Eden, Death Valley, and a variety of other topics. Unlike the previous reviewer (there is only one as I write this), I did not find the final chapter to be a mere list of the plants in the garden and thus must respectfully disagree with her. Rather, the last chapter is an elaborate metaphor, bringing to its inevitable conclusion the garden's symbolic, nearly iconic, meaning.
"A Garden Story" is not a how-to book on gardening but instead is an intensely personal story about one particular garden, allowing us to catch glimpses of the author's past and the character of one neighborhood in Hollywood, California. Well written for the most part, the book kept me reading until the end and left me feeling richer for the experience.
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