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Monet's Garden

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John Lent's linked story sequence, Monet's Garden, offers a complex and sensitive evocation of being. This is Lent's fifth book, his second of fiction. The writer shows a greater control of his image clusters, retaining his fine poetic sensibility from earlier volumes: A Rock Solid (1978), Wood Lake Music (1982), Frieze (1984), The Face in the Garden (1990). Lent's postmodern structure dramatizes an ongoing disintegration and recuperation of self in the unnamed narrator, whose "Roof" sequence intersperses the story of other characters, Rick, Jane, Neil, and Charles Connolly.

In the "Roof" sequence we have a narrator that creates Rick, Jane, Neil, and Charles as disparate parts of him/her self: "The voices that began in the car three months ago have stopped. They've spun themselves out, all these parts of me. A small jazz suite moves into its closing chords, picking up the disparate threads...". In the ellipsis a suggestion of (re) fragmentation and further improvisation occurs. The opening story, "As Far as He Could See", precedes the first of the "Roof" sequence to emphasize previous improvisation, outside of the closed, circular structure: the book is open at both ends.

This is the most pertinent theme, one addressed in the narratives driven by Jane, Rick, Neil and the narrator. A freshness in `life' for the characters, whose narratives grow forth from the narrator's metafictional concerns in "Roof": "Sometimes we use metaphors because they carry us--like the hand, hose, water, cement and grass--farther into what happened rather than away from it." This meditation is expanded in Rick's narrative, "Room": "The smell of cool water on the stones and the gold of the sun dancing into it made Rick feel exhilarated, at home." And, in Jane's narrative, the title story, "Monet's Garden": "A shopkeeper...was hosing down the sidewalk in front of his shop, and the water there shone like silver across the flat black asphalt of the streets." The point is to the shades of language that we can deploy in relation to the commonplace, to evoke a sensory apprehension of being. Take joy in life, the writer asserts.

All of the characters are thoughtful, the point, is to go past the mind's defences (control, irony, ritual are a few Lent uses), to reach a greater openness to being. This is why Monet, impressionism, and Strasbourg are important, particularly in the evocative "Taste": "At first they'd been disarmed by how physical the people in Strasbourg were. Rick and Jennifer were Canadians, after all, and had grown up in their heads." "They loved the communal street feeling of it compared to the closed houses and televisions back home." These might be a cliché, but the retention and transporting of what they learn into the narrator's sequence "Roofs in the Morning" ("collective", "physical texture of the lives") into that other life and culture.

The narrator is "reaching for metaphors". For example, in the story titled "The Bright Field", Charles, the siblings' father, is dead, but his thoughts intersperse the rest of the family's discussion (a structural cue to the text as a whole is given). Charles' thoughts offer his epiphany on life in a poignant existential moment: the ability to encompass the familiar and the mysterious, to see their beauty and growth, and to surrender control: being, if only for a moment. The pungent echo of her father's gift in the North Dakota cornfield ("The Bright Field") leads to Jane's appreciation of a Frenchman's gift ("Monet's Garden"), which, banal as it seems, allows her to see a landscape "of this world" and thus surrender "into the world". Similarly, Rick surrenders to the lived, experiential life ("Taste") and Neil aims for a middle ground between complete sublimation to and complete control over being ("Think of the People Behind You").

Finally, Lent's book is about the ways we order, engage, ritualize, and surrender to the space of being. In its figurative language and improvisational apprehension of lives, Monet's Garden has an appeal to artists, writers, musicians and especially to the general reading public because of its stress on the joys and freshness to be found in day-to-day existence.

John Lent's "Monet's Garden" provides its readers with a unique opportunity. This is a chance for an intimate look at a family, and their growth into adulthood. Lent deals with the struggles of a Canadian family, approaching topics such as alcoholism and grief with incredible tenderness and insight. While the writing is simple, a deeper meaning is felt in each part of this short-story collection. There is also a sense of familiarity, as Lent builds his characters with impressive intimacy. Our trip through the lives of each of these characters allows us the opportunity to compare the ways in which they deal with essentially the same problems. The theme of reflection and self-discovery becomes increasingly apparent as the novel progresses, and allows for even more insight into each character's thoughts and actions. "Monet's Garden" employs a completely different approach to the usual methods of character and scene development, and this provides for a refreshing read.

"Monet's Garden" is a story of a family and their experiences over a period of 3 months, that delves back into the past to round out the reader's understanding of the characters. Lent's novel is almost poetic, considering his use of diction and the form in which it is used. Like Monet's artwork, "Monet's Garden" is impressionistic in nature. A close look at the work clearly shows the mechanics of the piece, whereas a broader perspective shows each small part contributing to the collective work. The title of the novel however is a bit misleading as it suggests a visual focus, and the emphasis lies on the characters. A broad use of figurative language helps the reader understand more about the characters and also helps make the book more than just a story. The titles of the chapters and the many uses of the word "roof," helps tie the idea of the roofs enclosing the characters, and then later contrasts well with the aerial perspectives of the characters, to round out the piece. The use of rituals of three gives "Monet's Garden" another level, as the reader is not sure whether or not the use is intentional or not. Whether or not you read "Monet's Garden" for pleasure or study, it is pertinant that you read with an open mind. Lent offers us a look into the minds of dynamic characters, and a closed minded reading of this novel would desensitize it greatly. Many small details are carried through the novel, and each help complete the story, so reading with an open mind will enable you to respect and enjoy all that "Monet's Garden" has to offer.

Monet's Garden has shown me a whole new way to look at life's little or big misfortunes. It's positive view of life's imperfections makes the reader look at her/his own life in a completely different and melower way. Monet's Garden shows the reader different ways to look at life's unpleasant or pleasant experiences; and how to embrace each and every one of them and cherish them and finally deal with them. I enjoyed the book tremendously while learning from someone else's experiences.

In Monet's Garden, John Lent successfully grabs the reader's attention. Throughout Monet's Garden each character deals with chaos and order in his/her life. Most of the characters fear chaos and in the end each character realizes that chaos and order, are both a part of life. Sometimes you just have to enter the "thick" and deal with things as they come. You realize it is very important in life to stop and think in order to advance. The family in the book is very large at the begining, but Lent combines all the children into three metaphorical children at the end of "Roofs" (Rick, Jane and Neil). Each metaphorical child is the narrator for at least one chapter in the book. Lent also uses many similes and metaphors that bring the reader closer to the novel. A main metaphor throughout the novel is the use of dark and light. Lent uses this metaphor to express chaos(dark) and perfection(light) throughout the novel. We are able to see the many challenges in life that other people have to go through. Sometimes these challenges can be to much and Lent shows this by using three metaphorical children. This book is very deep and I think it would move any soul that took the time to read it.

Monets Garden kept the readers at an attention stance especially for those that reside in and around Vernon. The author kept the reader intrigued as the book went into details about a drive to and through Vernon. For those who do not live here in the city of Vernon, the details of the city were clearly spoken. As Neil drives into the city and reminisces the past, the reader can feel him or herself alongside him in the car. I travel down this highway each and everyday and now after having read this novel I cannot help but to think about the book as I drive. This to me is a personal feeling which I cannot explain but can appreciate. Further into the book we as readers will learn a further more intimate meaning of the word respect. Unfortunately in the world today rspect is not as valuable as it was in my grandparents time, and this is sad. Rushing from place to place each and every day seems to make us forget the golden rule of which we have all been told to remember as young children. This being do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. I enjoyed the book for the familiarity that it brought to my attention. This book was an easy reader and this is important to me as well. I enjoy books which are understandable and this is one book I can relate to. Well written.