Walled Garden [Hardcover]

Catherine Dunne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000 | ISBN-10: 0333785835 | ISBN-13: 978-0333785836 | Edition: 1St Edition

Beth flew the coop as soon as she could, making a life for herself and her daughter in London. Now her mother, Alice, is dying and Beth has returned to the shabby grandeur of her childhood home to keep vigil by her bedside.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is a deeply moving story of the reconciliation that takes place between a mother and daughter, as the younger woman keeps vigil at her dying mother's bedside. The mixed and conflicting emotions that bind and separate families are explored with real compassion. Beth's relationship with her older brother James, the dutiful child who stayed at home, while she, the prodigal, sought wider horizons is also sensitively portrayed, as is the network of other family relationships in which the trio are enmeshed. Dunne embeds a series of letters from mother to daughter in the text, and the emotions and motivations of both women as they work to reach an understanding are captured superbly in the shifting points of view which characterize the novel. The nature of memory and the way that family histories are transmitted and transmuted through stories, photographs and familiar everyday objects are all reflected upon through the convincing perspectives of two strong women, who have been locked into a pattern of mutual misunderstanding and loss. The different phases of life, and the ways in which relationships change, stagnate or remain frozen in time as individuals make their journeys through their lives are all touched upon in The Walled Garden. The rituals that are inherited and invented for the final rite of passage, and the roles that are inhabited by different people in turn in times of crisis are portrayed in a way that will resonate deeply with any reader who has ever lost a loved one. The 'walled garden' itself, as a place of contemplation and home to plants carefully chosen for significant names is an important symbol for the bonds of love in this ordinary, fractured family. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author

Catherine Dunne was born in Dublin. After studying English and Spanish at Trinity College, she became a teacher. Her first novel, In the Beginning, was published in 1997, and was translated into several languages. Her most recent novels are Another Kind of Life and Something Like Love. Catherine Dunne lives in Dublin.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan; 1St Edition edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0333785835
• ISBN-13: 978-0333785836
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,057,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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