Customer Reviews

Winter Bloom

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Eva Madigan entered a neighborhood sweet shop with Liam on a sunny Saturday in October she finally felt there was hope. Something was different. The young widow and her four year old son were new to Dublin, and Eva was having a hard time getting to know people, having a hard time finding a place in the world. Then a chance encounter with mysterious old Mrs. Prendergast (whom gossips suspect murdered her husband and buried him the garden) led Eva to that long abandoned Prendergast garden and a disjointed group of people. Their lives would be forever changed by answering Eva's blind request for help to work in a community garden.


Mrs. Prendergast's garden brought together people of all ages and backgrounds. Their only commonality was their love of gardens. Making up the rag-tag group are Uri, a Holocaust survivor and his divorced son Seth, a mysterious young college-aged Emily with a secret of her own, and the sad Eva. As they struggle to reclaim the garden from years of neglect, friendships are made, secrets are shared, and lives are entwined. All is lovely in the garden until one day Lance, Mrs. Prendergast's son, shows up demanding that the garden be sold.

Author Tara Heavey's Winter Bloom is a well written, engaging story of loss and our fight for survival by adapting to the things that are beyond our control. I normally don't review cover art, but I believe this book deserves a different cover. No offense to the designer but this is not a light "chick lit" book. It's a study of the human sou,l and I think it should have a less "chick lit-ish" fluffy cover. I highly recommend Winter Bloom and am purposefully being vague about the plot so that as so the secrets and stories unfold, and I won't want ruin your read. Get it, enjoy it, share it.

Tara Heavey was born in London and moved to Dublin at the age of 12. A former lawyer, she is currently a full-time author who lives in Dublin with her family.

*Source: This book was provided to me by the publisher at my request and in no way affected my review.

Winter Bloom began in shade, and blossomed into one of the most beautiful, worthwhile, and engaging books I've read. Here are true characters, facing the greatest difficulties
this world presents, and freedom and forgiveness find their way into a garden that garners all growth, forgiveness and beauty that transforms into love.

This book I will hold aside for my daughter to read. If all of us could understand History through this lens, there might grow a deeper understanding of our differences, our
commonalities and the efforts that move us forward.

Read this book and feel blessed, then, take heart!

Just as the garden of "Winter Bloom" is lovingly and skillfully brought back to life, so are the lives of the characters revived and renewed. Tara Heavey tells the story of five people who work together toward a common goal and discover much about themselves and each other along the way. When young widowed mother Eva Madigan spies the sadly neglected walled garden of the elderly Mrs. Prendergast, she is struck by the desire to restore the wasted space to its former glory. It takes some convincing, and Mrs. Prendergast warns her that the garden is meant to be sold, but Eva is given permission for her project. She places an ad at the grocer for help with a community garden, and only two people respond to the ad: Uri, a distinguished older gentleman, and Emily, the clerk from the grocer. Soon they are joined by Uri's son Seth, and after a time, even Mrs. Prendergast begins to help with the work. Each of the gardeners has been touched by tragedy, and their individual stories are woven throughout the telling of the restoration. Uri, a tailor by trade, was taught much by his own father, who was a master gardener. Seth, who inherited his love of cultivating the soil from his father and grandfather, has his own landscaping business. Emily, stuck in her clerk's job, longs to further her education and move on with her life. Mrs. Prendergast, a lady of impeccable social grace, is nonetheless rumored to have killed her husband and buried him somewhere in the garden. It is her greedy, needy son, Lance, who is pressuring her to sell the land. Eva's husband took their baby daughter for a drive to settle her crying, and they were both killed in a terrible accident. Eva was left to care for their young son, Liam, and to manage her survivor guilt. These are remarkable people, trying their best to live "ordinary" lives. I was touched by their heartaches, and I celebrated with them their joys. Their shared experience was an affirmation of life, not only for the characters, but also for the reader. I will definitely read more work by the wonderful storyteller, Tara Heavey!

Review Copy Gratis Simon & Schuster

I don't understand how Winter Bloom by Tara Heavey received on Amazon an overall 4 1/2 stars. Maybe I could see this book receiving 3 1/2 stars at the most, but certainly nothing more than that. It was a good story. It was a fast read. A young widow and her young son trying to rebuild their lives move to Dublin. Feeling displaced and isolated, the main character comes across an abandoned garden that she wants to turn into a community garden. There are a group of characters with interesting stories. It was a good read, but not exceptional. It is not a story that will stay with me.

Tara Heavey's Winter Bloom is a book to share with friends. Like Darien Gee's Friendship Bread, Tara Heavey's book brings strangers together and turns them into friends. As Eva, Emily, Uri, Seth and even Mrs. Prendergast tend to the garden, they grow into real friends.

I enjoyed reading about how they connected and gradually shared their own secrets. Each character has his or her own tragedy of sorts and Tara Heavey makes it all come together so well. The book is just the sort to read on a cold afternoon or a sunny day in the park. Heartwarming and a fun escape!

ISBN-10: 9781439177938 - Paperback $15.00
Publisher: Gallery; Original edition (October 12, 2010), 384 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

I haven't read too many books set in Ireland but it's a country that I want to visit one day. I do enjoy hearing Irish accents as much as I do British accents. I was pleased that this book takes place in Ireland and gave me a way to travel to the country without leaving my armchair.

The story centers around an abandoned garden that is going to be replaced by development until a young widow decides to take charge and bring it back to life. She recruits several people to help her out and like blooming plants, the characters begin to open up about their lives and grow. What I love best about the book are all the stories that are woven together because of the owners' relationship to the garden. Eva is the main character and her story begins the revealing of pasts that have been kept hidden and untold.

I felt that Emily seemed to disappear after her story was told in the beginning. I understand that she had to leave the garden due to her situation. It just seemed like she was introduced and then vanished and then brought back at the end of the story to wrap things up. Mrs. Pendergast's story is so sad. I felt so bad for her and the secrets that she's been keeping all these years. It's heartbreaking to read what she went through but I'm glad that she eventually found that inner strength. Her story also explains why her son is the way he is as well. Equally as moving is Uri's story about living as a child during the Holocaust. It's another heartbreaking tale that is incredibly moving. Some of the characters I didn't find so favorable. Their actions left much to be desired though by the end they started to grow on me.

I think this book would make a great book club read. There's a lot to discuss about the story and the characters are all very diverse. Issues about parent/child relationships, dealing with grief, unplanned pregnancies, abusive relationships and finding new friends are some of the things to talk about after reading. This is the first book I've read from Tara Heavey and I'm looking forward to reading more of her writing.

I bought this book not expecting much, but what a story it packed. I loved how each chapter was about one of the characters. Each person's life is a story and the garden only added to the novel. It was a quick read and one I am glad I did.

Curl up in a comfortable chair and enjoy this novel of hope and friendship, set in Dublin, Ireland. Eve and her young son Liam are struggling to make a home for themselves in Dublin. A glimpse inside an abandoned walled garden inspires Eve with a desire to bring it back to life. When she convinces the owner, the mysterious recluse Mrs. Prendergast to let her work in the garden and finds other volunteers to help, her life is changed more than she could imagine. As the garden is brought back to life, relationships blossom as well. This was a very enjoyable story with interesting characters.

Tara Heavey weaves a poignant tale of the lives of five individuals whose live intersect almost serendipitously, when one of the individuals sets out to create a community garden project.

Eva has recently relocated to Dublin, Ireland with her son Liam, after experiencing a great personal tragedy. Wanting to make a fresh start, she teaches at a local university. While settling into a new life in Dublin, she discovers a walled garden that looks like it hasn't been touched in years. Discovering that it belongs to a somewhat reclusive woman names Mrs. Prendergast, Eva approaches her about turning it into a community garden. It takes some doing, but she earns Mrs. Prendergast's approval, and puts a notice up in a local grocery store looking for interested parties.

Eva is joined by Emily, Uri, and eventually his son Seth in this endeavor to turn the old garden into a beautiful community garden. As they work the earth, bringing new life to the garden, each of them experiences a transformation that enables them to come to terms with the personal tragedies each has experienced.

With each chapter, Heavey introduces the reader to startling revelations about Eva, Emily, Uri, Seth and Mrs. Prendergast.

I loved this book, and could not put it down! I'm looking forward to future titles from Heavey!

A garden isn't a garden without the tender love and care of a gardener. The effort and work that a gardener puts into a garden is what makes it beautiful.

Eva discovers a neglected walled garden. She asks the owner, Mrs. Pendergrast, also rumored to have murdered her husband, if she can care for it. With the help of others, the garden is brought back to life. This process also helps the individual workers heal from their own problems and soon friendships form.

I'm not a gardener with a green thumb by any means. I look at a plastic flower and it dies. But author Tara Heavey did a wonderful job developing each character and engaging the reader. The cover is misleading, as it gives the idea that it's a light chick lit read. We all know not to judge a book by its cover though, right? It is actually a story that will draw you in with light suspense as each individual character's history is revealed. Topics such as the sudden loss of a loved one, abuse, the Holocaust, and unwanted pregnancies are covered in the 369 pages.

There are reader discussion questions and an author Q&A at the very end of the book. I recommend Winter Bloom for a book club selection.

L. Marie