false 589477 0316285269 9780316569323 657 50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176361997m/589477.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/589477.White_Oleander 3540 Janet Fitch 27053 2401 5 27 false Fri Feb 15 13:05:04 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 16 10:40:12 -0800 2008 Oleander was chosen for Oprah's Motherfucking Book Club. Lord! I should turn in my Literacy Card now for liking this codswallop!

Thankfully, I don't give a fuck.

Oprah endorsements aside, Fitch's debut novel artfully transposes mother/daughter psychodrama on to a disconnected, alienated 21st century American urban landscape. Our title character, Astrid Magnussen, becomes a nomad-cum-foster child after her mother Ingrid murders a jilted lover. The premise is pure pulp, but Fitch takes it farther with her executions -- her deft exploration of Astrid's inner world is phenomenal. Ingrid, Astrid's black widow bitch of a mother, may not be your ma, but any 21st century daughter will empathize with Astrid as she carves her own identity sans Mom against a cynical modern canvas. But aye, there's the rub -- even with Ingrid away, Astrid still cannot escape her presence. It's so deliciously Freudian I want to read this novel on a chaise longue.

It helps that Fitch's prose is as smooth and heady as a silk handkerchief bathed in Shalimar. If you want text that goes down like a Lindt truffle's liquid center, Fitch is your girl. ]]>