false 4 8 false false Sat Jun 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 25 14:38:20 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 03:35:56 -0700 2008
It took me a while to get in step with the tone of this book. The beginning was Jane Eyre-lite...Mary is orphaned and sent from India to England to live with her uncle, a stranger to her. The story progresses...and then....Mary's talking to a robin, and he's showing her where buried keys are. At that point, the mood shifted, and I sat back to enjoy not a literary masterpiece, but a child's fantasy adventure.

I really lost myself in the beauty of the Secret Garden...it's natural beauty and the idea of its powers to cleanse our physical and spiritual sides. One review claimed that re-visiting this made the reader want to "get back into gardening"...and I felt that. It's a gardener's story--a tale for someone who enjoys the process, from planting the seeds to appreciating the beauty of the end product. I loved the vivid descriptions of all the particular plants, trees, and animals...

But if I'm being honest, this book got a bit intense for me. As Colin begins to feel the healing powers of the garden...as he begins to chant and sing his praises to the "magic"...(and on and on about "the magic"), I really began to feel the author's personal philosphies taking over. The introduction suggests that Burnett infused the comfort she found in Christian Science teachings after her son died into this story about the power of mind over body. Hmmmm.

I think what kept me from totally being sold on this novel is that I did try to read it as an adult. I was unable to enjoy the narrative literally and at face-value. I was digging in....always watchful for the deeper meaning. And Burnett's ideas were already at the surface, perhaps a little heavy-handedly at times.

Overall...a nice story, perhaps best enjoyed through the innocent, unaffected eyes of a child.]]>