The Forgotten Garden in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 26, 2011 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lib-has-audio, hf, library, friend-love, xx2012xx, ashley-s-list

I enjoyed this book. It has that fairy tale feel at times, and it just softly sweeps you away. I'd have liked to have seen more development with Cassandra, to see what happened to her - maybe the author's planning a sequel. My first Morton and won't be my last. Her writing is at times very beautiful. ...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Farhana Faruq rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, fiction

I absolutely LOVED this book!!

It starts of a little slow.. which must be expected in a 550pg novel. Before you know it you'll so engrossed in the characters and the mystery, you won't put it down.

The writing style is brilliant! It's three separate stories masterfully weaved together. ...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Linda Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: geo-england, fiction, geo-australia, mysteries, dual-time-lines

Beautiful writing! I love this book for the author's amazing ability to turn ordinary sentences into metaphoric symphonies. She writes how I would love to be able to write, so I will definitely be reading more of her work in the future. If I immerse myself in enough of this, it may rub off. At least, I can dream, hope, and work toward that.

The novel takes place in three different time periods. It starts in 1913 and progresses to 1975. Later the granddaughter's journey takes place in the very rec Beautiful writing! I love this book for the author's amazing ability to turn ordinary sentences into metaphoric symphonies. She writes how I would love to be able to write, so I will definitely be reading more of her work in the future. If I immerse myself in enough of this, it may rub off. At least, I can dream, hope, and work toward that.

The novel takes place in three different time periods. It starts in 1913 and progresses to 1975. Later the granddaughter's journey takes place in the very recent past, 2005. The stories are intertwined so chapters jump back and forth between eras, gradually revealing parts of the mystery the granddaughter, Cassandra, is trying to unveil. Sometimes we readers are privy to details of the past before Cassandra learns them.

It starts when a four-year-old child is abandoned on a ship sailing from England to Australia. A family on the ship takes her in and cares for her, but then she's abandoned on the dock, unable to remember her own name. Years later that woman wants to know where she came from and why she was alone on the ship. This is the mystery that takes many years and much research to unravel.

I read a review that said this novel was predictable, and want to state that for me, there was a point in the novel when a portion of the outcome was predictable, but not all of it was. There were surprises up until the very end. The setting, the characters and the plot were so magical I wanted to keep reading no matter what. I was not disappointed.

I very much enjoyed the story. It is definitely women's fiction. All the main characters were women - and most of them were lovely people we can easily care about. There were also several women with extremely bad characters, including a vile, rich and self-centered female villain.

The story transported me to Australia, and later, to England - two places I've never been to - where I learned about the countryside and the customs of the people. It was all very believable and I'm happy I experienced this book. ...more

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May 23, 2012 Johanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012-books

This is the second book by Kate Morton that I have read, and I enjoyed it even more than her first book. I couldn't actually figure out where the mystery in the plot was going, which doesn't happen very often for me. The story is told from the point of view of 3 characters who are related, jumping around in time from the early 1900s to the 1970s to 2005, as the book slowly unravels the mystery of a little girl who winds up alone on a dock in Australia in 1913. The plot revolves around a very dys ...more

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Jan 07, 2011 MichelleCH rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, group-reads, mystery, suspense

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book reminded me of a chocolate filled cookie - the middle was really good and the ends were ok. The mystery of how a four-year little girl ended up all alone on a ship to Australia from England is one that promises a lot of twists and turns. They do come and we are introduced to the main characters - Eliza, Rose, Cassandra, and Nell (who is the little girl) - some more complicated and interesting than others.

The story is told through each of these women's perspective and there is some jump ...more

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Aug 09, 2013 Hege rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favoritter, 2013

Loved it!!

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Jan 16, 2011 Bookchick rated it liked it

Wanted to like this more but couldn't connect with the characters; they were generally unhappy and not admirable. I did like the author's use of language and the way the novel jumps back and forth in time so that the reader pieces the mystery together as the book progresses. ...more

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