A run-in with a young girl, Penny Lane (there are a lot of weird names in this book, it has to be said), creates a tipping point in the story, which is perhaps the only bit that doesn’t quite ring true. Told in a gentle and soothing voice, it’s an absorbing tale that feels like a tonic or balm. It tells the story of the impossibly named Halcyon Days — or Hassie, as she’s better known — and her older sister, Margot, who use their inheritance to buy a rundown Jacobean house in a small rural village near the Welsh Marshes, a short drive from Shrewsbury. Through fate, Hass meets Robert, a charismatic artist. They have a passionate long relationship that is only able to be maintained on the sly, as Robert is married and has no intention of leaving his wife. When they are together Hass finally feels adored. The inevitable happens and they are caught out. Three years later and Hass is still grieving. Our narrator, Hassie Days (it is revealed) is writing to her unborn child and the father has got to be Murat, the Albanian gardener with the beautiful white teeth and dazzling smile. Remember that night when Hassie went to look for the lost kitten and was full of sorrow? She saw a figure which ‘began to move slowly towards’ her. It was Murat who had been living in the woods. She refers to this in the denouement, confirmation to readers and, I thought, subtle and moving. But as she begins to explore the history of the house and the mysterious nearby wood, old hurts begin to fade as she experiences the healing power of nature and discovers other worlds.

The Gardener by Salley Vickers | Goodreads

It is books like this that make me wonder why I don't read more outside the crime fiction genre. Too much inside the genre competing for my attention I suppose. In Partnership with St Martin-in-the-Fields. This series of nine lectures is inspired by the words of Martin Luther during the Reformation. Distinguished speakers investigate those things in which we believe deeply – and for which we would be prepared to make a costly stand.The characters I found particularly engaging and I loved the premise – the woman inheriting a tumbledown house in a rural area has all the hallmarks of a great fairytale. But my initial hopes for a modern fairytale with new lore, or deep lore or any kind of fresh thinking at all were disappointed. Settling in the country Hass feels a connection to her father through the birds in the garden and the countryside. Through new friends in the village, she learns the history of the area, and more specifically their new home, Knight’s Fee. Hass explores the region’s significance with the early saints and pagan gods.

The Gardener by Salley Vickers | Goodreads The Gardener by Salley Vickers | Goodreads

I loved this book at the beginning. It's a beautiful format, lovely William Morris endpapers and it starts off with such promise. Much of the novel charts Hassie’s attempts to ingratiate herself with the locals, which include the outspoken and cantankerous retired schoolmarm, Miss Foot, and the friendly local vicar, a widower, who claims not to believe in God. The narrator speaks honestly and openly to herself about her physical and emotional feelings. We witness her growing self-awareness and fulfilment, through her garden — “my small private paradise which I felt honoured to share with the birds” — and through her connectedness with landscape, trees, animals, a snail, the weather, and through her many literary recollections, including Emily Brontë, T. S. Eliot, Hardy, Hopkins, Beatrix Potter, Shakespeare, and Wordsworth. As she works the garden in Murat's peaceful company, Hassie ruminates on her past life: the sibling rivalry that tainted her childhood and the love affair that left her with painful, unanswered questions.The Seasonal Read...: Spring Challenge 2013 Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC!

The Gardener by Salley Vickers - Fantastic Fiction The Gardener by Salley Vickers - Fantastic Fiction

As she works the garden in Murat's peaceful company, Hassie ruminates on her past life: the sibling rivalry that tainted her childhood and the love affair that left her with painful, unanswered questions. But as she begins to explore the history of the house and the mysterious nearby wood, old hurts begin to fade as she experiences the healing power of nature and discovers other worlds. But overall, The Gardener is a delightful tale about resilience, fresh starts and hope for the future. It’s written with psychological insight, tenderness and poignancy. Descriptively written with warmth, laughter and understanding, a beautiful story. The characters and setting very evocative and lasting. Highly recommend.The strength of this novel, for me, was SV’s ability to add so many layers to village life both good and bad: village gossip, narrow-mindedness, supporting the ‘locals’ by buying shrivelled fruit and bad art – all this tempered with the beauty and power of nature. The simply glorious descriptions of birds and flowers moving through the seasons just made this tale of the countryside sing for me. the descriptions of the garden were divine. they were easily the best part of the novel and i would‘ve enjoyed The Gardener more if it had actually focused on the Gardener part more. i don’t care that much about your lost lover! i want to know about the kingfisher and the flowers in your garden!