The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman

The Red Garden is Hoffman's latest release. I've read several of her books--the first of which was The Ice Queen--however, I haven't read her two books released prior to Garden. I just couldn't get into them. The Red Garden is similar to The Blackbird House in that it is a series of vignettes connected by setting.

This series of vignettes follows the inhabitants of a tiny Massachusetts village starting with its founding in the mid-eighteenth century through the present day. Charactered by the intermarried generations of descendants of its original settlers, the vignettes follow the fortunes, loves, and tragedies of these families and the town in which many are born, live and die through harsh winters, wars and epidemics.

Beautifully, lyrically written, this absorbing book is hard to put down as the reader greedily turns the pages to follow the generations of these families through the years. I recommend you pick up this book the next time you visit the library; it is a must read for every Hoffman fan, and a good place to start for those unfamiliar with her magical work.

--Reviewed by Ms. Angie

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