Title: The Language of Flowers
Author: Vanessa
Diffenbaugh
Publisher: Ballantine
Books
Publication Date:
August 23, 2011
Summary: A
mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a
vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her
change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled
past.
The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions:
honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for
Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and
solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to
get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers
and their meanings.
Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and
sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a
local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for
helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious
vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her
life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she
must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at
happiness. (goodreads)
Review: This novel follows a foster care kid, Victoria who
moved around the system. It begins on her 18th birthday, emancipation
day. Each chapter alternates between now and when she was nine and
adopted by Elizabeth, a woman who owns a vineyard and taught her the language
of flowers.
This is a wonderful book
about a prickly girl who really had a horrible childhood bouncing through the
foster care system. She would act out to get her foster parents to kick
her out, like she knew they would anyway, basically a self-fulfilling
prophecy. While Elizabeth is willing to take her on, thorns and all, you
know something happened down the line because she is living in a group home
when emancipated. This novel is about finding out what the event was and
her figuring out her life now. They are somehow connected.
At nine, when she finds out
that flowers can be used as tools to convey messages, she becomes engaged and
embraces the idea fully.
I thought about this.
Misanthropy. No one had ever described my feelings in a single word. I repeated
it to myself until I was sure I wouldn't forget. (pg 77)
Present day, she still
doesn't trust anyone but has a way with flowers and has memorized their
meanings. She finds work and finds something she is extremely good at. It isn't
until later in life that she realizes flowers can have more than on meaning.
Victoria is a strong
character whose actions were quite upsetting to me, but she was acting by
instinct, a defense mechanism of not trusting, or believing, or hoping in
anyone because of what life has taught her. Though it is still difficult to
read when she does something particularly nasty and the surrounding characters
are amazingly sympathetic and forgiving. I don't know that I would have
been able to be so forgiving and generous with time, patience and
understanding.
I read this book fairly
quickly, within two days, but I would get nervous about picking it up, because
I was sad for the characters and wanted to avoid the big emotional scene I felt
was coming. (I am a nervous-nelly when it comes to emotional conflict, chalk
that up to being the oldest kid who was also the peacemaker). But it worked,
tugged on a few heart-strings without being overly sentimental and seemed to
end somewhat realistically. I quite enjoyed it and will be suggesting it for
our bookclub. We will see if it sounds good to them too. Four+ stars
curiously resembling the following flowers, carried by a beaming bride down the
isle. white carnation (sweet and lovely) with coriander (hidden worth) daffodil
(new beginnings) and hawthorn (hope).
