Looking Back - Night Gardening

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Night Gardening by E.L. Swann
Fiction
1999 Hyperion
Read in June 1999
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A timeless tale of love and healing that proves it is never too late for romance.

Within the shadows of night, in a grand old city, in a graceful neighborhood, there was a garden where lives would be changed and hopes renewed and two hearts forever restored. 

Maggie Flaherty Welles is a vibrant, sparkling, Irish-American widow whose feisty, determined spirit is matched only by her love of life. While she is recovering from a life-threatening illness, Maggie's passion lies in her beloved garden, now thrown into disrepair with the passing of time.

When Maggie meets Tristan Mallory, the handsome landscape architect remodeling the garden next door, they begin a friendship that transforms them both, blossoming along with the exotic flowers in Maggie's garden that Tristan secretly tends to by the light of the moon. Brought together by a shared passion, Maggie and Tristan discover the sensuous pleasures of a relationship neither one had ever dared to imagine. Their romance gives proof to the restorative powers of love. 

Set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Night Gardening is an enchanting journey into a real and metaphorical garden. It is a story of love and healing that celebrates passion in all its forms in such a way that it will touch your heart and linger at the edge of your dreams.

My Original Notes (1999):

Another good "fluff" book. A nice romance between two older gardeners. Lovely description of the garden and plants. Reminiscent of The Bridges of Madison County.

My Current Thoughts:

I have fond memories of this book and since I still own the ARC, I hope to read it again sometime this year. With only 225 pages, it's one I can easily read in a day or two.

About the Author:

E.L. Swann is the pseudonym of Kathryn Lasky, the American author of many critically acclaimed children's books, including several Dear America books, several Royal Diaries books, 1984 Newbery Honor winning Sugaring Time, The Night Journey, and the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series.

She was born June 24, 1944, and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is married to Christopher Knight, with whom she lives in Massachusetts.