The Wonder Garden by
Lauren Acampora
A picture-perfect
suburb in Connecticut with mayhem, misunderstandings and a little madness at
its core is the setting for these linked short stories. You’ll be fascinated about what is found
behind each of these stately front doors.
I was doubtful when I
picked this one up. Stories about
families in suburbia in crisis don’t really appeal to me, but this book, while
it did touch on that, was so much more.
The thing I enjoyed most? There
were many, many characters, but I never forgot who was who. When a person I hadn’t read about in five or
six stories showed up again the author gave enough vivid clues that you
remembered who the character was. After
some books I have attempted to read, and put down after about thirty pages
because I couldn’t tell the difference between characters anymore, this was a truly
refreshing thing.
Fans of the style of
Olive Kitteridge will really enjoy her similar storytelling style.