"Garden Spells" by Sarah Addison Allen

Read: 3/20/09

5/5 stars

The title promises spells and delivers them. Spellbinding enough to keep me up till I finished it, Garden Spells is a magic realism-culinary treat, Southern style.

The story revolves around the surviving Waverleys of Bascom, heirs of a magic garden and not without individual magic themselves. Claire, the older sister, stays behind in Bascom, running a catering business which specializes in incorporating edible flowers from her garden into the dishes. Her dishes are popular for the reactions they evoke in people--like chicken and water chestnut casserole made with snapdragon seed oil to ward off undue influence of others, fruit salad with dandeliion petals to influence spontaneous apologies, tea cakes with nasturtium mayonaisse to give people the ability to keep secrets, and a host of other scrumptiously described magical dishes.

But Claire is a control freak and has intimacy issues. Perhaps the only person really close to her is her aging cousin Evanelle, also a possessor of an uncanny ability. Evanelle gets urges to give specific people specific things--small things, like a mango peeler, a band-aid, maraschino cherries, a condom--without knowing why. Invariably, though, the people to whom she gives those things will need it for something important, usually having to do with what they really need or really want.

Claire and Evanelle's lives are interesting, though quiet, until Sydney, Claire's estranged sister, comes back home after 10 years. Sydney has always been in denial about her family heritage, hence her leaving was her means of escaping all the strangeness connected with being a Waverley. Always the wild sister, Sydney returns with a young daughter, Bay, not fully explaining to Claire why she left, nor why she returned. Claire's perfect, predictable life, therefore is threatened, especially with another arrival--a handsome new neighbor named Tyler who shows an interest towards Claire.

The book, therefore, explores how Claire and Sydney try to patch up what's left of their family by patching up their own relationship towards each other, as well as the sisters' discovery of the kind of adults they have become or want to be.

I loved this novel for the magical elements, the food, and the good old story-telling. Claire and Sydney each have their own depth, and the characters of Bascom all have something "special" to recommend them, not just the Waverleys. True to Southern form, each family is known for a quirk (e.g. all Clark women are good in bed, the Hopkins men all marry older women). Stereotyping, yes; but given the way it's presented in this book, it's all utterly charming. And what's more endearing is the manner in which the people still express their own independence either by embracing or denying their quirks. In the end, what is lovable about the book's characters is the way they finally understand who they are and lay to rest all the insecurities brought about by background, reputation, etc.

Obviously, too, this is a feel-good novel. I liked it that there were sinister elements (such as the father of Sydney's child), but only enough to provide a good sense of threat. And aside from the charming story, the prose was lucid, the dialogue funny. And it must be said that, apart from the human characters, the apple tree in the center of the Waverley garden is as charming a personality as any of the others. Of all the flowers and plants in the garden, it is the apple tree that attracts most everyone's attention. Legend has it that if you bite into it, you'll see the most important event of your life. Interestingly, the apple tree often throws its apples at people, simply because it wants attention. Or it continuously makes its presence felt to the Waverley family just because it wants to belong. Ultimately, belonging is core to the conflicts surrounding this novel.

I'd have to say that this is one of the most enjoyable novels I've read in a long time. By enjoyable, I don't necesarily mean earth-shattering or particularly insightful. But if you're looking for a good story, a charming romance, and a touch of magic that will allow you to escape for a while from the humdrum of life, then this book is it.