El jardín de las mentiras

Garden of Lies #1

by Eileen Goudge

El día que Rose y Rachel nacieron, se produjo un incendio en el hospital. Este hecho condenó a una a la pobreza y favoreció a la otra con una familia acomodada y cariñosa. Sin embargo, los hilos del destino se encargarán de entretejer sus vidas indisolublemente...

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Drama, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Mystery, Womens Fiction

573 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

I began writing at the age of eight and wrote my way through the lean years before I found success as New York Times' bestselling author with my first novel GARDEN OF LIES. To date I have published 19 novels and a cookbook. Every life experience I've weathered has found its way into my novels in one form or another: bad exes, births, deaths, divorces, romances, and even true crime. My heroines are like me: tough cookies who don't crumble.

My latest novel, Book One of my Gold Creek series, ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW, is the story of a woman fleeing her abusive ex who finds refuge in a small California mountain town, where she's befriended by a group of women who call themselves The Tattooed Ladies and reinvents herself as a police sketch artist. Kyra "draws lines to stop crimes," as they say in the biz, never imagining she'll one day be forced to confront the biggest criminal of all: her ex.

I'm married to former entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon and the mother of two grown children. We live in Sacramento, California, where we remodeled a 1940's house for which I was the on-site project manager. Fortunately, multi-tasking is my superpower, so I was able to write a book and supervise a home remodel at the same time. The latter is sure to find its way into a future book. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see pics of my home remodel and other adventures.

Reviews

[Tea Jovanović · Rating 2 out of 5]

Možda bi mi se knjiga i dopala da sam je čitala u originalu... No sam pokušavala da dopravim kriminalan prevod i knjiga mi se zbog toga smučila... a i nije baš da me sama knjiga povukla (da zanemarimo loš prevod)... Ko želi da je čita, samo u originalu (još vučem traume, a mnogo je godina prošlo)... :)

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eileen Goudge, Garden of Lies (Signet, 1989)

This book was, upon its release, not just a sensation; it posted numbers that scandalized the publishing world. How on earth could a romance, of all things, sell like this? Almost fifteen years in the future, we can look back and snicker at our naïveté, of course. The last piece of the genre fiction puzzle gained respectability, and now Danielle Steel, Sandra Brown, and Nora Roberts sit atop the bestseller lists as comfortably as do King, Clancy, and Grisham. Steel was already on the brink of megastardom (and was, of course, a megastar in the romance world long beforehand), but most, if not all, other romance writers owe a great deal of their present respect in the world of modern literature to Eileen Goudge's debut novel.

Garden of Lies is the torrid tale of two girls switched at birth. After one's mother dies in a hospital fire, Sylvie, the mother of the other, switches the two babies in order to prevent her spouse from realizing her actual daughter is the product of an affair. The two girls, Rose (Sylvie's natural daughter) and Rachel (Sylvie's "adopted" daughter), lead oddly parallel lives despite their vast gulfs in economic and social status. Through a series of coincidences, the two both end up in love with the same man, and the close ties both have to him threaten to reveal Sylvie's long-held secret.

The first thing to say about this novel, as any romance novel, is to benchmark it against the doyenne. And Garden of Lies is so much better than the works of Danielle Steel that they may as well not be on the same planet. Aside from the proofreading (I've never yet encountered a Danielle Steel novel that looks as if it had been proofread at all), Goudge seems to have turned her back on the cookie-cutter philosophy of genre fiction (simply stated, "create character who fits plot, insert here"). Not that you haven't seen this plot and these characters before, but unlike most straight genre fiction, Goudge's characters are three-dimensional, they react to the plot as if they were actually reacting to it instead of doing what thousands of cookie-cutter characters have done before them, and when they emote, they're not giving us dialogue straight out of the pages of the scripts for The Guiding Light. Refreshing, to say the least.

This epic (and really, when a romance novel goes over 500 pages, it's acceptable to call it an epic, no?) has a whole lot going for it. It's probably best to have your suspension-of-disbelief mode set pretty high; there are a few "okay, that's too coincidental" events, and the whole stretch that takes place in Vietnam is too pat. But by the time you hit either of the above, the novel is barrel-racing along too fast for you to stop and compare Goudge's jungle to, say, Lucius Shepard's, you only have time to hang on and enjoy the ride. A rollercoaster ain't a rocket, either, but it's still fun.

Garden of Lies has rightly carved itself a place in the history of the modern romance novel. Probably the best of the bunch I've encountered since the glory days of Stephanie Blake in the early eighties. Definitely worth your time if you're looking for a good, easy summer read. *** ½

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A free loan from Kindle Lending Library, this was a riveting romance and all-around good novel. Halfway through I decided to look up the author, and discovered that she wrote many of the Sweet Valley High books. Being an AVID reader of SVH back in elementary/middle school, I was not surprised that this book had me so enthralled. It IS a lot like SVH, but for adult readers. Is it soap opera-ish? Yes. Is the plot unrealistic? Yes. (But not really any more so, than say, Dickens!) Are the characters interesting, 3-dimensional, and relatable? Yes! Something tells me when a man writes a novel like this, it gets termed "epic," and when a woman does it, it gets thrown into the "romance" pile and promptly forgotten about. This book spans many characters over many generations, is engaging, and addresses some pretty tough emotional issues. Overall, great read.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit I skimmed through large portions of this book. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I have read books by this author before, and understand many of her books are reissues and were originally published in the late 1980's. I actually enjoy many 'retro- romance' novels, but this one was too long, and too depressing. I do think I understand what the author was going for, and the time frame this was written in saw many women at a crossroads, some still firmly rooted in traditional ideals and others questioning all that stood for, while others turned their backs on it completely.

But, by the time I had gone through the whole sordid tale of switched at birth and the two very different lives the women led as a result and the way they were treated by the men in their lives, I started feeling a little down and gloomy. So, I fast forwarded a little and I'm glad I did, because the ending wasn't worth going through all that drama for.

This one is a 1.5 rounded to 2

[Sonja Yoerg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hang on to your hats! There is enough plot in here for several books. I don't require that much action to enjoy a book, but the storytelling in Garden of Lies is so masterful that it works effortlessly. Is this a romance? I suppose it is--that's how it was sold--but it is much more than that. It's a story full of life, joy and sorrow, with characters in 3-D, thrown into complex situations. There's a reason this one hit the NYT Bestsellers list and stayed there. Read it and enjoy!

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure I've read a sillier book than this one, but not that I can remember right now. I bought this based on all the glowing reviews and notices I've seen for Eileen Goudge, but I found it very disappointing. Maybe it had to be read in the 80s to be appreciated, but in 2016, the coincidence-laden plot and no-trope-left-behind shenanigans were beyond ridiculous.

I guess it should have been obvious from the beginning--when the nurse in the midst of a hospital fire, snipped the porcelain-bead bracelets off all the babies before rescuing them because porcelain "absorbs heat ... might burn" thus making the great baby swap a possibility--that I was not in for a reality-based ride. But it was only the first in a long list of coincidences necessary to advance the ridiculous plot. Too many coincidences to list and far too many to believe. I was bored with the characters long before their story was over, and so tired of the premise that I couldn't make it through even the first page of the sequel teaser that is appended to the Kindle version of this book. (By the way, Thorns of Truth? Really?)

But the book really went off the rails for me when the author took us to Vietnam. There's something to be said for staying in your authorial lane. When you're a romance author, you should stick with that. You shouldn't try to write about the grim realities of war--from a soldier's point of view no less--sprinkling slang terms culled from repeated viewings of Apocalypse Now (or whatever war movie provided her with "Nam," "grunt," "Disneyland East," etc.) into your prose in a transparent attempt at authenticity. There's something offensive to me about authors co-opting the very real experiences of warriors fighting for their country, men who deserve better than to have their bravery and sacrifice cheapened, in the name of selling sleazy romance (I'm looking at you, all authors of SEAL romance).

In the 80s, maybe I would have thought this was great reading too, but in 2016, it just doesn't work for me.

[Tory · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garden of lies, indeed. There was a lot of lying in this book, and a lot of “Woe is me, I have lied, and it’s hurting ME so bad.”

I’m pretty sure that when you are a big fat liar you should be more concerned with the folks that you are robbing of the truth rather than your self.

It’s just a novel, and a not even good one, at that… so I’ll go ahead and get off my moral high horse.

[Jane Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and it is still one of my very favorites! The story will stay with you long after you finish the book. It is definitely worth reading!

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave it up 25% in. Completely sophomoric. Not counting this as a read, but happy to waste no more time on it than I already have.

[Bilyanap · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the section of the book whose action is based in Vietnam.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best books I read all summer long. It starts out in the 50's when Sylvie discovers she is pregnant, but not sure if it is her older, rich, banker husband Gerald's child or the child of Nikos the Greek handyman that Sylvie had an affair with. When she goes off to have the baby in a hospital on the other side of town, her worse fears come true. The baby has olive colored skin and dark curly hair. She doesn't know what she will do, for Gerald will surely know it is not his. Then some fireworks ignite a fire in the old hospital and Sylvie cannot wake up her roommate Angie. She heads to the nursery to let them know, they hand her Angie's baby to carry to safety. When she sees the nurses later outside, she learns Angie died in the fire, and the nurses assume the baby she is holding is hers. She does not protest and ends up raising the baby as her daugher, Rachel.

The author does a subperb job of introducing us to all the characters and I felt as if I knew them all personally. The story takes us through Rachel's and Rose's teen years and we learn that Rose is in love with her neighbor, Brian. Rachel goes into medical school and later volunteers to go to Vietnam. About this time Brian tells Rose his number was called and he has to go to Vietnam, but promises he will return for her. While he is in Vietnam, he is injured and winds up in the hospital where Rose is a doctor. Of course they fall in love and marry before he leaves Vietnam. Of course Rose is crushed when she finds out, and she is now a lawyer. The four characters continue to have their lives cross paths until the truth is revealed.

I would strongly recommend reading this book, it shows the love between people and how that love can change. It also demonstrates how live as we know it today changed from the 50's till the 90's as women moved up to take more control of their lives and more control in roles that had previously belonged to men.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in junior high and on my way to a week long camp when I realized I hadn't packed a book to read. On a whim I picked up this one (then a current bestseller) at a convenience store en route and read it. I remember thinking it was especially titillating and felt like a sneak reading it. I had been thinking for years that it would be interesting to re-read it and see what I thought of it now, 20+ years later. Would it be as thrilling? Or would it be trashy drivel? I could barely remember anything about the plot, though bits and bobs came back to me as I read.

As expected it wasn't as steamy as I had remembered, though I can see how it would seem that way to someone of that age. I'm kind of surprised I got through it at such a young age. It deals with some really heavy stuff that I'm pretty certain was way over my head. No doubt I got much more out of this reading of it than I did then. It is a fantastically put together book. Each of the three main women pulled at my heartstrings. There were points when I wanted to knock everyone's heads together and tell them to stop with the lies. It is a aptly named book!

I almost can't believe Goudge managed put extra marital affairs, babies switched at birth, the Vietnam war, orphaned children raised by an extra Catholic grandmother, doctors, lawyers, abortion, long-lost lovers, weddings, divorces, infertility and tons of other issues all into one story without it feeling overdone and crazy. It was actually just crazy enough to be believable. It probably also helped that it kind of spanned two generations. All of that didn't happen in just a few short years.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this book. I'm very glad I did. I hadn't ever known there was a second book with these characters until I got to the end of this Kindle edition and read the author bio. I will most certainly be reading that soon!

[Adrian Phoenix · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the author's well-drawn characters and story-telling. But stories where the characters are separated because they misunderstand each other or through a failure to communicate their feelings drive me nuts. Those scenarios are just not my cup of tea. I was able to put this book down and walk away from it for months before picking it up again. Still, I finally finished the book. I DID enjoy it even though this type of story is not my usual preference. Very well written, compelling characters, and, at times, TONS of tension.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything in it to make for a good read. Woman In Red was my introduction to this author. After so thoroughly enjoying that book, I didn't think the author could top it. BUT she did with Garden of Lies. I now look forward to the sequel. All I can say is "Wow!". Her style of writing is the best.

[Beth Boyett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just now finished this book and had to say “whew, at last. “. I thought the book would never end. I quite enjoyed it for the first half, but then It got really tedious. The characters, with the exception of Nikkos, were all so wishy washy. They just kind of wallowed in indecision, and poor judgement. And after all the time commitment, the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I understand it, this book caused quite the stir for being classified as a "romance" novel and hitting the NYTimes Bestseller List, paving the way for other novelists in that same genre to land among literary titans. In a nutshell, I enjoyed the story; the pacing rarely ever faltered and the characters were interesting enough (though seemingly manic throughout most of the plot) to keep the pages moving. I wavered on the 5 stars because at times the author fell into melodrama, but was smart enough not to linger there for too long. The ending had some unresolved issues; hence the sequel Thorns of Truth, which I'll be scouting for soon.

[Sallie Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This book fits my parameters for a “fun” read. It was a huge bestseller back in the day (1989). The storyline is two babies switched at birth. The two girls grow up to become strong women, which is quite a feat for the era it portrays (mid twentieth century). Sylvie, the mom who abandoned Rose and raised Rachel as her own, was also a strong female character. Garden of Lies is pure chic lit and was perfect for a break from some of the heavier themes I’ve been reading lately. Eileen Goudge wrote a sequel to this book nine years later and I’m sure I’ll be reading it in the near future.

The ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2023
Prompt #14 - a book with a con, deception or fake

[Lindsey Deitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot remember the last time I gave a book 5 stars!!! This book had ALL the things…characters that I cared about… writing that was perfect to me…. And a plot that was well thought out and executed without flaw. It’s amazing that a book published around 1990 that I randomly got off a shelf for free, at an indoor farmers market, would be my first 5 star in years! Now I want to read all her books ❤️

[Alba · Rating 1 out of 5]

Libro de marujas de los años de Franco

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story grabbed me from the first page & didn't let go. I am not a "series" type book reader but I will be reading the followup book for this one.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One lie ....
Garden Of Lies begins with just that - a lie .
A lie that grows into lieS simply by the impact it has on all of the characters in this fantastic read . Well written in a " hold your breath to see what happens " style , with relatable characters and surprising events .
I would love to see this made into a movie and will be reading the sequel , Thorns Of Truth .

Eileen Goudge may be my new favorite author !

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story & well written -- superb first novel by this author. The story line was easy to follow...enough romance and "what's going to happen?" to keep the reader interested.

The basics of the story is set in the 1940's and follows Sylvia who is married to an older man who she loves, but they cannot conceive (and don't have a great bedroom life). She has an affair with their Greek handyman & then finds herself pregnant. 9 months later she gives birth to a dark skinned baby girl. She is devastated as she believes her husband will leave her. Then, a fire rips through the hospital & Sylvia carries out another woman's daughter, and then finds out that the other woman has perished in the fire. Sylvia decides to keep this fair-skinned child as her own. And so begins the "Garden of Lies". The story follows Sylvia, her fair-skinned daughter (born to privilege) Rachel, and her dark skinned daughter (gone to live with a poor family in the Bronx) Rose. Their stories wind back together with a common love interest between Rose and Rachel.

As a reader I also loved each character, I didn't want any of them to be sad. I thought the book was the perfect length. I felt satisfied with all the story line resolutions & felt that she wrapped everything up quite well.

The only part of the story that didn't meet my expectations was religion. The author seemed to write a lot about Sylvia & Rachel being Jewish & that Rose was raised in a devoutly Catholic home. I really thought that this would come to play at some point in the story line, but it never did. This is rather minor, and I would still highly recommend this novel.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I REALLY wanted to like this book. I was so excited to open it up, a really long family saga to get my teeth into and escape from my world into some other family's messed up lives. But about 1/4 of the way in, when there was more backstory than story, and when the melodrama built to a higher and higher pitch, neverending, unrelenting, pages and pages of melodrama, I got tired of the whole thing. Oh and the sex. Every couple comes with their own descriptive passages of how they do it.

Overall, it was so outrageously over the top and then kept going on and on and on, I started skimming about half way through. I finally got to the end so I could see if Rachel and Brian (the MOST unlikely of love stories) stay together, and if Rose gets over Brian. By the end I didn't care what happened to Sylvie AT ALL. Or Rachel and Brian, or Marie who was the absolute most cliched character--married too young with too many kids--the author gave Marie every cliche possible, even down to the stringy hair.

This was a great big fat soap opera of a book, ridiculous to the extreme. And a New York Times Bestseller to boot. Unbelievable. Hated it.

[RedRedtheycallmeRed · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 STARS

While absorbing at times, it was over the top dramatic in the way soap operas are (though thankfully no evil twins). Sylvie switches her daughter for another one at birth so her husband won't find out about her affair, and we follow the two women, Rachel and Rose, throughout their lives. To me it would have been more interesting if their lives hadn't intersected so much. When it got to the point where they were both in love with the same man (Brian, a total knob) it became too much.

Rachel, the spoiled rich girl, spends the whole novel overwrought about one thing or another. She was almost as annoying as Sylvie. Rose was much more interesting, and with the exception of when she was pining over the knob, I vastly preferred reading her chapters.

The ending was very abrupt, I didn't feel like much was resolved. There were three chapters included from the sequel, but it fast forwards 20+ years and I'm not really interested in the next (even more intertwined!) generation.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book. It was pretty good except that I feel like it kind of just ended and sort of left you hanging. After reading her bio I found that there is a sequel and I may end up reading it eventually. Hopefully the sequel gives you a feeling that the story is over.

The only thing I really noticed was that there were a lot of typos. I read the kindle edition that I believe I got off a free site so that could have been it.

Overall this was okay.


9/13/12
Now that I have had a few days to think about this book, I think the reason I thought it was just "okay" was because I don't feel like I connected to the characters. Sometimes the author can make you feel like you are the characters but I didn't feel this way at all during this book. She did a great job with descriptions and such but the character development felt kind of.. eh. I would like to read the sequel if I can get my hands on it at a good price.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading a lot of Eileen's newer books, I have gone back to the beginning, and after reading this book can understand why Eileen was a NYT best selling author. This book had me riveted from the beginning, and I literally could not put it down. The story of the two babies switched at birth and what transpires of their lives is an emotionally engaging story. I felt for both of the girls involved and anyone who enjoys reading good family sagas will love this book. Can't wait to now read the sequel as I just have to find out what happened to them! Eileen you continue to be one of my favourite authors :)

[Michele Whitecotton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was different from the books I usually read. Ultimately I guess it could be classified as a romance novel but it was more than that. It was just about a family. I liked how you got to read about each girl individually and the different ways that each girl grew up. I knew that they would eventually meet, but the circumstances of that wasn't what I was expecting. A lot of the story was a bit predictable but there were some curveballs threw in to keep you on your toes. I'm very interested in reading the sequel to see how the story pans out.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have so much dislike for this book. It has such good ratings here on Goodreads and it's premise held promise, but I found the characters so overly dramatic and histrionic. When faced with an unplanned pregnancy, heartbreak, family discord, these characters do drastic things, like steal babies, leave for far off lands, etc. It's just so over the top that I found myself not only rolling my eyes, but dramatically quoting the book in a silly fashion. I am surprised my eyes did not get "stuck that way." I am so glad to be done with this book.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent soap-opera, melodrama, romance. About 2/3 of the way through I discovered that there is a sequel. It's going to be read very soon.

I thought the description on Amazon gave away too much of the plot, but when I started reading it, I discovered that that description was just what happens in the prologue!

This is delicious hot-fudge-sundae type reading. I wouldn't want a steady diet of it, but it is a great treat now and then.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Garden of Lies" tells the most unlikely story I've ever read. The cast of characters is so small that they keep bumping into each other and trying to outdo each other with ridiculously improbable drama. It's a fast read, a twist on the switched at birth theme, and a collection of coincidences and near misses. It's one redeeming virtue? It's perfect airplane reading: no need to concentrate--predictability rules!