The Changeling Garden

by Winifred Elze

When Annie and Mark and their five-year-old son, David, move into a grand old Victorian house surrounded by a jumble of gardens, they are not prepared for the terrifying adventure that awaits them.
Little David demonstrates an immediate affinity with the plants, who protect as well as play with him. Annie soon discovers a mysterious birthright and extraordinary powers of her own. And the entire family becomes involved in a fantastic ancient feud that is rooted in the garden, but quickly takes on global implications.
The Changeling Garden is an amazement. Domestic events become frightening as familiar plants conspire to heal or kill, or even to infiltrate the minds of an entire community ... while a jungle thousands of miles away prepares to reclaim its rights to the very planet on which it lives.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

282 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a horror fantasy that tells the story of a big, unusual garden in tune with the Brazilian rain forests and the vanished Mayan civilization. Annie, Mark, and five-year-old David move into an old Victorian house sold to them with a clause that they must adhere to... that they keep up the garden and not sell it to the bank for paving over into a parking lot. When the bank makes a big offer, Annie refuses, though Mark wants to sell. Meanwhile, several women in the community are murdered by someone using arrows and have their hearts torn out. Mark, often away on business when the murders happen and an archer in college, falls under his wife's suspicion. Meanwhile David starts communing with the garden...yes it actually talks to him. Of wait...things get stranger as Annie finds herself entering the mind of an owl. She also grows fearful of biker Harley Baer, who from the start is a flat-out villain who hangs around their home wanting to rent the old garage apartment. Is Harley the murderer or simply the golem for the spirit that wants to destroy the planet, starting with paving over the garden? Now we have Mariah, an herbalist with a book belonging to her family and going back countless centuries, filled with magical plant information. A friendly Mayan priest arrives by astral means to protect Annie and David from the monstrous Toltec spirit...and so on. Although a thinking garden that speaks for the rain forest and is inhabited with Indian spirits has its merits...there is absolutely nothing ever "real" here...way, way too much unbelievable things happening and nothing really ever explained. Too many grisly murders...including the family's teenage baby-sitter...and none of it ever attracts the journalistic invasion that would be expected. The dialogue simply urges the story along without reflecting the emotional responses the deaths would seemingly evoke. It's the authors first book...and I really hated to only come up with 2.5 stars for it. Some scenes would have worked it they had been more developed and scarier. Overall...it was a captivating idea, but I just couldn't find enough of anything to make it work.

[Lc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some fun things in this thriller with supernatural elements: I loved the sentient garden, and the overall story was told well, even if it was a bit too clear who the villain was right away.

But the use of Native characters? This author really needs to do some more research instead of repeating outdated, even bigoted ideas. Of course the Native characters were stereotyped, which I, alas, have grown to expect. But um, no, the Maya did not disappear. Central America is still full of Mayan people, and it's really offensive to repeat that old, discounted idea that they all disappeared after the collapse of the Mayan cities in central America. Ugh.

I'd read another book by this author, but not if there were Native characters in it.

[Frances C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strange little novel. I didn't realize until I finished it, but it was written quite a while ago. The first few pages seemed kind of abrupt, I felt that the premise was kind of forced, but it grew on me, and I enjoyed the book overall.

[A. A. Breitling · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing story about a mother and her five year old boy who interact with the plants in their backyard garden. There is mystery, murder, and love in the story. A great read!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really liked the set-up and setting for this book, but the conflict left me cold. Annie, her five year old son and her largely absent husband move into a grand old house with a beautiful garden that talks to and protects David and Annie. Then an odd time traveling Toltec and Mayan, come to fight over her garden, and one of their human servants murders young women. The identity of the murderer is hardly a secret, since Annie knows so few people. This library copy types the book as horror; it’s not. The back of this copy of the book (not the beautiful one with green words) calls it “a garden of unearthly evil.” I’m afraid the editor didn’t read the same book I did. It is fantasy, set in the modern world, maybe urban fantasy, or magical realism, but with this odd time travel aspect. Here’s something about this slight novel: it makes me want to garden. I want Annie’s garden.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hardcover novel is one of the most physically beautiful books that I own. Everything about it is green - the pages are trimmed with the dark shade and even the text is evergreen instead of black! If only the same attention of detail could have applied to the story within. It starts out more than a bit like a fairy tale. Unfortunately, there end shifts to become preachy and overly hammers in the soapbox message at the end, creating a novel that is reminiscent of Agatha Christie and the children’s movie, Ferngully. It is an entertaining book, and I will probably keep an eye out for other books by the author. I wonder if they are as physically beautiful as this edition. I certainly hope so!

[Mary K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just found this on my shelves again. I remember reading it and feeling that it was a great representation of magical realism executed for enjoyment rather than high literary art. I read it before the current fascination with urban fantasy--it might be considered urban fantasy, but it's definitely a genre bender. The author conveys a love of the earth and concern for what's happening to it. It's beautifully written. I give it my highest praise: I want to write something that makes other people feel the same as I did when I read it.

[Robin Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the longest time I called this a favorite book and was sorry I didn't keep it on my bookshelf. I came across a copy and reread and can't figure out why I remembered the plot so differently. It was not as good as I remembered, at all. It might be the number of years between readings. Originally published and read in 1999 and reread in 2019, so much has changed. Still, this time, I will keep it on my bookshelf.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book i got on sale ( as i do most of my reading material) and keep it because i've not found another book like it. i was stoked about a killer garden and there was just a hint of that at one point but then it jumped off in an entirely different direction. not a bad book but i haven't reread it.

[Juliet Ekinaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! The description if the garden was simply magical. The story leads you down a path you didn't quite expect which I liked. A simple book that one can read over and over on a hot summer day.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I loved all the green and of course the green message.

[Kipahni · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick little read with magic, mystery and a smattering of space travel.

[JenMarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful story about a family moving into a house with a magical garden.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun story, blend of sci-fi, fantasy & mystery.