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The China Garden
The China Garden follows three protagonists over a 2-week period that culminates in a shocking event that affects them all. Fifty-year-old Laura has come home from Italy to bury her mother Angela and get her affairs in order. However, she has an unexpected surprise waiting for her until Angela's death, Laura had believed she was an only child, but the will has made allowance for a brother she had never known, adopted out at birth. In another part of town, 70-year-old Cress is grieving the loss, not only of Angela, but of her own faith. She consoles herself with irregular thefts from the op shop where she volunteers: an old wedding dress, a silver fork, small pictures of the Virgin Mary. Somewhere among these things, she knows, she will relocate faith, she will fend off fear. Kieran, the watcher, sees them both. Kieran is a gatherer of information, a 30-year-old quiz show addict who failed junior school but is good at other kinds of knowing; who knits his world together with cunningly garnered facts and lovingly stored information. As the tragic event looms, it pierces and links the lives of the three characters. The China Garden explores identity in mid-century and mid-life; examining the effects of social policies in a country struggling to re-establish a fascade of goodness and morality after a major world war. It shows how the events of mid-life, the death of parents, the confrontation with lost faith or the fruits of youthful mistakes might unravel the various versions of ourselves that we construct in order to survive.
281 pages, paperback
First published March 1, 2009
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105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 24, 2022
A classy reflection on the impact of secrets.
The China Garden explores this fraught theme of distorted identity in a novel whose characters emerge from the postwar period when the absence of effective birth control created many victims of rigid social mores.
Middle-aged Laura has returned to a coastal Queensland town to bury her mother only to discover that there are secrets in Angela’s life. Cress, an enigmatic older woman with some quirky behaviours, has secrets too, while Kieran, in his thirties and yet as simple as a child, unwittingly knows more than either of the women do.
And no one really knows Abby at all.
Read the rest at http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...
The China Garden explores this fraught theme of distorted identity in a novel whose characters emerge from the postwar period when the absence of effective birth control created many victims of rigid social mores.
Middle-aged Laura has returned to a coastal Queensland town to bury her mother only to discover that there are secrets in Angela’s life. Cress, an enigmatic older woman with some quirky behaviours, has secrets too, while Kieran, in his thirties and yet as simple as a child, unwittingly knows more than either of the women do.
And no one really knows Abby at all.
Read the rest at http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...
January 16, 2020
2 1/2 as mostly I was bored, but that may have been because I was listening to an audio book.
January 5, 2020
Once again I am dazzled by the beauty and precision of Olsson's writing. Her prologue would suggest the start of a mystery or crime story, the discovery of a newborn baby found abandoned in a front garden. However, with the focus on her three main characters, Olsson skilfully directs attention away from the opening news flash until she returns to the event at the conclusion of her story, two weeks later. I became so engrossed in the journeys of the characters at the centre of her story that I'd almost forgotten how the novel began.
Olsson's characters are complex and thoroughly engaging. With the death of her mother, and after an almost ten year separation, Laura returns from Italy and uncovers a secret that helps to explain her troubled relationship with her artist mother, Angela. Cress, an elderly grandmother, is spiritually lost after having relinquished her faith and finds sustenance in her precious relationship with grandson, Kieran. The author's careful depiction of Kieran, whose behaviour and limitations point perhaps to his being on the spectrum, is most impressive. He is drawn with affection and respect, notably the character with the clearest perspective of the other characters and their needs. At the heart of the story is the deceased artist, Angela, her sadness and reclusiveness from everyone except Kieran. And, significantly, there is the deep sense of responsibility that Kieran feels towards Amy, the young, simple girl who is burdened with secrets and fears about her life at home.
Olsson is an accomplished writer who has impressed me with her astute observations about human behaviour and emotion. I eagerly await whatever she writes next!
Olsson's characters are complex and thoroughly engaging. With the death of her mother, and after an almost ten year separation, Laura returns from Italy and uncovers a secret that helps to explain her troubled relationship with her artist mother, Angela. Cress, an elderly grandmother, is spiritually lost after having relinquished her faith and finds sustenance in her precious relationship with grandson, Kieran. The author's careful depiction of Kieran, whose behaviour and limitations point perhaps to his being on the spectrum, is most impressive. He is drawn with affection and respect, notably the character with the clearest perspective of the other characters and their needs. At the heart of the story is the deceased artist, Angela, her sadness and reclusiveness from everyone except Kieran. And, significantly, there is the deep sense of responsibility that Kieran feels towards Amy, the young, simple girl who is burdened with secrets and fears about her life at home.
Olsson is an accomplished writer who has impressed me with her astute observations about human behaviour and emotion. I eagerly await whatever she writes next!
March 14, 2024
This book is definitely a slow burn so I see why so many can give up on it. Stick with it though because the ending is its saving grace. Despite the characters lacking dimension, the story itself has some substance but more intrigue would have kept me better engaged.
July 23, 2018
I loved the weaving of relationships between the families and neighbours within the town. It left me wanting to delve further into a couple of the characters. Very good read.
September 10, 2020
Quite a dithering book, with passive characters doing nothing. Great cover.
September 25, 2021
The comment which springs to mind is, 'much ado about nothing.'
October 13, 2021
Odd. Too abstract, however, I lasted to the end
March 7, 2021
This book is really about different secrets that people keep. I thought it was ok but I did feel that the book was a bit slow in sections. It is a very slow burn.
Also the book kind of just ended without fully wrapping things up. I had a lot of unanswered questions.
Also the book kind of just ended without fully wrapping things up. I had a lot of unanswered questions.
August 14, 2011
This review was first posted @ The Australian Bookshelf
The China Garden introduces three distinct characters who are linked together unknowingly but their lives become entangled with one another as the story evolves. Laura, a middle aged woman returns home to Northern NSW for her mother’s funeral and to face the past she had hidden away from for a decade. Cress is an elderly woman who sees other people’s trash through different eyes and her grandson Kieran in his 30s lives a child-like existence bound by routine, structure and remarkable curiosity for the lives of others. We are also familiarised with young Abby who bears a secret she fears to reveal.
The author has an articulate and ingenious way with language and the writing flows much like the ocean waves on the book’s front cover. The China Garden is a piece of literature that is character driven with low plot advancement and themes of loss and sense of identity at its core.
For the first third of this book I felt quite disconnected to the characters and I did find the three POV’s confusing and the ages of the characters ambiguous, so it was difficult to relate to them. I realise the disconnectedness and uncertainty clearly reflects the experience of Laura, Kieran and even Cress who are coming to grips with the loss of Angela who was well known to some and a complete mystery to others.
Olsson tells Angela’s story through the eyes of each of the characters and it gives her a robustness which could not have been shown through just Laura’s cynical eyes or just through the idealised eyes of Kieran. But it seems Angela is the only character in this book that I feel I truly understood, could relate to and connect with. Kieran came a close second with his autistic traits which were contrasted with his gentle curiosity. Laura, I realised was very much grieving not only her mother’s loss in middle adulthood but the absence of her mother in her youth. The China Garden certainly points to the generational impact of trauma and loss and the importance of early experiences in personality development and quality of relationships in later life. I would have liked to know more about Abby as it feels like she was screaming out for someone to take a genuine interest in her rather than being taken advantage of. Fergus provided a nice balance to the story and I liked how his friendship with Laura evolved through the story.
The China Garden will suit literature lovers who enjoy slow, steady reads with intriguing characters.
3/5 rating
The China Garden introduces three distinct characters who are linked together unknowingly but their lives become entangled with one another as the story evolves. Laura, a middle aged woman returns home to Northern NSW for her mother’s funeral and to face the past she had hidden away from for a decade. Cress is an elderly woman who sees other people’s trash through different eyes and her grandson Kieran in his 30s lives a child-like existence bound by routine, structure and remarkable curiosity for the lives of others. We are also familiarised with young Abby who bears a secret she fears to reveal.
The author has an articulate and ingenious way with language and the writing flows much like the ocean waves on the book’s front cover. The China Garden is a piece of literature that is character driven with low plot advancement and themes of loss and sense of identity at its core.
For the first third of this book I felt quite disconnected to the characters and I did find the three POV’s confusing and the ages of the characters ambiguous, so it was difficult to relate to them. I realise the disconnectedness and uncertainty clearly reflects the experience of Laura, Kieran and even Cress who are coming to grips with the loss of Angela who was well known to some and a complete mystery to others.
Olsson tells Angela’s story through the eyes of each of the characters and it gives her a robustness which could not have been shown through just Laura’s cynical eyes or just through the idealised eyes of Kieran. But it seems Angela is the only character in this book that I feel I truly understood, could relate to and connect with. Kieran came a close second with his autistic traits which were contrasted with his gentle curiosity. Laura, I realised was very much grieving not only her mother’s loss in middle adulthood but the absence of her mother in her youth. The China Garden certainly points to the generational impact of trauma and loss and the importance of early experiences in personality development and quality of relationships in later life. I would have liked to know more about Abby as it feels like she was screaming out for someone to take a genuine interest in her rather than being taken advantage of. Fergus provided a nice balance to the story and I liked how his friendship with Laura evolved through the story.
The China Garden will suit literature lovers who enjoy slow, steady reads with intriguing characters.
3/5 rating
September 17, 2013
Sowohl der Klappentext als auch der Prolog des Buches vermitteln das Gefühl, dass es sich bei diesem Buch um ein dramatisches und handlungsreiches Buch handeln könnte, in dem vor allem der junge Kieran eine besondere Rolle spielt. Aber das täuscht. Denn „Der Porzellangarten“ ist ein sehr ruhiges Buch. Kieran taucht zwar durchaus in einigen Schlüsselszenen auf, aber der Schwerpunkt der Handlung liegt nicht auf seinen Eigenheiten, die durchaus besonders sind, sondern auf drei Frauen, die sehr unterschiedlich sind, sich aber im Verlauf des Buches kennenlernen und zusammenraffen. Jede von ihnen hat eine Geschichte und jede von ihnen hat eine besondere Rolle zu spielen.
„Der Porzellangarten“ ist ein Buch, das sich schwer beschreiben lässt, da die Handlung kaum greifbar wird. Es passiert nicht viel und die Autorin legt ihr Augenmerk mehr auf die Beschreibung der Personen und der Handlungsumgebung. So gibt es in diesem Buch auch kaum wörtliche Rede, da die Personen nur nebensächlich miteinander agieren oder kommunizieren. Vielmehr wird jede Figur des Buches gesondert betrachtet und ihre komplette Lebensgeschichte beleuchtet. Für Spannung sorgt das nur bedingt.
Als Eigenheit der Autorin fällt auf, dass die wörtliche Rede nicht durch Anführungszeichen gekennzeichnet ist, sondern durch Kursivschrift. Da die wörtliche Rede aber eher selten vorkommt, muss man sich an diese Besonderheit nicht zu sehr gewöhnen.
Insgesamt betrachtet handelt das Buch schwerpunktmäßig von Familiengeheimnissen und Rätseln aus der Vergangenheit, die ans Tageslicht kommen. Aber da ist nichts Überwältigendes oder Überraschendes dabei, nichts Besonderes. Stattdessen kann man sich ab einem bestimmten Punkt die Auflösung bereits denken und wird von der Autorin nicht sonderlich überrascht.
Wieso dieses Buch gerade den Titel „Der Porzellangarten“ trägt, erklärt sich während des Lesens. Der Titel passt durchaus, spielt aber eher eine untergeordnete Rolle.
Um dieses Buch genießen zu können, muss man in der passenden Stimmung sein. Etwas rührselig, etwas poetisch, etwas melancholisch. Dann bereitet der „Porzellangarten“ bestimmt auch Freude.
Mein Fazit:
Ein sehr ruhiges und eintöniges Buch, das mit leisen Tönen anstelle von großen Geheimnissen aufwartet.
„Der Porzellangarten“ ist ein Buch, das sich schwer beschreiben lässt, da die Handlung kaum greifbar wird. Es passiert nicht viel und die Autorin legt ihr Augenmerk mehr auf die Beschreibung der Personen und der Handlungsumgebung. So gibt es in diesem Buch auch kaum wörtliche Rede, da die Personen nur nebensächlich miteinander agieren oder kommunizieren. Vielmehr wird jede Figur des Buches gesondert betrachtet und ihre komplette Lebensgeschichte beleuchtet. Für Spannung sorgt das nur bedingt.
Als Eigenheit der Autorin fällt auf, dass die wörtliche Rede nicht durch Anführungszeichen gekennzeichnet ist, sondern durch Kursivschrift. Da die wörtliche Rede aber eher selten vorkommt, muss man sich an diese Besonderheit nicht zu sehr gewöhnen.
Insgesamt betrachtet handelt das Buch schwerpunktmäßig von Familiengeheimnissen und Rätseln aus der Vergangenheit, die ans Tageslicht kommen. Aber da ist nichts Überwältigendes oder Überraschendes dabei, nichts Besonderes. Stattdessen kann man sich ab einem bestimmten Punkt die Auflösung bereits denken und wird von der Autorin nicht sonderlich überrascht.
Wieso dieses Buch gerade den Titel „Der Porzellangarten“ trägt, erklärt sich während des Lesens. Der Titel passt durchaus, spielt aber eher eine untergeordnete Rolle.
Um dieses Buch genießen zu können, muss man in der passenden Stimmung sein. Etwas rührselig, etwas poetisch, etwas melancholisch. Dann bereitet der „Porzellangarten“ bestimmt auch Freude.
Mein Fazit:
Ein sehr ruhiges und eintöniges Buch, das mit leisen Tönen anstelle von großen Geheimnissen aufwartet.
August 29, 2015
Not quite a four star novel for me, though there was a lot to like about it. I had previously read Olsson's memoir, Boy Lost, which was about how her mother had her son taken from her by her husband and didn't see him again for some decades. This is a fictional version of a lost boy - in this case through adoption in the 1950s. I suppose I expected more of a correspondence between the memoir and the novel, but it is really just this theme - the bond between mothers and children and how easily it is broken or strained. The title of the novel suggests that there are things that can be broken and perhaps never repaired.
The Prologue of the novel announces (through a news bulletin) that an abandoned baby has been found in the seaside town. There is enough information for us to guess whose baby it is so there are really no surprises as the novel unfolds.
The main interest lies in the development of the three characters from whose points of view the story is told. Cress is an elderly widow who has lived in the town all her life. Kieran, her grandson, has an unnamed disorder that makes him solitary and secretive but also a silent and gentle observer of nature and of people. Laura is the daughter of Angela, a local painter who has just died. Laura has returned from Europe to settle her mother's affairs after a long estrangement between them. On her arrival she is told that when her mother was a teenager, she relinquished a son for adoption. The fourth, elusive character is Angela, whom everyone (particularly Laura) is trying to understand.
The writing is lyrical with particularly strong descriptions of the seascapes and rainforests of northern NSW. However, I felt that Olsson often overdid the writing. It became too heavy, too detailed, too freighted with meaning. This tended to obscure some of the main ideas and made me feel I needed a break from reading. The story is set over a two to three week period but it seems much longer!
Nevertheless, I am interested in this Australian writer and will follow up more of her work.
The Prologue of the novel announces (through a news bulletin) that an abandoned baby has been found in the seaside town. There is enough information for us to guess whose baby it is so there are really no surprises as the novel unfolds.
The main interest lies in the development of the three characters from whose points of view the story is told. Cress is an elderly widow who has lived in the town all her life. Kieran, her grandson, has an unnamed disorder that makes him solitary and secretive but also a silent and gentle observer of nature and of people. Laura is the daughter of Angela, a local painter who has just died. Laura has returned from Europe to settle her mother's affairs after a long estrangement between them. On her arrival she is told that when her mother was a teenager, she relinquished a son for adoption. The fourth, elusive character is Angela, whom everyone (particularly Laura) is trying to understand.
The writing is lyrical with particularly strong descriptions of the seascapes and rainforests of northern NSW. However, I felt that Olsson often overdid the writing. It became too heavy, too detailed, too freighted with meaning. This tended to obscure some of the main ideas and made me feel I needed a break from reading. The story is set over a two to three week period but it seems much longer!
Nevertheless, I am interested in this Australian writer and will follow up more of her work.
October 4, 2016
Strange book. The blurb says "when a newborn baby is found abandoned in a backyard, this dramatic event pierces the lives of three very different women", which makes you think that's the sole plot of this book, but the baby in question isn't even born until page 253, and there's only 279 pages in the entire book. The baby, and the fact that is was abandoned, did not "pierce the lives" of three women. In fact, two of them had nothing to do with the baby other than the fact that they THOUGHT someone they knew had raped the mother and was the father of the baby. This was not true, and thus their involvement in the baby's life ended there. The mother of the baby was the other person whose life was pierced, which is fair enough as she was 16 and was being beaten by her father, but as soon as those facts are revealed, they are solved, by the father being charged with assault, and the baby being looked after by the hospital until it's fit to go home again.
The book is actually about Kieran. It follows him around for 2 weeks and shows how he is involved in the lives of these 3 women (although he is hardly involved in Laura's life at all, and only meets her towards the end of the book). The sub-plots to this book were not needed and had no real beginning, middle or end. I found myself skipping entire paragraphs that were not relevant to the story. There were also a lot of loose ends left: you never found out if Cress resolved her kleptomania, or if Laura found her long lost brother. Nor did you ever get a clear answer of what is wrong with Kieran. The only person who did get a happy ending - or an ending at all - was Abby, the 16-year-old mother. I believe the story would have been a lot more interesting, and heartbreaking, had it been solely about her life.
The book is actually about Kieran. It follows him around for 2 weeks and shows how he is involved in the lives of these 3 women (although he is hardly involved in Laura's life at all, and only meets her towards the end of the book). The sub-plots to this book were not needed and had no real beginning, middle or end. I found myself skipping entire paragraphs that were not relevant to the story. There were also a lot of loose ends left: you never found out if Cress resolved her kleptomania, or if Laura found her long lost brother. Nor did you ever get a clear answer of what is wrong with Kieran. The only person who did get a happy ending - or an ending at all - was Abby, the 16-year-old mother. I believe the story would have been a lot more interesting, and heartbreaking, had it been solely about her life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2012
Sprachlich sehr schön geschrieben. Was mich beim Lesen allerdings immer wieder irritiert hat, war die kursiv gesetzte direkte Rede (anstelle von Anführungszeichen) - dadurch hatten diese Passagen eher etwas von einem inneren Monolag, obwohl es sich um einen Dialog zweier Charaktere handelte. Inhaltlich ein sehr ruhiges Buch, mir manchmal sogar ein wenig zu ruhig. Ich lese es irgendwann, wenn ich in passenderer Stimmung bin, vielleicht noch einmal...
May 31, 2009
A pleasant and enjoyable book with a good story line.
July 9, 2009
A reasonably well written, reasonably interesting, reasonably readable book. Does not inspire many emotions on any level.
April 28, 2014
If there was some sort of message in this book, I totally missed it, very pedestrian.
March 30, 2009
average-ish
June 9, 2014
Beautiful writing full of melancholy. Interesting to read alongside her non-fiction work Boy, Lost.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews