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Amazon.co.uk Review
Astrid Magnussen, the teenage narrator of Janet Fitch's engrossing first novel, White Oleander, has a mother who is as sharp as a new knife. An uncompromising poet, Ingrid despises weakness and self- pity, telling her daughter that they are descendants of Vikings, savages who fought fiercely to survive. And when one of Ingrid's boyfriends abandons her, she illustrates her point, killing the man with the poison of oleander flowers. This leads to a life-sentence in prison, leaving Astrid to teach herself the art of survival in a string of Los Angeles foster homes.
As Astrid bumps from trailer park to tract house to Hollywood bungalow, White Oleander uncoils her existential anxieties. "Who was I, really?" she asks. "I was the sole occupant of my mother's totalitarian state, my own personal history rewritten to fit the story she was telling that day. There were so many missing pieces." Fitch adroitly leads Astrid down a path of sorting out her past and identity. In the process, this girl develops a wire-tight inner strength, gains her mother's white-blonde beauty, and achieves some measure of control over their relationship. Even from prison, Ingrid tries to mould her daughter. Foiling her, Astrid learns about tenderness from one foster mother and how to stand up for herself from another. Like the weather in Los Angeles--the winds of the Santa Anas, the scorching heat--Astrid's teenage life is intense. Fitch's novel deftly displays that, and also makes Astrid's life meaningful. --Katherine Anderson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Graceful (THE TIMES )
Poignant, virtuosic and utterly captivating (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY )
However good the film version, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Renee Zellwegger, it won't beat Janet Fitch's reissued novel White Oleander. (‘ )
Liquid poetry is how Oprah Winfrey described it. (IN STYLE UK )
Poignant, virtuosic and utterly captivating (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY )
However good the film version, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Renee Zellwegger, it won't beat Janet Fitch's reissued novel White Oleander. (‘ )
Liquid poetry is how Oprah Winfrey described it. (IN STYLE UK )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book I have read in 2000!,
By OllyOctopus (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: White Oleander (Paperback)
I cannot recommend this novel highly enough, and would encourage anyone who can appreciate a well written novel to buy this book. Considering this is Janet Fitch's first novel, it is an amazing piece of literature which keeps you spellbound from beginning to end. The narrator, Astrid, tells her story of being brought up by a hippie artistic and headstrong mother who kills her boyfriend out of revenge. When Ingrid is imprisoned, the story moves on to Astrid's experiences in foster care. The neglect and abuse Astrid receives are described without being oversentimental and therefore, the reader is engrossed and completely torn by these scenes. the fact that Astrid survives the experiences shows her strength of character which is an excellent reason to read the book. However, I was also facinated by the descriptions of the American care system as well. If you only read one book next year, read White Oleander.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely amazing,
By Summer-Skin (Uk) - See all my reviews
This review is from: White Oleander (Paperback)
I well and truely loved this book.
It was so beautifully written and the decription Janet Fitch used was excellent. It really did create a vivid picture in my head and made me feel part of Astrids world. All the events that took place amazed and gripped me to the extend that I sat and read for a whole sunday without breaks, I was hooked. It really helped me because I was at a time in a my life where I just wanted to escape from everything and this book provided that trap door for me to think about something else. It moved me to tears which a book has never done before. I recommend this to everyone I adore this story.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Written with perseptive beauty.,
By Leigh (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: White Oleander (Large Print Fiction) (Paperback)
White Oleander is a passionate, hypnotic and dangerous novel, exploring un-spoken themes of today's tangled world.Janet Fitch tells the moving and complicated story of Astrid, a child raised in a potent world of beauty and destruction. Her mother, a twisted and un-earthly artist raises her daughter into this potent world, before emotionally torturing and murdering her former lover, thus leaving Astrid alone and vulnerable. “White Oleander” explores Astrid’s emotional journey through countless foster homes, where she faces incest, murder and, above all, her own powerful mind. But is not just the twisted, shocking plot which makes this novel un-missable. Fitch writes with tragic passion and charisma, making the characters and their broken worlds dance with life and colour. Each different part of Astrid’s slow clamber to adulthood evokes such empathy and impact, it is virtually impossible not to become addicted. Although the plot at times becomes very complicated, this book explores love, loss, lust and life, looking at how we can as humans adapt and change over time. However unbelievable it may seem, this story somehow really made an impact to me personally, making me look at the situations around me in a different way. Fitch makes the book especially enjoyable, by combining a high lexis and sentence structure with beautifully descriptive use of language. Her style makes the whole novel exceptionally pleasurable to read, as her selective use of verbs and adjectives helps us as readers to build up a vivid picture of the unfolding and intriguing life of a strong young ‘lady’. The book rapidly changes from an everyday story into a colourful bible for the aspiring artist in all of us. In short, I think “White Oleander” is an original and wonderful piece of modern literature. It combines everything I enjoy in a book: wonderfully likable characters, a compelling plot and bags of stylish language technique. Throughout the book, I didn’t want the novel to end. I strongly recommend this compelling book to all e readers, as I think everybody should experience Janet Fitch’s captivating account of life and how truly lucky we are. Review by Heidi-Victoria Ireland,
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