The Memory Garden

Starred review from March 24, 2014
In her first novel, Rickert, whose Map of Dreams was a World Fantasy Award winner for short fiction, unwinds the magic and mystery of a mother and daughter and three old friends, all at the fragile juncture of truth and forgiveness. At the heart of the story are 64-year-old Nan, rumored to be a witch, and her 16-year-old adopted daughter, Bay, bound by a carefully guarded secret that’s revealed during a weekend reunion of Nan’s childhood friends, Mavis and Ruthie. Ghosts live in the garden of Nan and Bay—an angry boy killed in a car crash, an abused girl who died after a botched abortion, a disgraced neighbor—and Bay can see them. Only her beloved Nan, dying Mavis, and tortured Ruthie can explain to Bay the melancholic restlessness of the ghosts, and the history that is connected to Bay’s origin. But in the end, Bay has the magic that heals and comforts Nan with the realization that “t’s one thing to be forgiven by someone else, another to forgive yourself.” Bay’s story is just beginning here, and Rickert marks a clear path for a sequel to this rich fantasy. “All I can do is teach her the basics and watch what she does,” Nan says, as she marvels at Bay’s supernatural talents. With this tale, Ricket can build an audience that will marvel at her witchy talents. Agent: Howard Morhaim, Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.

April 15, 2014
With its fairy-tale qualities, this debut novel is sure to charm readers. Nan has raised her daughter, Bay, in their isolated, rural home. Now a teenager, Bay is unaware that her mother has held several secrets from her past. But during one summer, Nan decides to come to terms with this, for her sake as well as for Bay's. Nan invites two girlhood friends for a weekend, though these pals haven't seen one another in decades. Nan must share with her chums, Ruthie and Mavis, the unusual details of how Bay came to be her daughter. The festive weekend is complicated by the arrival of a few other guests, each with their own tales to reveal. Much of the story takes place in Nan's gardens, where her lovely plants and flowers are almost as enchanting and developed as the novel's characters. VERDICT Readers who enjoy the magical realism of novels by Sarah Addison Allen, Laura Esquivel, and Alice Hoffman will savor Rickert's mesmerizing and magical novel of friendship and family. Each chapter's heading includes a brief botanical description of a particular flower or plant and these details also encompass folktale and mythological information.--Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA

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