White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Many, many, many years ago I watched this movie. I cannot remember anything about it really, other than the fact that Billy Connolly 'bit it' by drinking something that had white oleanders soaking in it. Or at least, that is what I think I remember in the movie. What I do know is that it gave me a lot of respect for the oleander bush in our garden.

When Astrid Magnusson is young, she witnesses her mother, Ingrid, have such a vengeful breakdown at being used by a man that she poisons him. Astrid spends the remainder of her youth going from one foster home to another while her mother is in prison.

Typed up like that I can see two things 1) I should not get a job writing synopses because 2) the book is a lot better than that synopsis makes it sound.

The story itself is one of heartache. As the story progresses, we see a young girl go from innocence to experienced as a young adult in her quest to find love with the absence of her mother. The change is gradual, and peppered with the disappointment and cruelty of the heartless world of the foster care system. We see her longing for her mother, and yet feeling the poison of her mother and wanting her evicted from her system. This is a worthwhile read, but it isn't one that is going to give you warm fuzzy feelings.

From what I have seen of the reviews about this one, it is a book that you either love or hate. Some people feel that what Astrid goes through is unrealistic and unnecessary and that it is one bad thing after another. Others feel it is a brilliant story of a mother-daughter relationship. If we are just talking about those two situations, I am caught somewhere in between. While Astrid does not have an easy life, and I really wanted her to have a lucky break while reading the book, there is almost always someone positive with her. And while I am not in a camp that would ever claim that she and her mother have a good relationship, I think she meets and learns from all the women in the book - be they good or bad, and that all those relationships add up to something. Clearly, you can tell that this book made me really care for Astrid - even when she did silly things.

The language is fantastic. It is almost poetical with its vivid descriptions. The reading experience, just of admiring the words on the page, makes this a worthwhile book to pick up. Of course vivid language really touches one, so be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster. But it is worth it, at least in my opinion.

I liked the questions this book raised: questions about how women behave, how we should behave. While most of this advice is given outright by Ingrid, she is not in a position to be seen as a good advisor, nor do her previous actions. But I could not help feeling that Ingrid did have some good points.

I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads. I thought it was brilliant. I would recommend it to folks who love well-written books, folks who love books with character development, and books with a bit of a feminist edge to it.