The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
I have been recommended to read Kate Morton for a while (you know who you all are), but I’m sorry to disappoint, because the book just was not for me. I was kind of bored with it. . .
I tried to like it, but I just didn’t. . . I mean, I did like the twists in the story, but I just didn’t ever care enough about the characters . . .
But then, I have The Golem and The Jinni by Helene Wecker (thanks to the Devourer of Books) which was really long but surprisingly good!
We discussed it over at Devourer of Books, but I’ll give you a quickie overview here. A golem is created by a rabbi in order to be a wife for a not-so-wonderful man. Problem? A golem is inherently bad, and will listen to a master. . . but can still get out of hand.
A jinni (much like the genie we think of) is released from a bottle after many years, but still manacled. Why? How’d he get like that?
Both the golem and the jinni are lucky enough to meet mentors that help guide them on their paths. But they are both very restless creatures, and when they coincidentally meet each other, their lives change.
So even though the book is super long, take a chance on it! It’s worth the read.
Have you read either of these books?
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I watched the cute little bunny fall over way too many times.
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Oh my goodness, right? Too cute! I found it and it actually made me think. . . like they actually put a bunny in a mini office and had it fall asleep?
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Totally with you on The Forgotten Garden. That’s one of those books that was SO hyped up a few years ago, and I read it and just didn’t care about it at all.
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Yeah, it wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t sucked in like I expected to be.
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Ha ha, love the bunny! I think I read The Forgotten Garden back in the day. If I’m thinking of the same book I wasn’t overly thrilled with it.
I haven’t read The Golem and the Jinni but I’m pretty darn curious about it. I’ve heard a lot of good things!
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The Golem and the Jinni is much more of a book I think is your style.
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I liked The Forgotten Garden, but didn’t love The House at Riverton, another Kate Morton novel. Of course, I’m drawn to books about gardens anyway, being a flower fiend. (Not that this was really that much about the garden, but still…) The Golem and the Jinni sounds fascinating- I love new explorations of folklore.
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Maybe that’s why I wasn’t so swept away, because I’m not like a huge garden person. But I just felt a little distanced from some of the characters. Oh well! We all are entitled to our opinions!
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I haven’t read either of these, but my dad read Kate Morton’s book a few years ago (he stole it off my mum’s christmas pile!) and liked it although he said it was a little slow.
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Definitely! It was good, but not something that knocked me off my feet. It’s a slow read for sure, but that’s not always a bad thing.
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OMG I can’t believe you didn’t like The forgotten garden!
I’m still trying to understand it… Will our friendship be affected by this statment? I have a lot to think about…
But I am going to forgive you becuase I liked the rabbitt falling asleep 😀
I didn’t know the other book, but it sounds good.
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Hahahaha!!!! It’s not that I disliked the book, I just didn’t like it. . . I think I expected to be totally swept away but ended up feeling a little bored. But I still trust your bookish opinions!
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I’ve read The House at Riverton and whilst I found it okay, what you’ve said of Garden kind of fits here, because Riverton goes on a bit. You end up waiting for reveals and such that you already know. The Golem and the Jinni, on the other hand, I’ve only heard good words about.
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So maybe Kate Morton is just a fan of slower, more relaxed writing. It just isn’t my thing as much.
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I have been hearing a lot about The Golem and the Jinni- sounds really good! And the Jersey Shore thing kinda freaked me out a bit- would rather watch the rabbit over and over.
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Hahaha! I just like how they are all so surprised. They prob just found out someone didn’t go tanning or something.
I agree that the rabbit is much cuter!
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I saw The Golem and the Jinni pop up on a book tube (youtube) post today. It looks great. Cover love!
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Oooooh I haven’t seen a vid on it!
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Jinni! One of my favorite Scrabble words… uses the J and you get to dump 2 I’s, which always seem to appear on my rack in bulk. 🙂 /endScrabbleNerding
I haven’t read the Kate Morton, but sorry to hear it wasn’t what you expected. That’s always so disappointing, when you’ve hyped yourself up for a title.
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Jinni is a real word??? Like a genie? Or did you never actually look it up? (Also a Scrabble nerd, that’s how my husband proposed btw, by glueing “Rebecca will you marry me” on a board. PS. Not OUR board, a diff one, so we can still play!)
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I can’t believe you didn’t love this book! Maybe we gave you bigger expectations than we should have. But I feel better knowing that several people loved this book, not just me 🙂
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It totally was not just you for sure! But I think it’s just a slower type of read, which could be why you all loved it, since it’s slow and beautiful. But it wasn’t what I expected I guess!
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I’ll fall into the camp that liked The Forgotten Garden, but Morton’s Secret Keeper left me cold and I didn’t even finish it. Haven’t yet read The Golem & the Jinni — thanks for the tip.
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She seems to have completely mixed reviews! I’m not sure whether to give her another chance or give up. . .
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I liked The Forgotten Garden, I think it’s her best. The House at Riverton was enjoyable too, but The Distant Hours wasn’t that good. If you don’t like The Forgotten Garden, then stay away from her other books, LOL.
Too bad you didn’t like it, maybe we told you too many times that you have to read it, so your expectations of it was high 😦
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I definitely agree. I might have been expecting something that would blow me out of the water, and it was a good book, but not amazing. But like I said, I still trust your judgment! 🙂
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I am so sorry your intro to Kate Morton was through The Forgotten Garden–not her best. The House at Riverton, though, is fantastic!
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I’m hearing mixed reviews like crazy. I think I’ve decided that I need to give her another chance. . . but it sounds like I need a survey to figure out which one is her best! Everyone differs on that opinion!
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I read both novels, Forgotten Garden and Golem and the Jinni. I love both. But, like they said everyone has different tastes. Thanks for the post.
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Most of my friends loved The Forgotten Garden! I think I could have enjoyed it more if I read it at a different time, but again, differences in book opinions helps give us things to discuss! 😀
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