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Book Reviews Title White
Oleander Fiction-Net
Rating Buy It
From Amazon.co.uk - BUY
NOW! Cover
Story "Janet Fitch
writes with breathtaking beauty about the central
theme of our age: the search for self. White
Oleander is a remarkable debut novel." - Robert
Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange
Mountain "This is what
you're after when you're browsing the shelves for
something good to read. White Oleander is a siren
song of a novel, seducing the reader with its
story, its language, and, perhaps most of all, with
its utterly believable (and remarkably diverse!)
characters. The narrator is particularly memorable
- there were times she made me want to cheer and
weep simultaneously. Finishing this book made me
feel gratefully bereft, and I look forward to Janet
Fitch's next work." - Elizabeth Berg, author of
Durable Goods and Range of Motion We
Say Many have
suffered from a less than perfect childhood, and
for those that have endured and survived, the
stories they tell make us vow we will not allow
such suffering to occur again. In many cases,
however, adversity creates characters we admire.
Janet Fitch creates a very memorable character in
her novel, White Oleander. For the most part, the
novel is the story of a young girl's coming of age
while she floats through the foster care system.
Astrid's mother is convicted of murder and as a
result, Astrid moves from foster home to foster
home. With each move, Astrid is presented with
conflicting ideas of morality. While some may feel
the novel is a remarkable 'search for self' and
coming of age, I found the relationship between
mother and daughter much more interesting. Astrid's
suffering immediately captures our attention.
Astrid is a little girl who is wise beyond her
years because of her mother's less than
conventional lifestyle. Fitch's portrayal of a
young girl's fight to survive a less than nurturing
parent is moving and realistic. Astrid spends her
days trying to avoid causing her mother any
trouble, fearful that her mother will no longer
want her. Ingrid, Astrid's mother is beautiful and
eccentric. Astrid believes that the only reason her
mother holds a job is because she must provide for
a daughter she doesn't really want. Astrid idolizes
her mother, and as a result, she becomes well
versed at reading her mother's emotions. Ingrid on
the other hand does not realize that she doesn't
really know her daughter. After Ingrid is
convicted and imprisoned, Astrid moves through a
series of foster homes. Her various foster parents
force her to reexamine everything her mother has
taught her. Ingrid's lessons in survival are cold
hearted and selfish causing Astrid to wonder if her
mother's beliefs are really valid. Fitch has
created a memorable relationship between Astrid and
her mother, however, I found many events in young
Astrid's life unbelievable. It is here that I
believe the story loses some of its strength. I
readily admit that there are problems with the
foster care system, but I found Astrid's
experiences as a foster child a little too
contrived to be believable. Fitch creates such a
realistic relationship between Astrid and her
mother that the sensationalism seemed unnecessary
and it detracted from the beauty of Fitch's
writing. Perhaps the
strength of this novel lies in Fitch's ability to
portray such a troubled mother and daughter
relationship accurately and honestly. We are all
products of our parents, but how we choose to live
our lives is distinctly influenced by our own life
experiences. Ironically Ingrid's attempt to teach
her daughter how to be independent and to rely on
no one ultimately causes Astrid to realize that her
mother's self centered life is ultimately wrong.
Eventually, Astrid realizes that her mother creates
her own reality to suit her selfish desires and
needs. I found myself wanting the relationship
between mother and daughter to be the main focus
because Fitch does such a good job in that area.
Overall, White Oleander was an impressive novel
that demonstrates Fitch's potential as a
writer. Review by: Yumi
Nagasaki-Taylor |
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