"Charleen is thirty-something and newly divorced, left to support herself and her son on her meager income as a researcher and writer for a journal. She contemplates her life through smart and funny anecdotes about her past and her failed dreams of being a poet while she rediscovers joys in life through her friends and a new love interest. Just when she finds herself happy with her life changes, her father has a massive heart attack, her mother remarries, and she travels across Canada for the wedding. Much of the book describes Charleen's relationship with her mother, which is loving although very strained. Both women have ended a relationship with a husband and both are attempting to find their new roles. Everyday domestic activities provide material for squabbles, like whether to draw the curtains or how to prepare a meal, and Charleen struggles with whether to allow her mother to continue to scold her like a child. "
Jessica Marler, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of The Box Garden
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1960's-1970's
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Mother (or standin)
Family, caring for ill
Yes
Who is sick?
- Father
because he/she is
- physically ill
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 60's-90's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 (a fair amount)
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Canada
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
