Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Garden of Everlasting Spring

The curse hanging over the Laguna family ruins golden-eyed Clara’s love. The distress thrown on the girl causes a miracle to happen; the red house’s garden starts to bloom all year around despite nature’s laws. Women from the next generations live condemned by the merciless fate of unhappy love, loneliness and revenge. Will any of them manage to reverse their destiny? "The Garden of Everlasting Spring" is written in a colorful language. It is a multi-generational saga, where the heroines fall in love only once - for life. It is a stunning and inspiring story of hidden passions, sinful pleasures and about the power of love.

This book was originally written in Spanish, and it seems it has only been translated to Polish for now, so no, it isn't available in English. Yet, when it comes out, I really, really recommend readers that are fan of romance and drama to buy it.

I was in Poland, in my little southern village called Iwonicz Zdroj, when I bought this book. The cover was like a magnet. (I need to brag about how polish publishing houses know how to choose the best covers, even more beautiful than the American ones. :P ) I must say I wasn't disappointed by this novel, and if it wasn't for school, I would have already read it. I can't believe such a masterpiece was left unread for 3 months!

In Spanish; "The house of impossible love", and in Polish; "The Garden of Eternal/Everlasting Spring", is the kind of book that is so good you fear of reading it for too long, and end up reading it bits by bits, enjoying it slowly, and looking forward to the next time you'll pick it up. The books that I read this way are rare, but they always come out as my favorite works, the kind I can read over and over again.

This story is first of all a saga, and it starts in Spain, in a little village in the mountains around 1896. It is the story of multiple characters, that spreads over an entire century. Some might be ready to argue that because the characters live and die, and new ones appear, none of them are developed sufficiently enough for the 340 pages that contains the book. Wrong. The book is all about the characters, their love, misery, happiness. Their story is narrated so well that we very easily get to know them. I must say I loved all of the characters. They all had their faults and strengths, and every woman brought something new. The relationships were explored on all sides, and even when the time if a character came and went, her deeds weren't forgotten. They were mentioned again later in the book. Their presence never disappeared.

Another thing I loved about this book is that it's a saga. It takes place during an entire century. The changes of times, the world's evolution, all that was magnificently portrayed. I loved seeing the characters grow up, pass from childhood to adulthood and then give birth to the next girl, and watch the curse take effect each time. Of course it isn't really a 'curse'. The story has nothing to do with magic and spells. It's a beautiful tale of love and passion, and how it isn't love that dies, but ourselves.

The writing; Exquisite. Inspiring. Beautiful. Masterpiece. The book itself is a masterpiece in my eyes. The writing made the world come alive; the smells, every shadow and light, the colors, the characters themselves. There's only one book whose writing ever inspired me so much, and it was Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty (and its sequels).

I have nothing negative to say. This book isn't filled with action. It isn't a thriller you read in one sitting. it isn't Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games. It also isn't a cliche and sappy romance story like Twilight. It's this beautiful thing you don't want to die. I think it deserves a prize of some sort.

-Beryl
The Garden of Everlasting Spring by Cristina Lopez Barrio Rating: 9,7/10

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