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A bestselling first novel about a young woman growing up the hard way, this is a powerful story of mothers and daughters, their ambiguous alliances, and the search for love and identity. When a woman murders a former lover and is imprisoned for life, her daughter must navigate a new reality--that of a series of foster homes, each its own universe, each with its own limits and dangers. "A ferocious, risk-loving novel."--"Los Angeles Times Book Review."
Synopsis:
Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes-each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned-becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.
Kelly A, April 15, 2010 (view all comments by Kelly A)
The characters in this book are real and deliciously contradictory, embodying Walt Whitman's statement that he can contain multitudes. No one is all bad or all good and the "victim's" story does not stop there or end predictably with vindication.
The portrait of Los Angeles is fascinating enough to make the city itself one of the characters.
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bthompson12603, June 10, 2008 (view all comments by bthompson12603)
I am a fan of Oprah's Book Club books, but this one didn't always keep my attention. Not one of my favorites but it was ok. It was a bit slow for my taste, I had to re-read a few parts because I would drift off and be thinking about other things while reading. But the good parts are good...I just wish it was all that good.
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Krystal, August 20, 2006 (view all comments by Krystal)
Astrid is a young girl when her mother goes to jail, so she ends up in foster care. The influence of her complicated relationship with her mother is present in every home she goes to. She is forced to deal with growing up without a mother in an ever changing and usually hostile world.
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White Oleander (Oprah's Book Club)
Used Trade Paper
Janet Fitch
0 stars -
0 reviews
$6.50
In Stock
Product details
464 pages
Back Bay Books -
English9780316284950
Reviews:
"Synopsis"
by Ingram,
Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes-each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned-becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.
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