From Powells.com
Ingrid and Astrid, mother and daughter, are separated dramatically when Astrid
is twelve years old. Spurned by a lover, Ingrid's tempestuous and poetic nature
leads her to murder the man with the poison of oleander flowers. Ingrid is sent
to jail leaving Astrid to the fates of the Los Angeles foster care system. White
Oleander traces the next six years of Astrid's life as she travels from foster
family to foster family, experiencing grief, abuse, sexual awakening, and, occasionally,
a glimmer of love. This passionate coming of age story caught the attention of
Oprah's Book Club, and
went on to become a bestseller hardly surprising, considering the seductive
nature of Fitch's prose, the hypnotic flow of the narrative, and the credibility
of her characterizations. White Oleander swirls with color and poetic language
that capture emotions, images, and experiences simply and elegantly. And, at the
center of the story is the complicated and sometimes devastating relationship
between mother and daughter. Astrid's journey to self discovery requires hard
decisions and the courage to cut some of the ties that bind. With all of
its dramatic plot twists, White Oleander may veer close to melodrama, but
Fitch's prose elevates this story to something far more extraordinary. Katie,
Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"...[an] impressive first novel.... her startlingly apt language relates a story that is both intelligent and gripping." Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"A first-rate debut about a teenaged girls arduous six-year journey of self-discovery....She's an appealing protagonist, smart and vulnerable, though her formidable mother is even more intriguing, and the author brilliantly delineates the womans complexity through her letters, which are masterpieces of epistolary voice and character development. Fitch displays remarkable artistic and psychological maturity throughout....Vigorous, polished prose, strong storytelling, satisfyingly complex characters, and thoughtfully nuanced perceptions: an impressive debut indeed." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"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, 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
Review
"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