An Iowa Garden

I've just finished reading the first of my new garden books, and I said I'd post a little review about each one that I read. However, in this case, I'm not the right man for the job... or I should say, not the right person for the job, for it turns out that this is really a woman's book that is somewhat peripherally about gardening. I hate to say anything construed as being negative about this slim (244 pages) little book, for the author, Dorothy Sucher, is a wonderful writer... she is an accomplished author of mystery books, and brings a truly terrific writing style and voice to The Invisible Garden. It's just that: a) it's not all that much about gardening (through the first 2/3 of the book I was saying to myself that the garden in this book really WAS invisible), b) people keep dying or being estranged (about one ever 60 pages, which is a lot for a gardening book), c) the mood through much of the book is as sparing and restrained as the cold Vermont countryside she lives in.
I sort of think this book was originally intended to be more about gardening than it turned out; but it's like Liz when she leaves a voicemail for somebody... she sets out properly, then meanders off into a half dozen conversational byways and side-roads, and ends up leaving a five minute message that's more of an essay on life as it is today. Once after one of these soliloquies, she hung up the phone and said, "Oh God, did I just say all of that?" So, I think it's a woman thing, and this is a woman's book, that is partially about gardening. If you like terrific writing, and you're a woman, I sincerely (and seriously) highly recommend this book. It just wasn't for me... but as George Costanza would say on Seinfeld: "It's not you, it's me."