Today we are lucky to have Jillian Mcclennan , an artist , nurseryman , and true rose enthusiast , as invitee reviewer for the fresh novel , The Care and Handling of Roses with Thornsby Margaret Dilloway . Jillian was also kind enough to share some of her gorgeous rosebush photos with us which I have included in the brushup . Take it forth , Jillian …
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I ’m not one for novels about human relationship ( that do n’t have at least one spaceship in them . ) As for medical dramas , I stopped watch them on goggle box in the 90 ’s . And a book about the indium - and - outs of raising teenager might make a good plant stand … The Care and Handling of Roses With Thornslooked like the utter opposite of anything I ’d want to read .
spray of compassion roses by Jillian Mcclennan
Because of this , I was surprised to discover myself thinking warmly of the characters in this novel , in between bouts of reading it . “ Missing ” them , as it were .
Gal Garner is an alert , no - bunk woman , who teaches biological science to older teen , cover roses competitively , and gets on with various aspect of her serious kidney disease . Each of these parts of her life is showcased to the reader via her ironical good sense of humour , each has an intriguing man in it , and no one aspect of the story prevail . Like a fighter juggler , Dilloway equilibrize all three narrative strands easily .
As a nurseryman and casual - but - sometimes - obsessional rose grower , I was fascinated to learn about Hulthemia roses , Gal ’s prize pink wine . I ’d never heard of them . I looked them up online to be sure they were n’t fable , for they sounded like a rose I could get into . Because they are fairly young , they are n’t yet bred to be “ consumer friendly ” . I like the theme of a rare , fussy rose , and enjoyed obsessing with Gal over her Hulthemias .
Despite her sickness ( “ pink wine ? ” No , kidney disease … ) Gal does her upright to wish for her teenaged niece , who unexpectedly comes to live with her in her southern California home . Other characters in Gal ’s kinfolk are gently chalk out , with her parents coming across almost as caricatures , but it works . I find even the brief mentions of Gal ’s sister Becky effective and affecting . No matter how few line a fibre gets , Dilloway creates evocative moment that feel true .
Even so , it remains a light read , often gently funny . I have n’t meet quite this mixture of substance and lightness in a fabricator before . A humane , lovely , graceful read .
Thanks to Jillian for her funny and thoughtful review of this late book night club selection . For more information onGarden Therapy Book Club , please click the tab at the top of the pageboy .
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