Astrid had been raised by her mother, Ingrid, a beautiful, headstrong poet. Astrid's world revolves around Ingrid; she forgives her everything. Until Ingrid murders a former lover and is imprisoned for life.
WHITE ORLEANDER by Janet Fitch
Published: 1999
Genre: Bildungsroman, Novel, Coming of Age
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm so excited to review this book as it's easily one of my favourites. It's the perfect novel, a seemingly simple coming of age story that becomes so profoundly beautiful and mournful to the soul when reading.
Ingrid is Astrid's world. A poet, a free spirit; she is all Astrid aspires to become. But when Ingrid murders her former lover and is jailed for life, her twelve-year-old daughter Astrid is left alone. With her father long gone, Astrid is placed into care.
The book follows her journey through a sequence of foster homes, all of which she adapts to like a wary chameleon, changing her colours to blend and survive each new home and circumstance, for they all come with their struggles and their dangers. Each new home and family is a world of it's own, complete with new rules and relationships. Relationships that Astrid struggles to keep hold of and protect from her mother who jealously intervenes in her daughter's happiness, even from her prison cell.
The destruction of Astrid's universe, one family at a time, is a horrible yet inevitable thing to witness and adds to the compelling nature of this novel.
Astrid is a young protagonist, but her emotional depth makes her so intriguing to read. This story deals strongly with the connection and bonds between mother and daughter and how difficult they are to maintain despite being impossible to sever, no matter the circumstance. It's filled with the heartfelt and very real longing of a young girl searching for her place in the world. Where does she belong without the force of her mother to guide her impressionable mind? Should she allow her mother to influence her still? It's the story of Astrid's self discovery, and emancipation from a suffocating situation beyond her control.
White Oleander's bildungsroman style leads us on an evolutionary journey, and you won't be able to stop reading to see if Astrid makes it out to the other side.
I'm in love with the dreamy, artistic tone. Of the futile hope that Astrid carries and relights each time she moves to a new home. Despair is easier to drown in than hope is to sustain, and hers is admirable.
I strongly recommend this book. The 2002 film adaptation staring Michelle Pfeiffer is also incredible, though of course a film can never capture the fine details and thought patterns of a book, so please experience both, and appreciate them as individual creations and explorations of Astrid as a character.
Let me know your thoughts on this book if you've read it. It's certainly one I'd recommend adding to your book bucket list!
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Zuzu 🖋
@zuzuspages on
I absolutely adored this book, so visually beautiful, and the emotions so deeply felt. I agree, the film was a good adaption too 💋x
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