The Language of Flowers

 

Reviews by Jeanne

Growing up, I adored Agatha Christie’s mysteries, especially the ones with Miss Marple as the sleuth. However, I found myself frequently mystified by some of the clues—specifically, Miss Marple’s recognition of meaning in flowers sent as messages.  How were people supposed to know all that? As an adult, I found books on the flower languages and became intrigued.  The Victorians were the ones who really popularized the idea, and Miss Marple having grown up in that era would of course be knowledgeable about it so it all made more sense to me.  Here are a few books the library holds on the topic:

The Floral Birthday Book by Bernard F. Carter says that it is based on an old book Carter found in “an almost derelict cottage in Cornwall.”  The book had illustrations of flowers, one for each day, and a verse or anecdote accompanying.   Charmed, watercolorist Carter had the book restored as much as possible but ended up more or less recreating it himself by painting all the plants mentioned. Naturally, the first thing most people do with such a book is to look up birthdays of family and friends to see the listing! I chose October 28, which has Purple Columbine as the flower.  It means “Resolution” and the quotation is from Shakespeare. In the back is a list of all the plants (not all are flowers) with the scientific name, the meaning, and the date associated with the plant.  The true standout of this book, though, is the illustrations.  While not large at three per page, they are exquisitely detailed.  This one is great fun to browse!

More modern and in some ways more informative is The Secret Language of Flowers:  Rediscovering Traditional Meanings by Shane Connolly, photography by Jan Baldwin. This book is in sections by meanings such as “Expectations, birth & beginnings” to “Remembrance, regrets & farewells.” The text gives some excellent background on the chosen plant or flower, historical use, and meaning as well as what some mean in combination.  The pictures are lovely but sometimes are of bouquets rather than the individual flower. There aren’t as many plants listed as in the previous book, but I relished the text with the more detailed information. At the back, there is a listing of plants with the meaning, but perhaps even more important, there is a listing of meanings with the plant names.

Flowers, the Angels’ Alphabet:  The Language and Poetry of Flowers by Susan Loy features beautiful portraits of flowers with their meanings and a history.  There’s also a brief description of where the flowers grow.  These illustrations are just wonderful; I could see these framed on a wall.  These take up just about a third of the book, while the rest is devoted to meanings with the associated flower or plant, and then the reverse, the plant followed by a meaning.  With this one, complex meanings are given and it should be noted that a flower can have different meanings.  I could totally see sending messages this way, especially if you wanted to insult someone under the guise of giving them a seemingly lovely bouquet.   I have a couple of people I would like to send a scarlet geranium to, all the while having plausible deniability because there’s more than one meaning. On the positive side, I will cherish my zinnias all the more now, because they mean thoughts of absent friends.

By the way, some meanings have changed in modern day possibly due to commerce. After all, it’s better to market yellow roses as being symbols of friendship than infidelity or jealousy!

I’m ready to revisit some of those Miss Marple stories now, and with these books by my side I think I stand a better chance of cracking the case! 

 

(PS There is a charming little mystery series by Beverly Allen, The Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries, in which the heroine makes up bouquets using the language of flowers, which I enjoyed thoroughly. The first title is Bloom and Doom.)

Nevermore: Ward, Adichie, Carter, Kelly, Sides, Lewis

Reported by Ambrea

This week, Nevermore kicked off their meeting with Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward.  Jojo is thirteen-years-old and struggling to understand what it means to be a man.  With an incarcerated father, a drug-addicted mother, and an absent grandfather, he’s trying to learn and survive; luckily, he has his mother’s father, Pop, to teach him—and the ghosts from the past to help him learn.  Our reader said Sing, Unburied, Sing was a beautifully written novel.  “It’s a beautiful book about a young boy going through turmoil...it’s a story of survival,” she commented.  She thoroughly enjoyed it and she highly recommended it to her fellow readers.

Next, Nevermore checked out Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which tells the interweaving stories of Ifemelu and Obinze.  Ifemelu and Obinze, a young couple who fall in love military-ruled Nigeria, decide to leave their homeland in search of better lives; however, when Ifemelu reaches America, their plans are derailed and they find themselves separated by a vast ocean.  Our reader originally picked up the book, because it appeared on a list of favorite books from Barack Obama.  Sadly, she found she did not enjoy Americanah as much as the former president.  She thought it could have been a good book, but she found she wasn’t a fan of the main character, Ifemelu.  Although it was a well-written book, she said it wasn’t her cup of tea and she was content with leaving it unfinished.

Switching gears to nonfiction, Nevermore also took a look at Invisible:  The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster by Stephen L. Carter.  In this book, Carter explores the extraordinary life of his grandmother and America’s first black female prosecutors, Eunice Hunton Carter.  Eunice became involved in the arrest and prosecution of Lucky Luciano, one of the most powerful mob bosses in history, and was integral to devising strategies and piecing together information that would see the mobster behind bars.  Our reader said she was a little ambivalent about the style and writing of the book; however, she noted the story was great and she loved the concept.  Although she wasn’t a fan of some of the speculation the author makes, she found it to be an interesting book and recommended it to her fellow history buffs.

Next, Nevermore shared Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly, author of The Lilac Girls.  In Lost Roses, readers meet Eliza Ferriday and Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs.  Together, the duo explore Russia on the trip of a lifetime—until Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia’s imperial dynasty begins to crumble.  Our reader, who previously enjoyed The Lilac Girls, found Lost Roses to be a bit of a disappointment.  She said the characters were not likable people.  “It was way into the back [of the book] before you even like them,” she told her fellow readers.  Despite being closely based on history, the story felt terribly contrived and uninteresting.  She did not recommend it.

Returning to nonfiction, Nevermore explored Hellhound on His Trail:  The Electrifying Account of the Largest Manhunt in American History by Hampton Sides.  On April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray shot Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorrain Motel—and promptly fled to Canada and then England.  His actions spurred one of the largest manhunts in the history of North America and a media frenzy.  Our reader said Sides book was incredibly well researched and absolutely fascinating.  “It gives you context [for the time period],” she told her fellow readers.  It was also a fascinating account of James Earl Ray that offered glimpses into his history, as well insight into the Civil Rights movement.

Nevermore rounded out their meeting with another nonfiction book, The Improbable Wendell Willkie:  The Businessman Who Saved the Republican Party and His Country, and Conceived a New World Order by David Levering Lewis.  Wendell Willkie was an American businessman, who rose to prominence as the Republican candidate for president in 1940.  Although he would ultimately lose to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Willkie would gain a foothold in and help revitalize the Republican party with new ideas, including civil rights reform, internationalism, and more.  Our read found Lewis’s book to be very interesting.  She noted it had lots of footnotes—much more than she expected, she admitted—and it would sometimes grow a little wordy and dry; however, she enjoyed it overall and she recommended it to readers with an interest in World War II politics.

Nevermore: Salinger, Truman, Way of All Flesh, Education of Little Tree, The Wife, Saint Maybe

Reported by Ambrea

Nevermore kicked off their meeting with At Home in the World by Joyce Maynard.  When Maynard was entering her freshman year at Yale she received a letter from J.D. Salinger that changed her life.  He had read a story she wrote for The New York Times and admitted he admired her—and not long after, she went to live with him.  He was fifty-three; she was eighteen.  In her memoir, Maynard looks back on that year with Salinger and the repercussions of the choices she made.  Our reader said Maynard’s memoir is fascinating.  “[Maynard] is an exceptional writer,” she continued, raving about the raw emotions and honesty with which she imbues her work.  She highly recommended it to her fellow readers, noting it was a book that is real and heartbreaking and uplifting in its own way.

Next, Nevermore tackled Plain Speaking:  An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman by Merle Miller.  Composed of interviews originally intended for a television program, Plain Speaking is a book that breathes new life into the man known as Harry Truman.  Miller’s book offers insight into the thoughts and reflections of the former president, as well as provides careful background details regarding his tenure as a politician and his life beyond the Oval Office.  Our reader thought Plain Speaking was an interesting book.  At once readable and relatable, Miller’s biography proved to be thoroughly enjoyable for the insight it gave into Truman’s life and his bluff, plain-speaking personality.

The Way of All Flesh, a novel by husband and wife team under the name of Ambrose Parry, followed next.  Set within the medical community of Edinburgh in 1847, The Way of All Flesh is an eerie tale of greed, murder, and suspicion that draws Sarah Fisher and Will Raven into a mystery that could change them—or destroy them forever.  Similar to both The Anatomist’s Apprentice by Tessa Harris and Beloved Poison by E.S. Thompson, The Way of All Flesh is a dark mystery set in a time of great change and upheaval within the medical world.  Our reader said it was an interesting novel that drew her in and kept her attention.  Although she didn’t rave about it, she thought it was a decent piece of work and happily passed it on to the next reader.

Nevermore also checked out The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter.  In this novel, Carter tells the story of “Little Tree,” a Cherokee boy who was orphaned and raised by his grandparents.  He spends his childhood learning how to live in the Cherokee Way, but when he is taken away to be schooled by whites, he discovers that their way of life is much different from the one he lived and loved.  Our reader admitted she has actually read Carter’s novel several times.  “It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read,” she said.  “It’s my favorite book.”  She continued, saying she thought it was such a captivating, heartbreaking story, and she couldn’t recommend it highly enough to her fellow readers.

Next, Nevermore shared The Wife by Meg Wolitzer.  Joan Castleman has supported her husband, Joe, for decades.  Once, she dreamed of having her own literary career, but, instead, she has spent her entire marriage dedicated to Joe and his future—and now she’s decided it’s time to stop.  Our reader absolutely adored reading The Wife, surpassing even Nevermore fan-favorite The Box.  She admitted that she couldn’t put it down after she started reading.  She found Wolitzer’s novel to be absolutely captivating, creating characters who are sympathetic and a story that is enchanting and riveting and, in the end, absolutely breathtaking.  She loved reading it, and she was so very glad for the recommendation of it.

Nevermore wrapped up their meeting with Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler.  Ian Bedloe lives an ideal life:  he’s a start athlete in high school, his future is bright, and his family is happy, stable, and practically perfect—until a vicious rumor incites tragedy that leaves Ian weighted down by guilt and struggling to breathe.  Now, Ian is seeking redemption and penance and peace, and he might just find it in the life he chooses to build for himself and the ones he loves.  Our reader said she loves the way Anne Tyler writes.  “It’s descriptive and beautiful,” she told Nevermore.  “[And] it has a poetic little ending.”  Although she revealed she enjoyed Clock Dance more, she still found Saint Maybe to be a wonderful, satisfying book that just lifted Tyler higher as a favorite author.

Nevermore: Casablanca, Tristan Betrayal, Palestine, Ada Blackjack, My Planet, Where Lady Slippers Grow

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore traveled back to the Golden Age of film with We’ll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie by Noah Isenberg.  Published 75 years after the 1942 release of the movie, this volume tells the background of the making of the movie.  An exhaustive researcher, Isenberg goes back to Murray Bennett, the New York City high school teacher who originally conceived the play “Rick’s Bar Casablanca” on which the 1942 film was based.  Our reader proclaimed that the movie was quite delightful and that if you liked the movie you would surely enjoy the book.

Next up was The Tristan Betrayal by Robert Ludlum, a thriller with Stephen Metcalfe, American ambassador, in Russia in 1991.  Stephen has a long history in international affairs, most notably as an intrepid spy who infiltrated the Nazi party during World War II.  In a whirlwind adventure though Paris, Berlin, and Moscow, Stephen must find an old lover to assist in his quest to maintain the balance of power in the Russian government.  Notably, this novel was published three years after Ludlum’s death in 2001, and may or may not have been entirely written by him.  Our reader said that this was a fun read, but by the time it was over she was exhausted by all the adventures.

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by former President Jimmy Carter was published a decade ago, but still interested our next reader.  Carter brings an expansive understanding of the balance of power in the Middle East, and hopes to promote knowledge that brings peace and understanding to that part of the world.  Our reader said that she was particularly impressed by the maps provided.

Returning stateside, another reader enjoyed Where Lady Slippers Grow by Bev Freeman.  Madison McKenzie’s story began in Silence of the Bones, and continued in this, the second volume of a planned trilogy.  A young woman in East Tennessee, Madison has taken a break from college and is trying to figure out her direction in life.  Back home in small town Cold Creek, she is pulled into an unexpected role—filling in for the sheriff until an election.  Amidst hikers, murder, and mayhem, Madison continues her saga.  Our reader enjoyed the book.

Another reader enjoyed My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places by Mary Roach.  Each essay in this collection was originally published in Reader’s Digest.  Roach, a New York Times best-selling author, always seems to find the humor in every situation she encounters, and has a knack for making even difficult topics seem light and humorous.  Her husband Ed is the subject of many of Roach’s musings, from their adventures in programming the television remote to arranging furniture.

Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic by Jennifer Niven is set in 1921, as a young Inuit woman chose to travel to remote Wrangel Island, far to the northwest of Alaska.  Based on previously unpublished journals and documents, this story is an incredible tale of survival and inner strength.  The sea journey included a cat (always a draw for some,) considered good luck on the ship.  This book comes highly recommended.

Lastly, another reader was intrigued by A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey.  This recent memoir by the former FBI director explains many things about the inner workings of the United States government, including how the FBI is organized and the scope of investigations that they undertake.  Our reader found it really interesting and no matter how controversial, thinks that Comey is a very honorable man.