Title : A Memory of Violets
Author : Hazel Gaynor
Publication date: February 3rd 2015
by William Morrow
A Memory of Violets actually wasn't on my to-read list. I had been eyeing this book for some times but acting like a dumbass I was, I kept on hesitating and postponing. It haunted me, really. Everytime I logon to Goodreads, this book pops up on the recommendation. Well, I do have soft spot for books about flowers or garden, maybe that is why it begged to be read?
This novel is true to the tagline : a novel about London flower sellers. What makes it special and heart-wrenching is, the flower sellers were two sisters age 8, Flora Flynn and 4, Rosie Flynn from a very poor family. Decades later, Tilly Harper discovered a box filled with trinkets and a diary of Flora Flynn revealing a heartbreaking facts about her life. I am not telling what it is, you have to read yourself.
The story is told by different perspective mainly by Tilly and Flora. Within the first few chapter, I knew that this novel was going to toy with my emotions. The entries from Flora's diary especially. It's written so beautifully that I could feel how painful her experience was. Mind you I am not a person who cries because of a book, but this one successfully made me sob like a possessed mad woman. I cried whenever I read Flora's point of view and I am glad because Gaynor arranged the chapters alternately, otherwise I'd end up sobbing until the last page.
I've walked the streets these last days and nights, desperate to hear Rosie's sweet little voice. Like the cock linnets, singing in their cages, that's what she sounds like. If only I could hear her sing. If only I could see that beautiful red hair. If only I could feel her little hand in mine.
I thought Tilly's story was just fillers and has nothing to do with Flora whatsoever. I was wrong. Tilly's point of view is also as interesting as Flora's. Don't blame me, though. She was just a 20 year old girl with a family crisis, which is not usual for people of her age. She also had her own mystery to reveal and although it didn't release my tears, I did find it touching.
"You'd do well to observe your appearance as closely as you observe those wildflowers. Sketching harebells will not find you a husband, Matilda, of that I am quite sure."
Don't you love it the way people back then defined success with finding a husband? While I am a family oriented person, I find it funny they judged a girl by whether she was able to attract a man. Oh, and I love how this book ends. It sort of giving me goosebumps although this is not a horror book to begin with. A lovely conclusion and I reached the very last page with a satisfaction.
Easy 5 rating for A Memory of Violets. Prepare a box of tissue if you intend to read it. I am sure you're going to need it. I have this feeling that this novel would be one of my top favorite book I read this year. It is still haunting me the very second I write the blog post. Now I'd love to know about what you read! What book made you cry?
