Review: The Language of Flowers

Title: The Language of Flowers

Author:  Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Publisher:  Ballantine Books

Publication Date:  August 23, 2011

Reviewer: Elisa

Summary: A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.

Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness. (goodreads)

Review:  This novel follows a foster care kid, Victoria who moved around the system. It begins on her 18th birthday, emancipation day.  Each chapter alternates between now and when she was nine and adopted by Elizabeth, a woman who owns a vineyard and taught her the language of flowers.

This is a wonderful book about a prickly girl who really had a horrible childhood bouncing through the foster care system.  She would act out to get her foster parents to kick her out, like she knew they would anyway, basically a self-fulfilling prophecy.  While Elizabeth is willing to take her on, thorns and all, you know something happened down the line because she is living in a group home when emancipated.  This novel is about finding out what the event was and her figuring out her life now.  They are somehow connected.

At nine, when she finds out that flowers can be used as tools to convey messages, she becomes engaged and embraces the idea fully.

I thought about this. Misanthropy. No one had ever described my feelings in a single word. I repeated it to myself until I was sure I wouldn't forget. (pg 77)

Present day, she still doesn't trust anyone but has a way with flowers and has memorized their meanings. She finds work and finds something she is extremely good at. It isn't until later in life that she realizes flowers can have more than on meaning.

Victoria is a strong character whose actions were quite upsetting to me, but she was acting by instinct, a defense mechanism of not trusting, or believing, or hoping in anyone because of what life has taught her. Though it is still difficult to read when she does something particularly nasty and the surrounding characters are amazingly sympathetic and forgiving.  I don't know that I would have been able to be so forgiving and generous with time, patience and understanding.

I read this book fairly quickly, within two days, but I would get nervous about picking it up, because I was sad for the characters and wanted to avoid the big emotional scene I felt was coming. (I am a nervous-nelly when it comes to emotional conflict, chalk that up to being the oldest kid who was also the peacemaker). But it worked, tugged on a few heart-strings without being overly sentimental and seemed to end somewhat realistically. I quite enjoyed it and will be suggesting it for our bookclub. We will see if it sounds good to them too.  Four+ stars curiously resembling the following flowers, carried by a beaming bride down the isle. white carnation (sweet and lovely) with coriander (hidden worth) daffodil (new beginnings) and hawthorn (hope).

-Elisa