For some, life is a smooth and simple transition from adolescence into adulthood. They know what they want to do with their lives, hardly seeming to stumble as they journey down their chosen paths. For the rest of us, this same transition is one of the most arduous and confusing periods of our lives, years marked by indecision and apathy which threaten to ruin our careers before they even get started. For the smooth sailors out there, I have two words for you, lucky buggers. For the rest of us, Jane Shaw offers, in her memoir of finding passion and purpose in an organic, Greek garden, a glimmer of hope.
Having more or less washed out of the British Navy, Ms. Shaw, in her early 20s, was adrift and purposeless when she applied for an internship as a horticulturist at Helicon, a five acre garden in Greece. Against her expectations, she was accepted for the position by the garden's eccentric overseer, Joy, a British bon vivant whose vitality defies her 74 years. Though their early months together are rocky, characterized by a perfectionist's criticism from Joy and intemperate living conditions for Jane, the two ease their way into a comfortable, parental relationship, with Joy handing down her knowledge and her standards to Ms. Shaw who, in turn, offers herself to Joy as a companion in the older woman's various madcap crusades, most of which focus on her neighbor who she believes to be illegally stealing precious water. As Ms. Shaw's time at Helicon stretches from weeks to months, she acquaints herself with the garden's character, as well as its neighbors and those who live and work in the nearby village. But these friendly relations are challenged when the garden must be sold, but to whom? And will the new owners promise to keep the garden in its full, natural glory?
Ms. Shaw does a wonderful job describing Helicon, its plants, its paths, its charms, and its difficult weather. But while the garden and its cast of related characters are delightful, it's her relationship with Joy that steals the show and gives soul to this piece. Joy is the perfect hippy grandmother, a woman who'd think nothing of giving wine to kids at dinner while teaching them the meaning of hard, dedicated work. Yes, distance helps the reader to laugh at Joy's prickliness, not to take it personally as Ms. Shaw occasionally does, but I doubt I am the only one who'd kill for a relative like Joy, someone to admire and fear, laugh with and cringe at, in equal measure. Ms. Shaw's fine, sensible, earthy prose makes Joy leap off the page and, for this, I am grateful.
A lovely read, well-balanced between light-hearted and soberly introspective. (4/5 Stars)
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