Book Review: The Wonder Garden by Lauren Acampora

The Wonder Garden by Lauren Acampora is a collection of stories that intersect in suburbia. Her keen observations capture American life, and her writing is lively - tinged with humor and pathos.

cover blurb: Acampora's characters are neighbors, lovers, friends who, beneath their dreamy suburban surface, are nothing like they appear. These intricate tales reveal at each turn the unseen battles we play out behind drawn blinds, the creeping truths from which we distract ourselves, and the massive dreams we haul quietly with us and hold close.

I liked the flow of these stories as various characters popped up in the thirteen tales. Her descriptions were spot on and I could appreciate the underlying tensions the author created in seemingly simple dialogue or actions.

p.27   The growl of John's truck dies as he cuts the ignition. He steps along the front walk, over the same seven cracks in the flagstone that grow wider each year. The boxwood still needs pruning. The porch steps list, and the railing bobs under his hand. His work boots are heavy and slow, but they bring him to the door before he is ready. He pauses there for a long moment, his key in the knob, suspended between the sidelights' dark margins.

I admired The Wonder Garden as a writer and a reader. Excellent rhythm and portrayal of ordinary life.