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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening

Someone at one of my book groups asked if Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening (#369) contained actual gardening tips.  Well, it might (I'm definitely the wrong person to ask about anything plant-related!) but that's not the reason for reading this moving memoir by Carol Wall. It's subtitled How I Learned the Unexpected Joy of a Green Thumb and an Open Heart.  The "Open Heart" really is the key to this book about an unlikely but profound friendship which grows between a white middle class teacher in a Virginia town and the Kenyan gardener she hires after seeing his work at her friend's house.  Her aim in doing this is to prevent her family's yard from being the disgrace of the neighborhood.  She doesn't have the slightest interest in gardening herself, but Carol Wall can see the difference Giles Owita has already made working in Nancy's yard.  In the end, Giles Owita will teach her more about  nurturing the Tree of Life than she could ever have imagined.

Carol and Giles have more in common than they realize as their relationship gradually unfolds.  Both are keeping secrets about their health which are almost too much to bear, yet their friendship sustains and lifts them in a way no one could have predicted.  Both share an elemental bond in their Catholic faith as well.  Although this aspect is not usually commented on in reviews, the spiritual vein that runs through both Carol and Giles' lives is deep, unwavering and a source of strength as they struggle with their own issues.

The stock comment about Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening would be that it is a life-affirming read.  It certainly is that, but it is beautifully, almost poetically written, too.  Ms. Wall has made it easy for the reader to visualize the beauty of the living green world that Mr. Owita leads Carol to open her eyes and appreciate.  The cover art complements the contents of this lovely memoir which balances the joys of life with the losses.  Highly recommended.

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