The Night Garden

by Pamela Holm and Cleo Qian

In her first novel since the acclaimed memoir The Toaster Broke, So We’re Getting Married, Pamela Holm brings us a poignant, funny story about monogamy, motherhood, and the wonders of gardening. Dawn,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596921188
• ISBN13: 9781596921184
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: MacAdam/Cage Publishing
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Just What I Needed!

I picked up this book because I like to grow Moonflowers, which bloom at dusk and at night, and I loved the title. What a wonderfully delicious first novel and delightful story this turned out to be! The characters are so well defined you expect to run into them at Wal-Mart or the grocery store. I love the way Ms. Holm brought full circle Macie's marriage (and baby-lust) and her cheating husband's repentance. The final scene with his girlfriend is priceless. (What woman among us hasn't dreamed of doing just that to a man we love/loved?) And Dawn and Jewel stole my heart from the get-go. This is a great tale about real people with real world problems and feelings. I highly recommend it. I thought it would be just a light, fluff read, but it turned out much, much more than that...and just what I needed to read at this particular time in my life. Thanks, Ms. Holm, for a fabulous book!

A Quirky Tale Of Survivors & Their Garden Sanctuary

In her new novel, "Night Garden," author Pamela Holm captures the ephemeral nature of relationships, and the multitude of emotions ignited when a partnership/romance ends. This is a quirky tale of people whose lives are in flux, and who are able to handle their changed status creatively. The essential element, common to all, is a strong sense of self on which to fall back. These characters are survivors. Dawn Mackenzie and her nine year-old daughter, Jewel, have moved into a new house, "painted an awkward blue of a Mexican bakery with straggling bougainvillea that arches over the front door." The best feature is the deck which looks over the rooftops to the San Francisco Bay. Dawn chose this particular house because it has a downstairs studio apartment she can rent out to help with expenses. The back yard is in shambles but she has plans to begin a garden with Jewel, who wants her own scent garden, "In case one of us goes blind." The child is delightfully morbid throughout. Dawn and Jewel had lived with David, their boyfriend/father figure, for five years. An overpowering, larger than life man, he began to stifle Dawn until she really needed her own space to thrive. She and her daughter are adjusting to the newness of living on their own, after the comparative luxury of David's place, and his home cooking. Ironically, Dawn works as an exterminator, by day, killing vermin. At night, however, she draws them. She was trained in technical drawing and aspires to become a full time illustrator of insects. One of her new projects is to put together a portfolio. Harlan, a documentary filmmaker, responds to Dawn Mackenzie's "Apartment for Rent" notice. He becomes the new tenant, occupying the studio space and sharing a common roof. Harlan had been happily married for years, but his wife's obsession with having a child, to the detriment of all else, distanced the two considerably. On a night out, Harlan picked up Sophia at a club. She is a beautiful exotic dancer. He thinks he's in love. Oh, how a little lust can affect one's thought processes! After confessing all to spouse, Macie, she threw him out. Thus the need for new digs. Over a period, Dawn, Jewel, and Harlan become good friends. When Dawn cannot sleep at night, she goes out to work in her garden in the dark. Harlan often comes to help out and keep her company. The garden becomes a special sanctuary for all of them. Harlan's business partner enters the picture when he becomes smitten with Dawn. Ms. Holm writes a straightforward, fluid narrative, although the pace is slow at times. Her characters are credible and she juggles various storylines with ease. Although she makes some perceptive observations about the nature of love and lust, decision making and the inevitable consequences, the plot is somewhat predictable. Holm obviously loves her city and her descriptions of San Francisco during all the year's seasons are quite beautiful. Overall, this is a charming, often humorous, story and

Got Nitrogen?

What a fun read! I loved planting myself in The Night Garden, and surrendering to Pamela Holm's quirky, crisp, and compassionate voice. Each of her characters cultivates their own species of love, and each blossoms differently - a process that unfolds over four seasons in San Francisco. Despite its breezy, conversational tone, it's a very moving book. And what an adorable protagonist! How can you help but love a wise-cracking, conflicted heroine who's an artist and an exterminator? This is a wonderful first novel, full of humor and sadness, with a heart of gold.

Such vivid characters it becomes a movie in your mind

This wonderful novel is so simply and beautifully written and the characters are so strong and vivid that you feel right there with them. I love the way the characters progressively clarify and grow like the night garden itself. There's no annoying artifice of writing or of style or authorial presence to boot you out of the incredibly compelling world Pamela Holm has created. There's a fantastic sense of place in the book--the night garden as it comes together in the world of the characters and the city of San Francisco that they live in are as strong and fascinating as the characters themselves. So just go live in it and enjoy your new friends in San Francisco.