book review: Mitchell, Like a Flower in Bloom
Siri Mitchell, Like a Flower in Bloom (Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany House, 2015).
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from the publisher.
Mitchell's novel is enjoyable reading with unexpectedly insightful depth. Her protagonist, Charlotte Withersby, is a gifted botanist... in England, in 1852. Charlotte has spent spent several years propping up her botanist father following the death of his wife and her mother. Suddenly, Charlotte's uncle -- and family benefactor -- realizes she is (gasp!) 22 and unmarried. Meanwhile, a New Zealand sheep farmer and sometime producer of botanical specimens, Edward Trimble, turns up on the Withersbys' doorstep. Edward replaces Charlotte as Mr. Withersby's assistant; Charlotte is left to plot, with the help of a young friend, how she might successfully masquerade as husband-seeker just long enough for her father to realize her indispensability.
So far, so good. Light, amusing, and not especially mysterious. Happily, however, Mitchell takes her story further. Not only has she done important work to ensure that the botanical theme of the novel is accurately and intriguingly portrayed, Mitchell introduces important questions of worth, identity, and belonging. Charlotte may be independent to an almost anachronistic fault, but her unique and spirited personality allows Mitchell to explore what it means to fall outside society's accepted norms. Importantly for a work of Christian historical fiction, she places neither Charlotte nor the book's other main characters in normative boxes. In so doing, she questions the propriety of such roles. Mitchell's skill in exploring such questions renders Like a Flower in Bloom a worthwhile book.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from the publisher.
Mitchell's novel is enjoyable reading with unexpectedly insightful depth. Her protagonist, Charlotte Withersby, is a gifted botanist... in England, in 1852. Charlotte has spent spent several years propping up her botanist father following the death of his wife and her mother. Suddenly, Charlotte's uncle -- and family benefactor -- realizes she is (gasp!) 22 and unmarried. Meanwhile, a New Zealand sheep farmer and sometime producer of botanical specimens, Edward Trimble, turns up on the Withersbys' doorstep. Edward replaces Charlotte as Mr. Withersby's assistant; Charlotte is left to plot, with the help of a young friend, how she might successfully masquerade as husband-seeker just long enough for her father to realize her indispensability.
So far, so good. Light, amusing, and not especially mysterious. Happily, however, Mitchell takes her story further. Not only has she done important work to ensure that the botanical theme of the novel is accurately and intriguingly portrayed, Mitchell introduces important questions of worth, identity, and belonging. Charlotte may be independent to an almost anachronistic fault, but her unique and spirited personality allows Mitchell to explore what it means to fall outside society's accepted norms. Importantly for a work of Christian historical fiction, she places neither Charlotte nor the book's other main characters in normative boxes. In so doing, she questions the propriety of such roles. Mitchell's skill in exploring such questions renders Like a Flower in Bloom a worthwhile book.
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