Oprah Book Club-« Selection, December 1998: A funny thing happens to N...
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"A dark, crooked beauty that fulfills all the promise of White Ole...
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I could not put this book down! "White Oleander" was wonderful from the very first sentence to the very last and I have Oprah to thank for bringing author Janet Fitch to my attention. The story is narrated by Astrid - a teenage girl - who suffers through years of living in the foster care system while her mother Ingrid serves a life sentence for murdering her ex-lover. (I can just envision a younger Angelina Jolie-type playing the role of Astrid in the film version.) Each family that Astrid lives with has its own unique (yet sometimes cliched) cast of characters that are instrumental in shaping and transforming the young woman she becomes. This is a novel of self discovery the hard way. I personally cannot imagine the loneliness and terror that Astrid experienced while bouncing from home to home to home. Ingrid stays present in Astrid's unstable life through letters and occasional visits and their strained relationship is key to Astrid's development. The character are so real, the writing style is beautiful, the plot moves swiftly and the story weaves the reader through every human emotion possible. While I'm not a fan of the Oprah Winfrey show, I am a fan of her book club and this novel ranks up there as one of her best picks.
White Oleander is beautifully written book on a stark subject... there were a few things that bugged me about it though. I didn't like the author's romantic portrayal of promiscuous behavior, and the association of sleeping with and being used and discarded by men with images like perfume and high heels. The sadness of a daughter adoring a mother that didn't deserve her love or respect was emotionally wearing. Another dangling detail is that after a child was shot there was never any mention of her having to appear in court or at least submit testimony, leading one to think that maybe one of the characters got away with attempted murder and another got away with statutory rape. Child molestation is hard to stomach, it didn't need to be described in such graphic detail. When reading voyeuristic descriptions like that I always feel a little insulted; like the author feels I'm not intelligent enough to read a book that is well-written on it's own merits.
Even so White Oleander did open my eyes to the plight of some children that get lost in foster care. I had no idea that a single woman living with her boyfriend in a trailer could qualify to provide foster care; and that thought is depressing. It's obvious that the author did a lot of research in preparation for writing this book.
White Oleander simply touched me more than almost any novel I have ever read. Astrid was a realistic character. Anyone who thinks that this novel was extreme and melodramatic in its portrayal of foster care obviously knows nothing of foster care or displaced children from disfunctional homes. Having worked in inpatient psychiatric units with both children and adults in state custody, I am well aware of how realistic Janet Fitch's book was.The things that happened to Astrid happen to children every day in this country. In fact reality is a little worse. The novel also presented the fact that we all recieve blessings and curses from our parents. Ingrid was a sociopath who did whatever she felt like doing regardless of who got hurt. She ruthlessly dominated her child's life "I am your home" and seemed to feel justified in doing so. However she also was a brilliantly educated poet who passed on the gifts that helped Astrid to survive her years in foster care: strength, independence, and a love of learning, a sharp intellect. I saw Astrid as a survivor who was as together as anyone could be after 6 years in foster care. In life, and in White Oleander, there is no happily ever after, and there are always loose ends. Fitch made me laugh and cry with her liquid poetry. A testement to survival.
Anyone naive enough to believe that it takes a village to raise a child needs to read this book! I have always said that, in America, The Village eats children for lunch. This book illustrates the point beautifully. I work in the foster care system. Ms. Fitch's novel accurately portrays the damage that we cause to children in the system, though Astrid's travails are more dramatic.
The story richly portrays the pitfalls of a left-leaning mentality. Astrid's mother is an unbearably pretentious feminist poet type. She cares only for herself, and when her daughter is being eaten alive by society she sits back and enjoys it. Along the way, everyone who claims to be the champion of children only ends up using Astrid for their own benefit.
Meanwhile, the mother gains the undying support of feminists across the globe. They don't care that she's a killer. She's one of them and therefore above the law (an excellent parallel to the Clinton situation). This book has gained a considerable following among liberals. The irony is delicious!
As for the writing, Bravo! Janet Fitch is a very skilled writer and an excellent framer of believable characters and plot lines. If this is the only book she ever writes, it will be enough to earn her a seat among the great writers of our time. I wish her great success and highly recommend White Oleander.
While Oleander is a beautiful and lyrical piece of contemporary literature with a storyline and cast of characters like nothing I have ever read. It is the story of the incredibly complex relationship between a self-absorbed "free spirit" and the daughter who wants nothing more than to be loved unconditionally as a child should be. When Ingrid is jailed for murder, so starts the long and rocky journey of Astrid as she moves from foster home to foster home. Few people will go through in their entire lifetimes what this child experiences throughout her early teenage years. Her journey is difficult but the author keeps her readers engrossed until the very end. This is a wonderful book and I sincerely hope the upcoming movie does it true justice.
Taught me how romantic it is to be an outlaw and forever changed the way I feel...
