The Wonder Garden

This is a special book - filled with rich characterizations and moving, sometimes deliciously bizarre, events. The suburbanites Acampora describes in her fictional town of Old Cranbury are people with deep and often painful longings, hidden (and not so hidden) insecurities and vices. These stories were crafted by a writer whose keen eye misses little, an observer who truly understands how life can trap, bolster or baffle us as we go through our days. As a suburbanite (and ex-city dweller) I felt like I could see parts of myself laid bare by her stories, displayed by a hand that deftly walked the line between compassion and ruthlessness. Acampora's writing is sharp and eloquent, nothing wasted, so while each story flies by, you are left wishing you could stay beyond the few hours or days she allows us to see. And the lines that connect each character’s little universe, criss-crossing in surprising and satisfying ways, remind the reader that in these communities we make for ourselves, despite what separates us, we are always connected and inexorably drawn to each. A must read!!

I loved this book. The characters are all unique and so busy navigating their way through life in a town where most people would aspire to live. However, once they are settled in Old Cranbury life's problems catch up to them. Each story reveals a new character with his or her own private secrets. These individual characters will reappear in subsequent stories about another resident of Old Cranbury who has a secret to hide. Individuals in this small town play a role in each other's lives. This book is most enjoyable to read not just because of the characters' unique situation, but especially worth while due to the quality of the writing. It is beautifully written and a delight for a reader who values excellent writing. I highly recommend it.

This truly is elegant and precise writing in the "sub-genre," if you will, of suburban fiction, and it ranks up there with the work of Updike, Cheever, Richard Ford, and the like. I found it hard to believe that this was a first effort, so mature in both style and substance it was. In my opinion, Acampora's prose style equals that of F. Scott Fitzgerald's. I'm looking forward to her new novel. As an aside, the one-star reviewers here apparently have brought the wrong expectation to "Wonder Garden." It seems most of them thought they were going to read a novel rather than a series of interlinked short stories. And they were looking for the kind of tidy wrap-up that only happens in certain kinds of popular fiction.

I am simply going to respond to the one-star "reviews," none of which as of this posting have any substance. My guess from the negative responses is that these readers like romance-type stories and are unfamiliar with the oblique style that makes this such an outstanding collection of related stories.So let me try to work that angle. As a reader you will find yourself "plopped down" in a setting without any context for a few paragraphs often. And the back story--and in each story there is plenty of it--oozes in. So in one story you'll meet a young mother with a child who, from the mother's point of view, is loved and not pampered as she thinks all the other children in the pre-school are with their "mommy police." But in reality the child is neglected and shows the results of a life with a mother who is very angry. The mother's failed marriage to the child's father reflects upon just what a difficult woman she is. She dates a medical doctor and wants to go to Paris: a new beginning. In the meanwhile she has befriended a central female character in an earlier story, a woman whose husband really "went off the deep end." And then suddenly in this story up comes an event in yet another story. And as you progress through this collection of stories you become aware that, in reality, you are reading a novel.I think Elizabeth Strout did it better in "Olive Kitteridge." But then again, that novel won the Pulitzer Prize. But this one is close if you, dear reader, give it a chance and don't expect to be reading a romance novel. Ignore those one-star reviews.

This was such a delicious novel. Lauren Acampora is so deft and precise with language it takes my breath away-- and yet the stories are completely readable, the characters recognizable, and the situations, though often strange, reflect humanity, struggle, connection, and love. Don't be swayed by the fact that these are short stories-- they are like little novels in themselves. I feel like Old Cranbury becomes a unique character as well. An outstanding debut-- definitely one to read, a good choice even for book clubs.

Let me start out by saying, I read this book twice and probably will again. For me, a book is about beautiful writing, regardless of plot. In fact, there is no plot, per se, in this book as it is a series of stand-alone stories that are connected by the setting: the suburb of Old Cranberry, where things behind closed doors may not be what they seem. I have come to appreciate this writing device: connected stories that can stand on their own. I think one of the first times I encountered it was with the Pulitzer-winning "Olive Kitteredge" in which the connecting element was the main character, Kitteredge. But it all comes down to superb writing, for me. Lauren Acampora is a master storyteller who uses words in a way that keeps the book from spiraling down into just a series of stories about people with problems. She is the Updike of her generation.