In Our Strange Gardens

I wasn't sure what to expect when reading "In Our Strange Gardens". It has the depth of a large work of fiction, but is intricately told in a short amount of pages. Michel Quint crafts his story through flashback, demonstrating the powerful role memory plays in shaping our lives. "In Our Strange Gardens" is the recollection of the author - the memory of his family and the secrets that shape the lives of his father and his uncle. During World War II, his father and uncle were held prisoners and forced to make terrifying decisions that would affect their lives as well as the lives of others. Quint's characters are vividly drawn, brief and poignant character studies that examine the true nature of all human beings. The story surprisingly comes full circle, as the author learns the truth behind his father's life, and that of his uncle's. Once I was finished reading, I was tempted to start over again to see where this circle had all begun. It is a tender and sweet memorial to the ties that bind us to family and the decisions that shape our lives.

Some stories are so well written that they are one of those books that make you lie awake at night pondering. These are the books you tell your friends that they have to read. "In Our Strange Gardens" is one of those books. Having family members who survived the Nazi atrocities of World War II, this book really hit home for me. Although only 80 pages long (unless you read the French translation too), the story is very thorough. A story does not have to be long to be good! The main character, Michel tells the story as told to him by his father's cousin, Gaston. Michel's father, Gaston, and two other men are blamed in an act of sabotage against the Nazis. From a historical perspective, people do not usually survive once they are accused by the Nazis. The story of survival gives Michael's father and Gaston a new perspective on life. It also changed the foolish light Michel saw his father in. Few books attain the status of international bestseller. There is a reason this one did. It is that good.

Michel Quint's novella is a jewel -- a fable produced by our age about events that transpired during WWII, which has lessons for us that are timeless. Told by a family friend to a young boy, the story touches the soul of the boy -- and the reader -- is such a way as to allow him to finally come to love and respect his father, a man he has viewed as ridiculous. His father works as a teacher -- but it is not this that troubles the young man. What bothers and embarasses him the most is his father's seeming obsession with, from time to time, portraying a clown. He does this at no charge for parties or gatherings -- children or adults. The boy sees it as a useless activity -- and one for which he sees little talent in his father, which makes matters even worse for him.The story told to him by his father's friend relates events that happened many years before, during WWII, when the Germans occupied France. His father, his friend, and others, were active in the French Resistance -- not necessarily out of heroism so much as just to have something to do. At least, at first. His father and his friend conspire to blow up a generator at a railroad facility. When the Germans look afterwards for someone to blame, to punish, for the deed, they find the boy's father and his friend hiding in a cellar -- they arrest them and throw them into a freshly-dug pit along with two other villagers. The men are told by the Germans that if one of them does not confess to the sabotage, one of them will be picked by their captors and executed.What makes this story unique from other tales of WWII -- and, indeed, of many wars -- is their encounter with one of their captors, a German soldier assigned to guard them. As his actions -- at first puzzling to them -- reveal more and more of his mind and his personality to them, they see a way out of their predicament. What transpires then I won't reveal -- the book is very short (around 80 pages, a quick read), and the reader deserves to experience it firsthand. Suffice to say that the lesson learned by the men in the pit -- and, ultimately, by the boy, upon hearing the story years later -- can teach all of us something about those we see as our 'enemies'. A particularly valuable lesson these days -- or at any time.The book is charmingly and intelligently composed and written -- a wonderful addition to my library. I'm happy to have discovered it.

I rushed to read this book after seeing a rave review in the NYT, and my God, I wasn't disappointed. Its deceiving simplicity, its humanity, its bitter-sweet humor, it's the kind of book you read in one go, and want to share with others... Short, intense but with a lingering resonnance... If you enjoyed books like Bernard Schlink's The Reader, you'll love this!!!

You have no idea where the author will take you. The story itself is an amazing account, but the author tells it in such a way that slowly draws you in. You'll be sure to make an emotional investment with this short read.Even though the story line concerns itself with Vichy France, there are many universal threads that run throughout: parents and children, how common people react to uncommon situations, and as usual the human condition.