The Scent of Water

It's hard to describe this lovely, enchanting book. It's one of my favorite books and I periodically reread it. It has lovely descriptions of Nature and is a story about the Most Sacred Mystery there is. Love, all kinds of Love. This is probably one of the most life-affirming books I have ever read. This is one of those books you go deeply into and which becomes real to you. Indeed, while you are reading it, it is your reality! And what a truly Magickal reality is. This book weaves a Magick Spell. Pure Enchantment of the best kind. So go to Appledore and like so many of us, become a citizen of this lovely town. Ah...what Joy there is to be found in the pages of a really good book!!!

I concur with all of the reviews so far. This book has never failed to comfort and calm me; I have read it at least five times and learned new things each time. As in her other books, Miss Goudge blends past and present in a way that dispels loneliness. Her characters are delightful, her garden and interior descriptions beyond compare, and her capacity for understanding suffering and bringing it into the light of redemption a rare gift. If I meet a Goudge fan I know I've met a person who sees beneath the surface of things, into the heart.

Others have described the book quite well, so I won't elaborate further, except to say that this is without a doubt my favorite book. It is a wonderful story that kept me reading non-stop and taught me so many things about life. I am not a person who re-reads books, but this is one that I feel the need to read again on a regular basis. I wish this would be published again so I could share it with more people. Just reading the book felt like someone had given me a special gift.

This gentle and light-filled narrative, beginning with a death and ending with a birth in the tiny village of Appleshaw, weaves the enchanting story of the people in the village and their respective paths. Mary Lindsay, a handsome spinster, comes to Appleshaw to live the country life "before it and I disappear from the English scene." In discovering this life, she finds her capacities for maternity, love, friendship, and respect blossoming, along with a strong and sweet faith in a God she has forgotten. The other characters are as beautifully rendered as Mary herself. A book with deep roots in truth, whose unchanging message has made me stronger.

I have read this book numerous times and I never grow tired of it. It is one that I pick up whenever I am stressed or depressed and it never fails to uplift me. The story deals with a middle-aged woman who inherits a house in rural England shortly after WWII. She leaves her career and her beloved London to take up residence in her new home because she wants to experience life in the country before it is too late. As she becomes accustomed to her new life and acquainted with her new neighbors, she also gets to know herself and her cousin. The descriptions of both the countryside and the house are wonderful and the reader gets to know and care about the people just as Mary does. This is not a story of great drama but it is one of the most uplifting books I have ever read. If you loved The Secret Garden as a child, I believe that you will love this book.