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There are currently 19 member reviews
for Backyard
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Susie-PA
For the armchair gardner
While not my usual reading fare, Backyard did provide many lighthearted and some real "laugh out loud" moments. Characters were familiar and interesting-especially if you have acquaintances who are crazy about gardening. I particularly enjoyed reading about the MANY cocktail hours spent in the Backyard. Descriptions of the various gardens and backyards were pleasant and made visualizing the settings easier. As a casual armchair gardener I was very glad not to be participating in this dirty competition!
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Rory A. (Henderson, NV)
A Great Gardening Book, Not a Novel
"Backyard" could very well be heaven for devoted gardeners, with delightful, knowledgeable descriptions of all kinds of flowers and weeds, as well as the designs of various backyard gardens, and those who eat, sleep, drink, and breathe those gardens.
However, the delight only goes so far, such as a description of the garden of George and Nan Fremont, admired by many fellow gardeners and reviled by the imperious, holier-gardening-than-thou Dr. Sproot. A wonderful name, but a one-note character. And even though he purports to show us how elaborate the Fremonts' garden is, the pages and pages given over to it becomes exhausting.
The whole novel centers around a gardening contest sponsored by Burdick's Plant World, but it's hard to get into it, wearying to watch as these characters go to great lengths to try to win in the town of Livia in the upper Midwest. It feels like we're running around and around the same track, hoping for something different to pop up in the telling, soon realizing it's a futile hope. As a story, it lacks a great deal of forward motion, something worth following, even while the contest goes on. For gardeners, and this reader who loves to read about flowers rather than plant them, it's a lot of fun seeing such deep knowledge bursting through these pages, that you half-expect to smell each flower as Norman Draper describes it. Hopefully the story will shine through in the sequel alongside the flowers.
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Catherine H. (Nashua, NH)
Rather be gardening
A small Midwest town, a bunch of addicted gardeners and a garden contest: all the required ingredients for a good and funny story, maybe not. The story is lacking fluidity with situations repeating themselves. However, I found myself laughing so hard at some scenes, the "backyard murders gang" being the main one.
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Maggie S. (Durango, CO)
BACKYARD
The gardens described in Norman Draper's book "Backyard" sound luscious! I could visualize the sweep of color and the flower combinations and how each garden was different and lovely in their own way. The gardeners on the other hand are way over the top. It took me some time to get into this book as I did not really like any of the characters or the silly situations they got themselves into.
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Becky H. (Chicago, IL)
Only if you have a warped sense of humor.
I did not enjoy this book. I didn't like any of the very unlikeable characters-especially Dr. Spoot, the main character. The story was filled with mean actions and objectionable and deplorable attitudes. (Acting like a Nazi is not funny!) The "gardening" aspect, which was what drew me to the book in the first place, was actually a mockery of gardening. Perhaps this book was supposed to be sarcastic and hilariously funny. If so, it was entirely lost on me. The only somewhat likeable characters were the Fremonts and even there, drunkenness and "peeing" in ones backyard were deemed appropriate behavior.
Skip this one. The writing is pedestrian and the jokes are sophomoric (in the worst sense).
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