9/10/09

Book Review: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire: A Novel by Margot Berwin (161)


ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK -- READ IT NOW!

Product Description

In the heart of New York City, hidden in the back room of an old Laundromat, are nine rare and valuable plants. Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire tells the story of this legendary garden, and the distance one woman must travel—from the cold, harsh streets of Manhattan to the lush jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula—to claim what is hers.Lila Nova lives alone in a plain, white box of an apartment. Recovering from a heartbreaking divorce, Lila’s life is like her home: simple, new, and empty. But when she meets a handsome plant-seller named David Exley, an entire world opens up before her eyes. Late one night Lila stumbles across a strange Laundromat and sees ferns so highly-prized that a tiny cutting can fetch thousands of dollars. She learns about flowers with medicinal properties to rival anything found in drugstores. And she hears the legend of nine mystical plants that bring fame, fortune, immortality, and passion. The owner of the Laundromat, Armand, presents Lila with a test: if she can make the cutting from a fire fern grow roots, he will show her the secret of his locked room. But Lila is too trusting, and with one terrible mistake she ruins her chance to see Armand’s plants. The only way to win it back is to travel, on her own, to the Yucatan. Deep in the rain forests of Mexico, Lila enters a world of shamans and spirit animals, snake charmers, and sexy, heart-stopping Huichols. Alone in the jungle, Lila is forced to learn more than she ever wanted to know about nature—and about herself. An exhilarating journey of love and self-discovery, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire brings together mystery, adventure, and heat, in every sense of the word.

About the Author

MARGOT BERWIN earned her MFA from the New School in 2005. Her stories have appeared on Nerve.com, in the New York Press, and in the anthology The Future of Misbehavior. She worked in advertising for many years and lives in New York City.

Product Details
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Pantheon (June 16, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307377849
ISBN-13: 978-0307377845

If you like weird, you won't be able to put this book down. After reading it, I thought this reminds me a lot of the first time I read a Christopher Moore book. It was completely different from anything I have read lately. I don't know whether to classify this as a romance, chick lit, or what. It was just such a pleasure to read something unique. Although the story is a pretty basic "finding yourself" book, the different quests Lila undertakes are something wonderful.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a good read to me. Interesting title of book. Don't you think? Good blog.

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