"Garden Spells": a promising and magical debut novel

Clair Waverly is a lonely woman in her thirties living in a big old house in a small southern town. The house has a lovely garden, from whence she derives the herbs and flowers that flavor and empower her special potions. Yes, potions. From her family line, Clair has inherited the gift of creating foods that effect the mind of the consumer in a magical way. It's an odd capability, but somewhat useful in her catering business. But Clair clings to her identity as a Waverly in the face of loss- her mother died young in a car crash after eating an apple, and her younger sister is out in the world somewhere, pursuing the wild and borderline criminal existence that mirrors that of the mother. She notices the looks of longing from the neighbor man, but what's the point of that? People are always leaving from her life- no reason to welcome another one in when the departure is inevitable.

When her sister Sydney suddenly shows up with her sweet little daughter in tow, fleeing a brutal boyfriend, things start to change in disturbing, painful, or wonderful ways. The apple tree (a descendant of the original Tree of Knowledge, apparently) keeps trying to drop its apples on them, and the people that they are coming to understand. But the Waverlys have to be alert and gather up all those apples for burying, because if you eat any of them you may see the best day of your life- or how your life will end- and its usually best to avoid knowing either of those things.

Sarah Addison Allen has created here an odd tale that does an excellent job of touching every nerve in the heart of a woman. As a man, even I was not immune to most of it. The elements of magic realism that echo Latin American works by Gabriel Marquez or Laura Esquivel might seem totally our of place at first, but they do indeed work in creating the atmosphere of a small southern town whose history pervades its peresent. In fact, the complex issue of how much we really should understand about our existence here adds depth to what is essentially a fairly straightforward tale of two different women finding love and a sense of belonging. Even though it does not say a word, that darn apple tree is one of the most compelling characters!

Is this a literary masterwork? Of course not! But you will find it quite similar to perfectly ripe, sugary, ice cold watermelon on an August afternoon. Enjoy! The bad news is that you have to wait until the August 28 publication date. I got my hands on an advance copy.