Fire: The Language of Flowers

The Language of Flowers

Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Novel, 362 pages

Why did I pick this up?

     The first time I saw it, I did not pick it up because I refuse to read something that conveys what I could write myself someday (referring to flowers and meanings). The second time, I lifted it up. I told my self that I shall read this and see whether she has indeed wrote my story. I decided that I shall write of life and flowers and meanings but not through a novel anyway (perhaps a novellete or collection of vignettes will do).

My verdict?

     The writer did not write my book and I was surprisingly inspired by her book instead.

     I love the literary technique she employed; how she presented the past and present stories without losing the me along the way. She in fact made me want to read the past to answer my questions while reading the present but when I am in the past, she made me want to read how Victoria made it to the present. And when the past and present finally met to the present, it was such a delighful read. And I was sad that I was nearing the end of the pages.

     Yes, this is a delightful read on finding one's self and one's capacity to love and finding a family and finding out one's capacity to share love. It is my personal belief that the family may be bonded strongly by blood alone but a family brought out of love (even sans blood tie) is much more definitive of one's self.

      As for flowers, it was a very delightful and tempered treat, but I am sad that lavender came in first and it means mistrust (Thus, I was able to churn out a poem expressing a shade of protest in attaching negative meaning to flowers). Oh, I love the lavender scent and tea. While reading the novel, I did not actually pay attention on flowers which is contrary to what I thought when I started. This must be the case why when the moss was said to be meant as maternal love at the nearing end, I did not second guess why. Victoria and I had the same aha! Moment when Grant mentioned why is that so to her. I won't tell you why here. It's one reason to grab this novel.

     In the last analysis, the women in this novel have the motherhood story, even the ones who had no biological children.

Any extra thumb up for this book?

     Yes, I admit, I delight in acts of motherhood (not just the meaning attached to childbirth). The “about the author” entry is inspiring. Diffenbaugh taught art and writing to youth in low-income communities and she found inspiration in her own experience as a foster mother.

*Photo credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10032672-the-language-of-flowers