The Gardens of Kyoto (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Kate Walbert
- First Published: 2001
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: 1940-1953; 1985
- Setting: Philadelphia and Maryland
- Principal Characters: Ellen Victoria, Randall Jeremiah Jewell, Henry Rock, Sterling Jeremiah Jewell, Jeannette Olive Jewell, Ruby, Rita Goodall, Daphne
- Genres: Long fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: 1950’s, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Love or romance, Suicide, Abused persons, Twentieth century, 1940’s, World War II, 1980’s, Pennsylvania, Domestic violence, Pregnancy, Flowers, War, Death or dying, Adoption or adopted children, Philadelphia, Soldiers, Bereavement or grief, Gardens or gardening, Maryland
- Locales: Philadelphia, PA, Maryland
The Gardens of Kyoto is based on the short story of the same title, which won the Pushcart and O. Henry Prizes in 2000 and which has become the first chapter of this novel. Kate Walbert uses her considerable imagination to expand on the lives of her original characters. As Ellen, her sisters, and their relatives come of age in the 1940’s and 1950’s, Walbert places their individual lives in the larger context of American society and the American past.
A key theme of The Gardens of Kyoto is the effect of war on people who lose a loved one, or soldiers who witness...
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