Mister Owita’s Guide to Gardening by Carol Wall

The subtitle, How I learned the Unexpected Joy of a Green Thumb and an Open Heart, struck a instant cord…I’m a sucker for gardening books – especially those wherein a garden is transformed.  (I secretly wish to be Vita Sackville-West.)  So this memoir seemed  just for me.

Turns out Mister Owita’s Guide to Gardening is not so much about gardening as friendship, cancer, life-lessons, and humanity.

Carol Wall forms a friendship with a local gardener, Mr. Owita, hoping he can transform her garden.  She is a difficult client and Mr. Owita does what he thinks is best for her garden ignoring her wish to have all the azaleas removed and giving her his bits of wisdom on gardens and life.

As the days progress, Ms. Wall’s cancer returns, she forms a closer friendship with Mr. Owita and learns more about his background.  He’s from Kenya and actually has a PhD in horticulture, but is unable to get a university posting and is forced to work several minimum wage jobs.  He has a daughter he had to leave behind and is working hard to save enough to bring her over to the US.

Ms. Wall’s troubles feel lighter and she becomes less self-involved, as she learns more and more about Mr. O’s burdens.  At the beginning of the book she is whiny and very self involved  – but then again, she is suffering greatly from a re-bout of cancer – so I didn’t find it too off-putting.

I did drink in this memoir filled with satisfying insights and reflections.  Ms. Wall has a lovely writing style – just perfect for the story told.  I found myself liking Carol Wall –she is far from perfect and is not afraid to display her missteps, foibles, and narcissist tendencies.

A really nice plot point about why she didn’t want azaleas or color in her garden left me sighing with pleasure…while an undeservedly nasty letter to her husband left me shaking my head.   Mr. Owita’s challenges seemed more interesting than hers, his character fascinatingly wise and I wished there was more development of his character.

Ms. Wall has a right to tell her story in her way and I will  not criticize a book for NOT being what I thought it would be. This is a lovely memoir about living with cancer (warning, cancer looms large), finding friendship, the joy of a garden (as opposed to actual gardening) and life lessons learned from someone who is suffering their own silent burdens and tragedies.

Review copy provided by Putnam Group via NetGalley.