If you want a sure bet for most any (female) reader on your Christmas shopping list this year, go with Kate Morton. Though not new on the publishing scene, if the receiver on your list hasn't yet read her works, she's bound to be enthralled after just a few pages.
Morton's sumptuous novels are elegantly strewn together to make captivating, touching mysteries. It is chick-lit at its best: novels that
focus on intellectual, emotional women and the hardships of their lives, from
infertility and adoption to broken marriages and doomed love affairs. Unfortunately, I think most male readers will stick to Green Lantern. But I could be wrong.
The House At Riverton (2007), Morton’s breakout
novel, which is published in Australia
as The Shifting Fog, chronicles the
lives of an upper-class family in the late 19th century. It is narrated from the memories of one of
their old housemaids, who now lies dying in a senior’s facility, out of place
in the modern age. Morton is especially
talented at writing the narratives of elderly ladies, and both of her Sunday Times best-sellers have senior citizens
as their protagonists. This is a breath
of fresh air, when you consider quite a lot of chick-lit is a la Devil Wears Prada and stars young,
fashion savvy 20-somethings in the Big City.
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| From bookdepository.co.uk |
The Forgotten Garden (2008), Morton’s second
novel, is about a grand-daughter who takes up the cross-continental search for
her grandmother’s birth parents. The
novel jumps smoothly from different characters, locations and time periods, and
the reader’s attention is held by the fast-pace of the changing plot. But, one may find, as I did, that Morton’s characters
tend to be a little static.
My biggest criticism of her work
is that after reading both the books, the characters are indiscernible from one
another, and her style, though easy on the eyes, was so changeless that these
two separate works felt to me like one, continuous world. That being said, though I wouldn't read 20 Kate Morton books back-to-back, I thoroughly enjoy picking up her up at least once a year, and I always pick up her newest releases when they hit the shelves at Costco. Then I cozy up with my tissues, cocoa, nail polish and nature soundtrack for some quality girl time.
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| From railbirds.com |
Both novels
contain unforeseen twists and the secrets, which lure the reader in, are more
complicated than I’d originally anticipated.
The books are extensively researched and even though they’re not
incredibly insightful, the prose is loftier than the Shopaholic series. Morton
has a formula that she sticks to, but that’s not to say that her stories aren’t
fluid and addictive. I literally
found a hiding place at my summer job so that I could curl up and enjoy the
final chapters uninterrupted (it was under my boss' desk...he was never in his upstairs office).
Her newest books, The Distant Hours (2011) and The Secret Keeper (2013) are on my Christmas wishlist. They're bound to be the emotional, misty-eye-inducing plots that everyone loves a dose of, minus the Nicholas Sparks hyperbole. I don't know about you, but I like the little subtlety in my chick lit; more of a tugging on my heartstrings rather than a sucker punch to my ovaries.
Don't quote me on it, but I'm pretty sure Costco and Indigo have four packs of all Morton's works. Or if you don't want to chance it, go with just Riverton-- so far, it's my favourite. You can't lose with the roaring '20s, a troubled poet and a tragic mystery. If you're feeling extra generous, pair with a vintage tea cup, some herbal teas, or a scented candle for the ultimate girly-girl reading experience.
You can check out KM talking about Distant Hours here.
Gotta book it!
xox
JEM
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