Hedge

A Novel

By: Jane Delury

Narrated by: Molly Parker Myers

“As lush and inviting as the gardens created by its heroine, this novel…will wrap you in captivating, high-stakes drama.”—PEOPLE Magazine (Best Books Summer 2023)

“A great portion of [Hedge’s] magic lies in how it turns a radical corner, gaining speed and burning urgency—then slowly becoming something else: deeper, denser, wiser. Readers will (and should) trust it to take us where we need to go—even if not where we expected.”―The Washington Post

Featured in Oprah Daily’s Spring 2023 Reading List and Kirkus Reviews

An emotionally charged, richly observed novel about a woman balancing the demands of motherhood and marriage with her own needs.

Maud is a talented garden historian and devoted mom to daughters Ella and Louise. Motivated to reignite her career and escape her troubled marriage, she accepts a summer job restoring the garden of a lush, 19th-century estate in the Hudson Valley.

Reveling in her work and temporary independence, Maud relishes her days in the sun. While waiting for her daughters to join her at the end of their school year, she strikes up a friendship with a coworker, archeologist Gabriel Crews. As the two share nightly dinners, their relationship grows more intimate, and Maud starts to imagine a future outside of her stifling marriage. Once Ella and Louise arrive, however, she is torn by her desire for Gabriel, her obligations to her daughters, and her growing concern for Ella’s dark moods. Is Ella acting out because she senses that Maud and Gabriel have fallen in love?

What happens next is a seismic shock that profoundly changes Maud's life, as well as the lives of everyone she cares about.

Deeply moving and impossible to put down, Hedge is an unforgettable portrait of a woman’s longing to be a good mother while still answering the call of her soul and mind.

©2023 Jane Delury (P)2023 Zibby Books

So Wanted to Like This But…

I have had this on my list for a while and was a bit surprised when I saw the less than stellar reviews. But ugh those reviews are right. For me it was that this book just feels like another one with a weak main character that comes across as blame the wife/mom - it’s all her fault all these things are happening. I know that wasn’t the intent of the author because I listened to an interview with her about the book and how she came up with the idea. But the way it reads is so disappointing for a main female character in 2023.

The best part was the scenery descriptions of CA

Didn’t love this book. It felt scattered when I was hoping for more elaborate prose on gardens & plant life.

I did savor all the CA references as I’m a Northern California native.

Loved the premise, falls short

Disappointed, couldn’t get past a few chapters. Story moves so slow, awkward dialogue. Narrator reads so…fake, makes it more cringey.

To repetitious, hence boring

The plot plods along going in circles & circles and more circles most times. The plot moves along and you mistakenly think-here we go, good. Nope, false hope. This book should be ½ as long or never written.
Don’t waste your precious time. Find something with a plot.

Disappointed

I’d read glowing reviews, but the book bored me. I felt that the complication was too manufactured, and resolution pat.