DEAR MR. JEFFERSON Letters from a Nantucket Gardener

This story of a contemporary Nantucket garden is a true gardener's delight. Laura Simon seamlessly weaves history with gardening tips as she writes of her annual gardening rituals in letters to an imaginary, but factually based, Thomas Jefferson at his farm at Monticello. Suzanne Toren narrates much like a charming schoolteacher, using a kind and wistful tone, and at times surprise and wonder. She also gives Simon a self-deprecating personality at just the right places. Toren adeptly reveals the painstaking planning and trials and tribulations of a backyard gardener whose garden overtakes all facets of her life. Toren's cadence is the perfect accompaniment for poking around one's flower beds and planting new vegetable patches. D.L.M. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]