In the Garden of the Fugitives

by Ceridwen Dovey

In the Garden of the Fugitives had been sitting on my shelf for ages and I can’t believe it took me so long to pick it up. I was pulled in immediately! The novel is told through a series of letters going back and forth between Vita and Royce. There were so many lyrical passages or thought-provoking lines!

Slow, quiet reflections on privilege, obsession, control, and confronting/reflecting on the past. Also got to learn about Pompeii, Ancient Roman art, archaeology, and filmmaking which was pretty cool!

Some of the most thought-provoking passages were about privilege; how much are we responsible for the sins of those before us/that look like us?; and looking for similarities between ourselves and past generations; is it disrespectful to see them as being the same as us or natural to want to find similarities and connection throughout human history?

Oh my god, the twists?! Jaw-dropping! We don’t get full answers on maybe one or two things but it makes sense in the context of the book. I devoured this book and didn’t want to put it down!