The Garden
A dialogue between a botanist and his gardener
Magnus Florin author Harry Watson translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vagabond Voices
Published:19th May '14
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This novel explores the life of Linnaeus through dialogues with his gardener, revealing their contrasting views on nature and understanding.
In The Garden, readers are introduced to a unique and thought-provoking portrayal of Carl Linnaeus, the renowned Swedish botanist known for his groundbreaking work in taxonomy. The narrative unfolds primarily through a series of dialogues between Linnaeus and his gardener, highlighting their contrasting perspectives on the natural world. While Linnaeus sees plants through the lens of classification and relationships, his gardener appreciates them for their intrinsic qualities, leading to a fascinating yet frustrating communication gap. This interplay reveals the complexities of perception and understanding in the realm of botany.
The dialogues in The Garden serve as a microcosm of broader themes, illustrating how individuals can inhabit entirely different worlds despite being in close proximity. The gardener's straightforward, practical approach to plants stands in stark contrast to Linnaeus's more abstract, scientific viewpoint. This disconnect is both humorous and poignant, inviting readers to reflect on their own interpretations of nature and knowledge. The novel's subtlety allows for a rich exploration of the characters' thoughts and feelings, making it a profound meditation on the nature of understanding.
Ultimately, The Garden is more than just a biography; it is a classic work that resonates with readers interested in the intersections of science, philosophy, and human relationships. Its understated charm and depth have secured its place in Swedish literature, encouraging readers to ponder the complexities of communication and the beauty of the natural world.
"Large stretches of Florin's precise prose read less like a narrative than like a magic theatre from the early days of the Enlightenment, an odd and cruel eighteenth-century goggle-box, a screenplay for the cinema in our heads. Its tense is not the imperfect of the novel but the watchful present. What Florin lets us see is the lustre and eventual downfall of an infinite Enlightenment optimism, and, in enchanting and dazzling verbal images, its transformation into a dark mysticism." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 May 2013 "The reader will be reminded of the once well-tended, narrow flower-beds of the Nouveau Roman, or perhaps of the rather more colourful beds of Kurt Vonnegut or Italo Calvino - beds, not for novels with a bent towards realism or psychology but for blooms dedicated to the adventure of thought and its grounding in the emotions." Neue Zurcher Zeitung, 7 November 2013 "Magnus Florin's The Garden, which was published in Sweden in 1995 and which has long been regarded there as a classic of contemporary literature, is about not only the erosion of the doctrine of the Creation, but even more about the painful loss of the comforting certainty that went with that doctrine, and, most of all, about the unpredictability of the world. - Magnus Florin, literary director at 'Dramaten', the national theatre of Sweden, has cultivated a distinctive poetic tone in his books, at once elegant and austere and distinguished by a strong musicality." Die Welt, 18 May 2013
ISBN: 9781908251268
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
100 pages