The Box Garden by Carol Shields

What a fine writer Carol Shields is. And this is a delicate book, sparingly written but with such poetry of language that you often stop and reread phrases. Usually I find that books that are beautifully written don’t have a similar strength in the plot but this one has a finely wrought plot, where the threads of the story work in with one another to a lovely resolution. Charleen is a painfully divorced mother, who doesn’t seem to be able to resolve any of the major relationships in her life – with her ex husband, with her mother, with her new boyfriend and with her career. She is marking time, waiting for something to go bang in her life. The catalyst is a trip she takes to attend her mother’s wedding on the other side of Canada. Outlined like this, it sounds a bit bald but the story is told with such delicacy that understanding comes upon you slowly, like gradual realizations as you get to know the characters. There is sympathy and warmth and humanity in this book. The characters are utterly believable and the whole thing an absolutely compelling read.