There are authors that are fun to read… then there are authors that are just so good that you read one of their books and you just have to “chew” on it for a while. I have known, without even reading her, that Jane Kirkpatrick falls into the latter category. (Sometimes you just know…) Where Lilacs Still Bloom is a fictionalized biography of Hulda Klager. Hulda was an amazing woman – German immigrant with a passion to minister to others through her garden. She developed many different varieties of lilacs in her lifetime as well as raising a family.
It took me a little while to get into this story. Even when I didn’t think I was quite “into” it, I found my mind going back to her story and being drawn back in. (in other words, it wasn’t one of those “Can’t put it down” books for me, but I still couldn’t quite get away from it.) The storyline was a little hard to follow initially. There are several different characters that seem unrelated at first, but by the end of the book, they all are very much impacted by Hulda and her work.
I love the fact that Jane Kirkpatrick puts so much research into her work. Her goal is to tell the stories of women in history and she does a good job. Her books are certainly something with “meat” in them. I loved learning about her characters and by the end of this book, I had a new appreciation for lilacs and plant propagation.
(Thanks to Waterbrook Press and Blogging for Books for my free review copy. All opinions are my own.)
I was just thinking about ordering a copy of this book to review. I think I will! Thanks!
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