She grew up in the mold created for her by her mother, a dreamy, sociopathic feminist poet. There is angst, and then there is White Oleander.Īstrid is not a character I should have liked. Astrid wears her misfortunes like a badge of honor, wallows in her hardships, and treasures her pain. She moves from bad situation to bad situation, each home more far-fetched in how horrible it is. Fitch’s portrayal of foster care is a tragic fairytale there is little realism or raw honesty in Astrid’s experiences. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I enjoyed reading it 100% of the time, but it’s well-written and unique.įirstly, though our protagonist Astrid spends the entirety of the book in the LA foster care system, this is not an “issue book” dealing with foster care. I think? Either way, Janet Fitch has most definitely written a gorgeous, if pretentious, piece of literature here. Written with exquisite beauty and grace, this is a compelling debut by an author poised to join the ranks of today's most gifted novelists.In a rather conflicting turn of events, I found White Oleander to be an amazing, beautifully lyrical novel-I’m just not sure I actually liked it. White Oleander is an unforgettable story of mothers and daughters, burgeoning sexuality, the redemptive powers of art, and the unstoppable force of the emergent self.

Tough, irrepressible, funny, and warm, Astrid is one of the most indelible characters in recent fiction. With determination and humor, Astrid confronts the challenges of loneliness and poverty, and strives to learn who a motherless child in an indifferent world can become. Each home is its own universe, with a new set of laws and lessons to be learned.

White Oleander is the unforgettable story of Astrid's journey through a series of foster homes and her efforts to find a place for herself in impossible circumstances. Deranged by rejection, Ingrid murders the man, and is sentenced to life in prison. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery-but their idyll is shattered when Astrid's mother falls apart over a lover. Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brilliant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men.

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