THE BOX GARDEN. by Shields, Carol - 1977

Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1977. 213 pp, 8vo (8 3/4" H). The award-winning Canadian author's second novel. "Until events run wildly out of hand, Charleen Forrest manages to cope with the uncertainties of a failed marriage, trying to live her own life and raise a son on her frugal income. She is not unaware of the hazards: 'family, banktellers, exhusband, landladies, bus drivers - men on the make who want her to lie back and accept (this is what you need, baby), friends who feel sorry for her'. Her resourcefulness is a delight; her uncanny observations and surprising irony reveal a witty, wry edge that is apt to make you laugh out loud. The occasion is her widowed mother's second wedding and it leads to poignant self-discoveries as human foibles and self-deceits are exposed with startling clarity. Delicate and bittersweet, the story offers a warm and joyful kinship with the sublimely self-denying mother, critical of her own wedding cake - 'it's a little dry, if you ask me' - the debonair teen-age niece who shocks the minister by telling the truth about her aunt, the bridegroom who reveals his own surprises and the lovers who discover that they have already found in each other what each was vainly seeking." Previous owner's bookplate with blacked out name on front free endpaper, minor edgewear, bump at top rear corner, very small bump at top front corner. Dust jacket has light edgewear/wrinkling, several small edge tears - one with crease, creases at top of flap-folds, light rubbing on rear panel - now protected in removable mylar sleeve.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good-/Very Good-.