BOOK REVIEW | Book Shelf | wavemag.com.np

Being a habitual reader, I keep books around me. However, there are times when I am caught without a book in hand and then, I have to resort to reading old newspapers, wrappers, just about anything. During a recent period of drought, as I call it, I happened to pick up a book that has enthralled readers since its publication in 1911. A book for me, no matter how it is categorized, is always a better option than stale newspapers and advertisements.

Despite being on the wrong side of 20 and so having long outgrown the target age group, I jumped into Frances Hodgeson Burnett's 'The Secret Garden' with my usual fervour. Well, it did not disappoint me, rather rekindling my interest in children's books.

Mary Lennox is a neglected little girl who is sent to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire Moors after her parents' death in India. Ill tempered, ill mannered and aloof, she initially has problems adjusting to her new surroundings, but the chance discovery of a secret garden, its beauty and its secrets change it all. Working to restore the long abandoned garden, she finds cures for her own ill temper and succeeds in reforming her cousin who believes he is going to die and is a source of constant trouble and bother for everyone else in the house.

It was indeed a refreshing change reading this book. It has magical moments of charming enchantment without any unnecessary frills. There is a lot of depth and meaning in the seemingly simple and plain plot. I personally did quite a bit of introspection after reading it.

A book of hope and self belief, I would recommend it to any reader, old and young. In fact, I think an occasional delving into children's fiction is a good way to trace back one's roots, on a literary and moral basis. 'The Secret Garden' was written in the beginning of the 20th century, so the plot may sometimes appear too simplistic, rustic and slow moving but apart from that it is worth reading and spending some time on. There resides a child somewhere inside each of us, though often neglected. Reading is a good way to appease and relate to that child.