Holiday Sale! Get an annual membership for 20% off!

Read advance reader review of Backyard by Norman Draper

Summary | Reviews | More Information | More Books

Backyard by Norman Draper

Backyard

by Norman Draper

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Published:
  • Nov 2014, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Reviews


Page 1 of 3
There are currently 19 member reviews
for Backyard
Order Reviews by:
  • Janet W. (Davis, CA)
    The gardening world's 'Best of Show'
    This was a delight to read. One of my favorite movies of all time is 'Best of Show' which satirizes the dog show world and this book is the 'Best of Show' for the gardening world. If anyone doubts this, they haven't known obsessive gardeners. I have. I know 'Dr. Sproot' very well!

    I would recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor, gardening interests, friends who are gardeners, or who just want a good chuckle. Mr. Draper has definitely known - or written about - gardeners in his time as a reporter. I look forward to future books of his.
  • Barbara G. (Lisle, IL)
    Skullduggery in the Garden
    If you've ever been a gardener, you'll enjoy this light-hearted romp through suburban Livia's first ever gardening competition, along the lines of the dog show exposé Best in Show. Beautifully detailed yards and planting descriptions fill the pages. Gardening contestants are also described in detail: erstwhile gardening know-it-all, Dr. Phyllis Sproot, who'll stop at nothing to ensure her coreopsis-salvia-hollyhock blend will take first prize. Her acolyte and drudge, Marta Poppendauber, first admired Sproot for her gardening expertise, but is lured by her mentor into nefarious garden espionage and attempted destruction of the sure winning garden. Amateurs Nan and George Fremont enjoy relaxing and surveying their garden work from their patio with the help of their favorite Merlot or the occasional gin and tonic. There's even a self-taught witch hired by Sproot. All the goings on rise to a head during a fearsome thunder storm with straight-line winds just before the final judging. Even the local police are pulled into the action.
  • Charlene M. (Murrells Inlet, SC)
    Backyard
    Dr. Phil Sproot, Marta Poppendauber, Jasper Burdick – owner of Burdick's Plant Word Emporium – are a few of the creative characters in Norman Draper's novel Backyard. Any garden enthusiasts and future gardeners would love the plot of the book with sprinkles of witchcraft, spells, maybe a curse or two, and everyone's question why is newcomers Nan and George Fremont's garden the envy of the town. Make sure you have a plant book handy to reference the flowers, shrubs, and trees that Mr. Draper edifies.
  • Laura Gail W. (Kapaa, HI)
    homespun
    I love this type of homespun yarn! reminiscent of the Mitford Series with its zany cast of characters. I always looked forward to picking up the book to stay " in touch" with what's going on... I would read any other books by Norman Draper
  • Sue Z. (Cornelius, NC)
    Backyard by Norman Draper
    One does not have to be a gardener to thoroughly enjoy "Backyard" although it may add a tiny extra dimension. The characters in this book are all slightly mad and manage to get themselves into crazy situations which are laugh-out-loud funny. They will stop at nothing to try to win a gardening contest and the results are nothing short of hilarious There is a certain element to each of the characters that makes the reader think, just for a fleeting moment, now where do I know that person from? A funny funny book
  • Shirley D. (Amherst, MA)
    BACKYARD by Norman Draper
    Flower Gardeners, this book is for you! Those of you who have not only nodding acquaintance but probably speaking acquaintance as well with all the individual flower "characters" present in these pages will be delighted. There is a plot revolving around a gardening contest and the neighborhood psychopath who is determined to maintain her esteemed position at all costs. The rather weak plot is vastly overshadowed by the beauty of the author's word pictures. A fun read for all who love flowers, even when one doesn't know them by name.
  • Daniel A. (Naugatuck, CT)
    Backyard
    I really enjoyed reading this entertaining book. It was funny, actually, laugh out loud funny. I take my current book to read everywhere I go and while reading this book in various restaurants I frequent, loud laughter escapes my mouth to the chagrin of customers trying to enjoy their lunch; but much to my surprise, no negative feedback from the restaurant staff, so I'll continue bringing my books along.

    This story is about backyard gardens in the little suburb of Livia, in the upper Midwest, and a contest for the best garden of Livia, held by the local garden shop. The reader finds out about the unusual cast of characters that enter this contest with the winner taking in $5,000.

    Without any spoilers, I will say the book has a feel-good quality to it, especially the ending when the winner was announced.

    My recommendation to you is read this book when it gets published in December 2014. You will be glad you did.
  • Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

More Information

Read-Alikes

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Daughters of Shandong
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Daughters of Shandong is the debut novel of Eve J. Chung, a human rights lawyer living in New York. ...
  • Book Jacket
    The Avian Hourglass
    by Lindsey Drager
    It would be easy to describe The Avian Hourglass as "haunting" or even "dystopian," but neither of ...
  • Book Jacket: Roman Year
    Roman Year
    by Andre Aciman
    In this memoir, author André Aciman recounts his family's resettlement for a year in Rome due ...
  • Book Jacket: Before the Mango Ripens
    Before the Mango Ripens
    by Afabwaje Kurian
    Set in 1971, this work of historical fiction begins in the aftermath of an apparent miracle that has...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
The Berry Pickers
by Amanda Peters
A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl disappears, leaving a mystery unsolved for fifty years.
Who Said...

I am what the librarians have made me with a little assistance from a professor of Greek and a few poets

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.