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Summary

White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet, and her daughter Astrid.

A long time ago Ingrid`s husband left and never came back! Since then, Ingrid has never again found confidence in any other man, till she meets Barry, who becomes an important person to her. After a little while there is trouble brewing and as Barry threatens to leave her, she decides to kill him, poisoning him with a fatal oleander cocktail. That`s why she is arrested and sentenced to serve in prison for a long time.

Astrid, her daughter, is now all alone and has to stand on her own feet. The welfare finds a place for her. They arrange for her to stay with a woman named Starr. Very fast she gets to like her stepbrother and also her stepfather but that’s not all, she falls in love with her stepfather Ray and they begin an affair. Starr who has already noticed what is going on between Astrid and Ray, takes a gun and shoots Astrid down. Fortunately Astrid is only injured and survives.

A long time has passed, when Astrid decides to visit her mother in the prison. Ingrid still tries to have a lot of influence on her daughter, unfortunately too much!

In the meantime the welfare finds a new place for Astrid, at Ed and Marvel Turlock`s house. Marvel, a drunkard, treats Astrid like a slave and Ed is no better. That`s why Astrid wants to move to another family again. So she ends up in a foster home, where she meets Paul. They spend a lot of time together, but the day of goodbye comes near. They have found a foster mom for her, so she has to leave.

At Claire`s house Astrid spends the happiest time of her whole life. Claire is a very warm and friendly person and gives Astrid the love that she needs. The only problem is that Claire is very unstable and has problems with her unfaithful husband. After a long discussion with Astrid` s mom, Claire` s depression gets worse and that has fatal consequences, as Claire commits suicide. Astrid puts all the blame for Claire` s death on her mother.

From now on she wants to live her life the way she wants. She finds a new family, Rena and her daughters offer her a new home. Astrid has changed a lot, not just externally but also in her character. She has found her own personality.

One day Ingrid`s lawyer, Susan Valeris, appears. Ingrid`s case will come up in court and Astrid has to appear as a witness.

Will she help her mother after all that has happened?

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Chapter 21

Claire was still sleeping when I woke up. I got up, careful not to disturb her, and went out to the kitchen. I poured myself some cereal. It was very bright, quiet, a pure crystalline light. I was glad Ron was gone. If he were here, there would have been phone calls, the whine of the coffee grinder, Claire might be up making breakfast with her smile painted on. I decided to stay in my silk pajamas a while longer. I got my new paints out and painted the way the light looked on the bare wood floor, the yellow tray of sunlight when my mother slept in. A laundry basket over my head, squares of light. I remembered exactly how the sun looked and felt on the back of my hand.

After a while, I checked on Claire. She was still asleep. The room was dark gray, no morning light penetrated the west- facing French doors covered with blinds. It smelled stale. She had one hand flung across the top of the pillow. Her mouth was open, but she wasn`t snoring now. ”Claire?” I put my face right in hers. She smelled of sherry and something metallic. She didn`t move. I put my hand on her shoulders, shook her gently. “Claire?” She didn`t do anything. The hair stood up on my neck and arms. I couldn`t hear her breathing. “Claire?” I shook her again, but her head flopped like Owen` s giraffe` s. “Claire, wake up.” I lifted her by her shoulders and dropped her. “Claire!” I yelled at her, hoping she would open her eyes, that she would put her hand to her head and tell me not to shout, I was giving her a headache. It was impossible. She was playing a trick, pretending. “Claire!” I screamed into her sleeping face, pumping my hand on her chest, listening for her breath. Nothing.

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To be honest, we have taken this book, because we liked its cover and its very short summary. But as we started reading the book it became more and more interesting. White Oleander is not a book like any other, it is gripping from the beginning till the end, and that`s what makes this book so unique! It is a book that will make you laugh and cry at the same time because of all its ups and downs.

Quite simply, White Oleander is amazing. In this book the reader enters an imaginative world as deep as a forest that never wants to end. It`s the kind of book you don`t want to put down. It`s full-blooded, alive, breathtaking and frightening. This incredible novel is the story of what it means to be an extraordinary woman.

White Oleander is just what the title promises a tale of poisonous beauty, dangerous, heady scents and an unforgettable story of a young girl growing up.

White Oleander is a metaphor for motherhood in this impressive novel.

Janet Fitch shows us how just one thing can change our whole life and that maybe then, our life will never be the same as it was! But it tells us also that giving up is not the solution- you have to fight for what you want!

We recommend this incredible novel to everyone and wish you joy.

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White Oleander

“ This novel will surely be hailed as one of the best novels of the year and is likely the best debut this reviewer has ever read…….Heartbreaking, but without a trace of sentimentality, White Oleander provokes amazement”

- Library Journal

“ The season`s best literary debut…… As a character, Astrid falls between the innocent lambs some imagine children to be and the great female survivors of literature: as resilient as Moll Flanders, as necessarily selfish as Thakeray`s Becky Sharpe.”

-Minneapolis Star Tribune

“ White Oleander is surprisingly entertaining, offering well-crafted prose, fine pacing, complex yet believable characters, and a satisfying resolution.”

- Creative Loafing

“When we first came across this novel last month, we loved it and believed we had discovered the season` s best- kept secret.”

-Wall Street Journal

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Studio: Warner Bros

Director: Peter Kosminski

Screenwriter: Mary Agnes Donoghue

Genre: Drama

Starring:

Alison Lohman Astrid Magnusson

Robin Wright Penn Starr

Michelle Pfeiffer Ingrid Magnusson

Renée Zellweger Claire Richards

Billy Connolly Barry

Patrick Fugit Paul

Cole Hauser Ray

GALLERY

LAURA & ARIANE
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