Two sisters live within the kitchen and walled garden of their childhood home, unable to venture into the world. Left alone since their father disappeared and their mother died, they continue to be fearful of what is “out there”. Their whole world exists of keeping themselves alive by growing food in the garden, following the garden almanac compiled by their mother.
As the changes in the garden start to no longer reflect the details in the almanac, so to do their lives alter when a boy climbs the wall and disrupts their days. Where did he come from and what does he want?
There’s a sense of impending horror in this story (though we learn that much of it is past horror affecting the current days) and that’s what kept me reading. We don’t know where the sisters live, how old they are, or what they imagine is outside their walled garden. There are dystopian undertones but these are never spelt out.
The Garden by Nick Newman is a disturbing and compelling story.