Whorticulture by Marie-Anne Mancio

4 stars
Genres: historical fiction
Format: ebook, Smashwords Edition
158 pages
Published by Hotel Alphabet on Smashwords
Published on April 13th 2012
ISBN13: 9781476455099
Where to Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords
View on Goodreads

Note: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

As a girl waits for the return of her disappeared father, the story of four migrant women unravels. In antebellum America: a daydreamer from the country gets an unexpected education on the Mississippi river; a storekeeper falls in love with a thief amid the chaos of Gold Rush San Francisco; a fugitive quadroon re-invents herself in a New York brothel; and a young bride is trapped on a Louisiana sugar plantation. Though they do not know it, their lives are inextricably linked by the men they encounter. Peopled by whores, tricksters, gamblers, do-gooders, liars, and fools, and with allusions to the coded language of flowers, Whorticulture is about prostitution in its myriad forms. Contains a helpful discussion guide for book groups and a flower dictionary.

My Review:

These four nineteenth century American short stories are compelling.  The stories are linked by each woman’s will to survive and their will to do whatever they have to.  There is a great deal of research that had gone into creating these stories and the women’s lives.  The stories are informative and vivid.  The only problem I had with these stories is that they needed a long introduction into the women’s back-stories that slows the pace down.
 
About the Author