Foodie Lit
The Various Stages of a Garden Well-Kept
“I see cats as mysterious, introspective creatures that beg to be given a spiritual nature,” author and artist Robert R. Davis told me when we discussed his novel, The Various Stages of a Garden Well-Kept. The cat Frieda Kahlo, named after a famous artist, is a wise and eternal cat present in the lives of several generations of the Kagoerge family both in their original country of Greece and later in the United States. The cat with her own narrative voice, moves between the real and spiritual world, bringing illumination to the characters and the readers.
The story begins in the 1920’s in Greece with Irini, who immigrates to the United States alone, for an arranged marriage. Her children and grandchildren emerge in the novel in a non-chronologically narration. “The cat was important in tying the generations of people together and perhaps in keeping the crazy timeline I presented in the book into
some sort of order,” Robert shared.
All the characters have heartache. All suffer loss, feel displaced in life. Irini’s daughter, Marieta cares for her aging mother, who has left behind a diary containing a collection of unread letters. Then Marietta herself ages and her mind is slowly lost as her sons Herman and Richard struggle to care for her. As Irini left her home in Greece and always longed for home and security, so her children and grandchildren long for this same security, almost as if her losses have seeped into their genes.
The garden somewhat like the cat, becomes an important link in the lives of this family and their friends. Symbolically, the garden “represents the gift of one generation to the next. Land to be shared with the hands of a family. It is a place of calm serenity and escape …,” Robert explained.
There is a lessening of tension for the characters, digging in the soil and eating the vegetables they have planted. The characters, including Frieda Kahlo, present many poignant and enlightened moments.
The garden brought to mind the famous statement of French philosopher and writer Voltaire in his play Candide, “ll faut cultivar notre jardin,” (You must cultivate your own garden). Our lives, like our gardens, need nurturing, through both sunshine and rain. “Moments of grandness and moments of sorrow spot our lives. They create the mosaics which make up our existence – much aligned with the jumping back and forth through moments in time I have used…,” Robert told me.
The ending reveals a new direction in the lives of the family members, bringing a promise of happiness for the grandchildren of Irini and quiet contentment for Frieda Kahlo, who had opened the novel and now closes it, with a release from some of life’s sorrows.
Celebrating Irini’s Greek heritage is a recipe for Greek Beef Pitas, a delicious meal that is easy to prepare and to eat!