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The Garden

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The Garden

By: Nick Newman
Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In a place and time unknown, two elderly sisters live in a walled garden, secluded from the outside world. For as long as they can remember, Evelyn and Lily have only had each other. What was before the garden, they have forgotten; what lies beyond it, they do not know.

Each day is spent in languid service to their home: tending the bees, planting the crops, and dutifully following the instructions of the almanac written by their mother. So, when a nameless boy is found hiding in the boarded house at the centre of this new Eden, the reality of their existence is irrevocably shattered. Who is he? And where did he come from?

‘The Garden is both a horror story and a meditation on love at the end of the world. It’s a testament to Newman’s extraordinary gifts that its creeping dread never overwhelms its tenderness.’ Emerald Fennell, Oscar-winning director of PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN and SALTBURN

©2025 Nick Newman (P)2025 Penguin Audio Dystopian Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Small Town & Rural Suspense Thriller & Suspense
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Sisters, Evelyn and Lily, are two lonely spinsters who dwell in glorious isolation in a small part of a massive deserted house. Lily has the kitchen and Evelyn the sprawling garden, trapped within the walls that barely keep out the existence of the rest of the world. Lily loves to dress up, to play and cook and Evelyn tends to the garden and takes her labours very seriously. Yet the memories of the past haunt the house and the threat of storms and of visitors overshadow everything. Resilience is fragile, and strange occurances start to crack the bones of their lives.

A beautifully told speculative tale that explores ideas of isolation and loss. The two sisters are exquisitely drawn, protagonists that are both caught in patterns of denial and dependency, emotionally brittle and yet still capable of love despite stunted opportunity and loved experiences that dictate their lives.

When push comes to shove, will they hold strong to the garden and eachother, or will they fall apart?

Told through the lens of Evelyn, a tough as old boots narrator, it's wonderful to explore a world through the eyes of an older protagonist, although I couldnt help but hold a soft spot for Lily, a much more carefree character. The bickering and tenderness between the sisters is carefully drawn and the shifts in time, echoing the power of the maternal creates an overwhelming claustrophobia that even the expansive garden can't overcome.

Unusual and distinctive.

Cuts to the Bone

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As title suggests- a beautifully written (and narrated) novel of weird, sad wonder. Their garden occupies a place in my mind now, and will never be forgotten.

Exquisite stuff.

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