Juniper, Gentian, & Rosemary

Rating:
Summary: What was that?
Review: After checking out The Dubious Hills from my local library and loving it, I immediately checked out the only other Pamela Dean book that they have, that obviously being this one. I almost never put it down and got through it in a few hours, not because the plot was that absorbing, but because I was trying to find out what the plot was. There's a lot of poetry and quotes, there's a lot of astronomy, there's a lot of interaction between Gentian and her friends . . but when the book was over I still didn't know who Dominic was or why he did anything that he had done.
Most of the book is about the life of Gentian Merriweather, an atheist astronomer who has a group of friends who refer to themselves as the Giant Ants. Sure, there's the weird guy who lives next door to her in an ugly red house, but that's really not the main focus. And then, suddenly, on page 298 (out of 350) Dominic and his 'science project' become the main focus of the story.
Although I really tried to like this book, I finished it with the impression that it was boring, confusing, and full of characters that I didn't like and couldn't relate to.

Rating:
Summary: Not the Best To Judge Her By
Review: After I read _Tam Lin_, I found myself intrigued by Pamela Dean's unique writing style: her pacing, her characters, her use of allusions--all seemed to cry out for more study. As such, I was very pleased to find _Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary_ at the local library. I was somewhat less pleased by the time I finished it.

Now, don't get me wrong. This book has its strengths and bright points: Gentian herself is a wonderful character, and though she and her friends may be somewhat erudite for their age, it makes sense within the world of the novel. The myriad references to the stars made me want to go raid my savings for the money to buy a telescope. It was no chore to me to read about Gentian's daily life and mundane exploits. If you come to be interested in her character, they are likely to entertain you similarly.

The problem here is one which showed up in _Tam Lin_, but taken to greater extremes: though alluded to throughout the book, the 'main' plot is one which only really shows up in the rushed and contrived ending. And this time there isn't even an explanation given for it. What precisely is Dominic? What does he want to build a time machine for? Why on earth would *anyone's* parents allow them to fall under an otherworldly sway for upwards of ten months? The lack of outside interference could be believed with _Tam Lin_'s Janet, but here seems ridiculous. Further, though Gentian solves her own problems, she does not consciously do so. There is no sense of triumph after reading the climactic scene, only bemusement and one lingering question: "What just happened?"

I'm really only giving this book four stars because I was on the whole pleased with it until it reached its ending, and because three and a half stars isn't an option. Anyone who is more interested in the plot of Sisters vs. Demon than in the character of Gentian specifically may wish to subtract a star; anyone who is also annoyed by puzzles, rampant literary quotations, and a dream-like fairy tale atmosphere would probably do better to read something by another author altogether.

Rating:
Summary: reread before commenting
Review: Although I was immediately interested in Dean's characters, when I finished the first time, I wondered why she had included so many seemingly useless situations and dialogues. While Dominic is mentioned from the beginning, he and his project don't become important until the last fifty pages or so. When I reread the book again, however, I came to see how the absense of Gentian's real life (her conversations with Becky, her arguments with her sisters, etc) really emphasizes how lost she is when she works on Dominic's project. Certainly, I can see that Dean should have cut down the inital few hundred pages, but on closer inspection I see how important much of that "pre-project" life is.
Many people have remarked on how unlikely it is that Gentian and her friends/sisters would be such intellectuals at such a young age. While I do agree that this is very unlikely (most of the middle school girls I know do not speak so eloquently), I thought that this made her characters more interesting. They weren't the average teenage girls you could read about in any novel. I can definitely see how some people would become irritated with that aspect of the book, but I didn't find the characters to be annoyingly precocious--just intellectuals. My advise would be to give the book another try before just tossing it away. You might be surprised at what you missed the first time through.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: I am a bit confused as to how I feel about this book. I really loved the book as I read it; I became involved in the book and kept trying to find time to read it. Nevertheless, I thought the ending was rather pitiful.

Titled for the three sisters in a family, most of this book is a fantastic "day in the life" picture of Gentian. As the story is told we come to know her passion for and habit of doing astronomy, we see love, quirks, and tension in her family, her fasinating group of friends, her personable cat, and her mysterious next door neighbor. Very little actually happens during thie first part of the book, but it is a great story. Gentian exists in a highly intellectual world. From her "open school" classes, to the parties with her friends, to dinner table conversations, Gentian's world is full of literary references, feminist education, and scientific instruction. I fell in love with her world - it is the life that I always wished I had.

Despite the great beginning, the story fell apart at the end. I found that part to be poorly written and rushed. Although I was able to see the symbolism and apparent parallels with earlier parts of the book, it all seemed too contrived. I was not convinced by Gentian's journey from strict naturalist to pseudo-supernaturalist. The dichotomy as presented didn't work. Her early naturalism consisted of a hatred of religion (with Christianity being the stereotypical whipping boy), but at the end she accepted Wiccan like magick. The development was not smooth and the result was not credulous.

The result comes, I think, from having a really good writer who had great characters, settings and themes, but who couldn't manage to find a decent plot. My suggestion is to read the book because parts of it are great, but just don't expect much from the plot.

Rating:
Summary: huh?
Review: I just finished it and I'm not sure if I liked it or not to be honest. Well that's a lie. I loved the characters, esp the Giant Ants. Sure they're a little smarter than is fair, but I didn't find it too over the top. However the ending just floored me. I'm not sure if that was in a good way or not. What I'd suggest is to go to a bookstore and skim a paragraph or two at random. If you find the characters compelling, buy this.

Rating:
Summary: Reread it before expounding upon it
Review: I've read it three or four times, and each time I recognize a few more quotes, see a few more things hidden in the plot. In brief, the book is about a very intelligent family, focusing specifically on the middle daughter, Gentian. Genny is fourteen and all her relationships are going through a lot of changes -- especially the one with her next-door neighbor, Dominic. I did not find the characters unrealistic; not to be egotistical, but they are rather like my group of friends and myself: interested in quotes, literature, and being intellectuals. I even have a friend named Becky who wants to be a writer when she grows up. (I, however, bear no resemblance to the Stephanie in the novel.) The most poignant parts in the novel, I feel, are those dealing with the friendship between Gentian and Becky.

That said, I don't find it a perfect book. I continually compare it to _Tam Lin_, and it does fall short of that. They do have something in common, however; a very long exposition and rising action, and the entire plot of the ballad in the last forty to fifty pages. I happen to like it, because it gives the side-plots a much better chance to develop: the friendships, the maturing, the literary references. What I didn't like was that there simply wasn't enough about certain characters: Genny's parents, for two. I do adore the style, and the feel, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes any of the following: literature, intellegentsia, Pamela Dean, literary fantasy, coming-of-age stories, books with nifty purple covers . . . (Ok, the last was a joke.)

But my point is taken. Buy it, but try _Tam Lin_, too.

Rating:
Summary: Strange
Review: I've read several Pamela Dean books in the past, and so I was prepared for her style; it didn't bother me much that people quoted too often, or that the book was long on characterization and mood but short on plot, or that the ending swooped in out of the ether when I was least expecting it. I was ready for those things to be the case, so they didn't disappoint me. I opened the book hoping for a story like Dean's earlier _Tam Lin_, full of interesting characters, with a subtle but looming sense of the supernatural.

I didn't like JG&R as much as Tam Lin, though. For starters, I didn't feel like we got to know Gentian and her friends and family as well as we got to know Janet's circle; I wanted to know more about these people, but I always felt a little like a spectator. Then, I couldn't understand why Gentian liked Dominic. Hormones or no, beauty or no, any self-respecting girl would have become annoyed with him when she noticed that he almost NEVER said anything but quotes (people say the other characters quote too much, but it was Dominic who truly crossed the line). And the annoyance would have turned to revulsion when he made the racist comments about her friend Alma. I just don't buy into Gentian's continuued fascination with him. I would have disliked him intensely. Finally, I agree with the reviewer below who says the ending is unfair to Gentian; she is the one who defeated the evil, but it seems like she is punished rather than rewarded for it.

I had read the relevant ballad, "Riddles Wisely Expounded", before reading JG&R. I'm not sure whether that had a good or bad effect on my reading experience. On one hand, the denouement probably would have made less sense to me if I hadn't read the ballad; on the other hand, it was a spoiler of sorts. I would certainly recommend reading the ballad after reading the book, just to make sense of things. _Tam Lin_ contained a copy of its ballad; I wish this book did as well.

One more comment on Dominic's quoting: Though it made him an extremely annoying character, I did like the possible implications of that move by Dean. If Dominic is in fact the mythological personage he is implied to be, it's tantalizing to think that he is just made up of the thoughts of human beings, accumulated over the years, and has no existence outside of the human imagination. That aspect of the story will definitely stick in my mind for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: I fell in love with this book
Review: If you consider yourself a literary person, you would probably enjoy this book. Gentian and her friends and family constantly refer to the wide variety of books they've read, and I enjoyed puzzling out the references. The ending does seem a bit rushed, and it would have been nice to have had a copy of the original ballad to refer to-I still don't know the original story. Nevertheless, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the company of these characters-I wish my own family was like theirs! Everyone should give this book a try. I've reread it several times since I bought it a few months ago.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Normally, I love Pamela Dean's works - the literary allusions always keep me thinking. However, this book while it still had the same flavor as Tam-Lin (my favorite book of Dean's), didn't have the same emotional impact.

Also, although I won't spoil it for anyone, the ending seemed unfair the the main character and comes out of nowhere. It isn't a book that I would recommend to everyone unreservedly

Rating:
Summary: Interesting charactors that desrvea better story..
Review: The main charactor of Gentian,(whom I liked,although she(and her group,the ironically named Giant Ants", were a bit precocious for my taste at times) are an unusual group of young girls who'd rather discuss Shakespeare than boys & fashion. A highly mysterious (and handsome)boy,Dominic ,shows up in the neighborhood in time to shake up Gentian's placid existance. His amibiguity and Time Machine project kept me reading.Unfortunately,the project, like the book,never seems to take off and a strange spell(or curse?) that they father placed on his daughters so they would'nt ever want to run off with any handsome,intriguing young men sends the story off in an unsatifying direction(which,hopefully. I certainly he lifts by the time they're of age! ) Overall,this book was less about fantasy and more like an updated Little Women(whom the author refers quite a bit) Not would you'd expect,but not terrible either,just a bit of let-down.