The Gardens of Kyoto

I had a cousin, Randall, killed on Iwo Jima. Have I told you?

So begins Kate Walbert’s beautiful and heartbreaking novel about a young woman, Ellen, coming of age in the long shadow of World War II. Forty years later she relates the events of this period, beginning with the death of her favorite cousin, Randall, with whom she had shared Easter Sundays, secrets, and, perhaps, love. In an isolated, aging Maryland farmhouse that once was a stop on the Underground Railroad, Randall had grown up among ghosts: his father, present only in body; his mother, dead at a young age; and the apparitions of a slave family. When Ellen receives a package after Randall’s death, containing his diary and a book called The Gardens of Kyoto, her bond to him is cemented, and the mysteries of his short life start to unravel.

With lyrical, seductive prose, Walbert spins several parallel stories of the emotional damage done by war. Like the mysterious arrangements of the intricate sand, rock, and gravel gardens of Kyoto, they gracefully assemble into a single, rich mosaic.

Based on a Pushcart and O. Henry prizewinning story, this masterful first novel established Walbert as a writer of astonishing elegance and power. In its review, USA Today declared, "Readers in love with language will adore this book."

Ellen, came of age in the shadow of World War II. Forty years later she recalls her favorite cousin, Randall, who had grown up among ghosts: the apparitions of a slave family. After his death, Ellen is given Randall's diary and a book called The Gardens of Kyoto.

Book Magazine

Walbert's first novel is an understated coming-of-age story. The narrator, Ellen, recounts her life to her daughter, including the unspoken love she once had for her cousin Randall, her haphazard courtship with her daughter's father and the pivotal friendship she forged with a precocious young woman during her lonely college days. What makes Walbert's debut so satisfying is the engaging way she layers her characters' lives, as well as her masterful ability to set a mood. The novel skillfully links issues surrounding forbidden and lost love (which for these characters amounts to one and the same thing) and deals with family secrets and ghosts (both psychological and paranormal). Walbert lets her characters' dark pasts slowly and surprisingly unfold, which adds an enticing element of intrigue to the story. The author's lyrical and elegant style, which has garnered her an O. Henry Award and a Pushcart Prize, makes this an especially enjoyable read.
—Mimi O'Connor

Author of the acclaimed novel The Gardens of Kyoto, playwright and professor Kate Walbert turned her eye on the women of the 1950s for her 2004 National Book Award–nominated novel, Our Kind.