Book Review: The Leaf Queen
The Leaf Queen. Janet Roberts. Amazon CreateSpace, April 12, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 361 pages.
Reviewed by Hallie Koontz.
The Leaf Queen is the story of Dina Benet, who, try as she might to keep her life settled and steady, must cope with the wind that just keeps blowing through. Dina’s journey will surely resonate with anyone who has been faced with the same hardships and struggles, and they are struggles that are at once particular—adoption, cancer, relationships—and universal—love, confidence, and especially growth. Any reader who appreciates the story of an inner journey, or perhaps could even use some help with one, will appreciate The Leaf Queen.
Dina’s story takes place over the course of several years and numerous different viewpoints. While supporting characters have a stake in and an effect on Dina’s life, they also have their own opinions and problems and the book does not focus on one thing for too long.
Each character and their respective situations are easy to become invested in. The prose is crisp, realistic, and beautiful when it needs to be. The novel certainly accomplishes all the goals literary fiction should, only occasionally falling short of them. Problems sometimes arise from issues that did not seem to be issues, metaphors are occasionally forced, and emotional insights can seem unearned, too convenient, or simply stem from nowhere. The dynamics of several relationships, especially of that between Dina and her sister, are explained more than enough times for the reader and as a result feel preachy and forced rather than natural.
But this is not to say that there is no genuine emotion. Dina’s experiences are authentic and sure to be familiar to many readers whose lives have given them more than they think they can handle. Her feelings, her coping strategies, and her decisions feel like those of a real woman, and Roberts deserves credit for capturing confusion, determination, fear, strength, dependency, and independence in equal amounts in one protagonist.
Arguably—and for this Roberts also deserves credit—the most interesting character is the one considered the antagonist. The male character who is afraid of commitment might be an old cliché, but Roberts nails it and is not afraid to explore the logic of selfishness and entitlement. And it pays off. Luke’s chapters are fascinating and intriguing, the ones that I found myself most excited to read. His chapters display the kind of introspective thought that is at once familiar, contradictory, and understandable, and depending on who is doing the reading, it could be sad or infuriating. While he is not sympathetic like Dina (although perhaps he would be to some), he is just as genuine. Luke’s perspective is an irresistible read.
The Leaf Queen will satisfy any reader who enjoys very human-centric stories of struggle and growth and any reader who likes well-written thought. Life is a generally difficult experience to capture, but Roberts does it beautifully, and the book is definitely worth a read.