2 Tales Follow Love Down Garden Path

It turns out there is a garden of auditory delights available to audiophiles with green thumbs. Two companies have recently released love stories with a decidedly floral flair.

The liveliest of the two is “Wild Designs,” by Katie Fforde, a brisk British tale of greenhouses and grown-up love affairs. (Blackstone Audiobooks; unabridged fiction; eight cassettes; 12 hours; $12.95 if rented, $56.95 if purchased, read by Vanessa Benjamin. Call [800] 729-2665 for information.)

Witty author Fforde creates quite an enjoyable bit of fluff with this delightful foray into the chaotic world of 38-year-old Althea, the single mother of three teenagers. Bouncy Althea loves her house, her garden, her kids and her pets.

What is so likable about this woman is her ability to cope with her annoyingly perfect younger sister, unexpected unemployment and an ex-husband who is still trying to control her from halfway around the world.

Enter Patrick, the wealthy, interesting and attractive architect who buys the nearby estate in whose greenhouse Althea has been raising flowers. Patrick has a much younger and perfectly proportioned girlfriend, but finds himself attracted to slightly overweight, somewhat eccentric Althea.

Granted, this contemporary British novel does not have much depth. Althea is a bit insipid at times. She doth protest too much for a 20th century gal, believing dating to be verboten while her children still live at home. However, though this novel is as light as dandelion fuzz, Fforde writes with a strong understanding of family dynamics. She also brings energy and whimsy to her romantic escapism.

The author’s buoyant tone is picked up by reader Vanessa Benjamin, whose lovely voice is light and feminine. She changes her speech patterns and timbre for various characters. The actress slows the tempo and deepens her tone for men. They may sound rather similar, but they are clearly masculine. Benjamin does a better job of differentiating the female voices and manages a peppy Australian accent for a young teacher.

The one problem is that the passages run into one another. Sometimes Benjamin pauses for a sufficient length of time. But as this is not always the case, there are moments of confusion.

*

Much more serious is the golden years’ romance that takes place in “Night Gardening,” by E.L. Swann. (Brilliance Audio; unabridged fiction; four cassettes; six hours; $24.95; read by Dick Hill.) This was penned by Kathryn Lansky, a children’s author making her debut in the world of adult fiction with the Swann pseudonym. Set in Cambridge, it is the overly inspirational story of spunky Maggie Wells. A widow who has survived her alcoholic Brahmin husband, a stroke and her interfering, alcoholic children, Maggie and her neglected garden are revitalized by Tristan Mallory, a landscape architect.

While Swann deftly weaves a Zen gardening philosophy into the story, her use of metaphor is as heavy as damp moss. Maggie’s character is more developed than Tristan’s. He is your rather typical, well-aged older gentleman who is remarkably sensitive to a woman’s needs. Maggie, luckily, is outspoken and refreshingly sassy. However, the two characters bloom when their lives entwine, even if Swann does lead us down a familiar garden path without planting innovative twists or turns.

Simply put, if you enjoyed “The Notebook” or “The Bridges of Madison County,” you will probably be glad to hear this sentimental and cloyingly inspirational love story.

Light and rather flowery music introduces and ends each chapter. Narrator Dick Hill, a longtime favorite, proves to be a slight disappointment, as he sounds unnecessarily dramatic in spots. His inflection and accent are too broad for such lightweight listening. For instance, a Boston nurse’s accent sounded like Bar Harbor by way of Britain rather than the Back Bay.

Hill gets across the vocal impediment of a stroke victim and does so with a light touch. He also improves Maggie’s diction as her character grows stronger. He deftly reveals the deep emotions of the two lovers but should have brought his overall performance down a notch or two.

Rochelle O’Gorman reviews audio books every other week. Next week: Margo Kaufman on mystery books.

For more reviews, read Book Review

* Sunday: Zachary Karabell on why the literati snub the bestselling fiction of Jan Karon; Martin Gardner examines the life and religion of Mary Baker Eddy; and David Rieff looks at what went wrong in Rwanda.