White Oleander follows the story of Astrid, a young girl who is shuttled from one foster home to another while her mother serves a life sentence in prison.

I'm reading this for the second time, and it remains one of my favourite books ever. It is as beautiful and dreamy as it is bleak and raw. The Los Angeles setting is gorgeous, blissful, and yet terribly unforgiving. I was so totally immersed in this story from start to finish, and I would think about it longingly when I was off doing other things - which is what I love most about reading; it's such a wonderful feeling when you can't wait to dive back into the world between the pages.

The characters in this novel are ones you won't forget; terribly flawed, and yet I remained sympathetic towards all of them. Janet Fitch has a talent for writing in a way which allows you to thoroughly comprehend what each character is going through, regardless of how different your own life may be.

I highly, highly recommend this novel, especially for those who love character driven stories, or if you're looking for something different. White Oleander is truly remarkable.

Absolutely terrible!  It's rubbish of the lowest caliber, an overflowing dumpster of a book! The whole thing was overwritten, pretentious, dirty, and unbelievable. Has Janet Fitch ever met a 14-year-old girl? I doubt it.

Let's go through it a little together. Our young "heroine," Astrid, grows up with a floozy for a mother.  Her mother can't keep a job, can't keep a house, sleeps with every man she can, and treats Astrid more like a partner in crime than a daughter. Poor Astrid was destined for years of therapy even before the foster homes.  Moving forward...Astrid's mother kills an ex-lover, goes to prison, and our doomed narrator ends up in the care of the state of California. From one foster home to another, she is raped (although described as consensual in the book, it's still rape; she's only 14), she's shot, she's starved, she befriends and then becomes a prostitute, she's abandoned, beaten, attacked by dogs, neglected, and generally screwed up. If you add all those things up, what do you get? Well, Ms. Fitch would have us believe you get a generally normal and well-balanced young woman. Just stupid.

The whole book is shock and awe. Small buildup, SHOCKING event, small buildup, EVEN MORE SHOCKING event, small buildup, SHOCKING event.

The writing was completely pretentious. The whole thing felt like it was written with a thesaurus. It's not poetic; it's trash.

I have many thoughts that I'm having trouble putting into words. Before reading the final chapter of the book, I had to put it down, lean my head back against the couch and think about the experience I've had while reading this book. Astrid's journey, her development from girl to woman, is remarkably crafted. Fitch's writing paints the arid desert and mountain brush in such fine detail. Atmospherically, this story was superb. I was totally immersed in the story, in the physical spaces that Astrid inhabits through her 390 page life. My only qualm was that I wish there had been a bit more explanation from her mother's perspective. But that final interaction in the prison, wow. Just wow. It took my breath away. If you're struggling to get into this book for the first one or two hundred pages, just keep going. It's completely worth it.

Would be interesting to see if the Astrid, daughter follows the Ingrid, mother as a cold-blooded killer and I hope not as Astrid has some redeeming qualities while Ingrid does not. Astrid foster parents were a nightmare, first one shoots her twice,2nd one commits suicide and the third one is the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist.
I hope Astrid lives happily ever after and karma will get Ingrid.

3.5 stars

This book was interesting and easy to pick up, but I felt it was building toward a huge revelation or change in character that never got there. Maybe it's a more realistic book than I'd been expecting, but I don't love how the resolution measured up to the building tension. But the writing was fantastic.

there are sometimes where i wish i had the capability of writing so fruitfully, so artistically. this is one of those times.

What exquisite writing, never have I read a book that speaks so beautifully but also describes pain so acutely. Astrid becomes a ward of the state after her mother commits a crime of passion and is imprisoned. Although her mother is behind bars, Astrid cannot shake her mother's deep hold on her. Her mother, beautiful Nordic Ingrid Magnussen. A true seductress a woman who can weave a web of destruction with her beauty, poetry and words, people fall in love with her, men in particular, she is dangerous and nobody knows this better than Astrid. This book delves into that most treacherous of relationships the mother/daughter dynamic. A relationship that is deeply destructive and insidious. Along the way Astrid meets many "mothers" foster mothers who have their own lessons to teach Astrid, although she goes through some horrific foster placements, she really tries to belong but always finds that her mother keeps a firm grasp on her and is able to manipulate her and those around her even though she is in jail and can't physically reach her, it's the mental scars and trauma that keep affecting Astrid and making it hard to move on however hard she tries to. A book that really exposes the complexities of women, how they shape and influence us, in good and bad ways. I loved this book but it was heavy going at times, it's a book I needed to take breaks from as if could become all consuming and depressing. The theme of this book touched a nerve so it affected me personally which is why I rated this 5 stars

I don't read many books that I end up throwing across the room in disgust as I'm reading them.
This was one.
What is UP with adults writing about children in disgusting ways? If it's suppose to be artsy, well, I just didn't get it. And I'm not sure that I would want to.

Well, what was I supposed to rate it?
I did work awfully hard on W.O.... still like it. Sad to think Oprah's book club is all over, it was quite an experience.

{n.b.--Oprah Book Club 2.0 is alive and well!]

Wow, this is a BEAUTIFUL MASTERPIECE and an intelligent and heartbreaking, true and honest story.
When I was about 100 pages into the book, I already knew that this was going to be a new favourite of mine. Now that I've finished it, I can honestly say that this is one of the most raw books I've ever read.
What strikes me the most about this story is the impeccable writing style. The main character, Astrid, tells the story in a very impressionistic way and it was beautiful! Janet Fitch has a way of comparing life to ordinary things and creating metaphors that are spot on, and it was so easy to follow Astrid's train of thoughts and feel for her through her struggles.
The impeccable writing style was then paired to a beautiful and - as I said - raw story about doubt, loneliness, love, insecurity and so many other things. Name a feeling and this book has it. I still can't believe how Janet Fitch manages to convey Astrid's feelings and doubt so beautifully; even though I've never been in Astrid's situation, I completely understood the feelings she was going through.
I loved every page of this book! It broke my heart, and it has left a great impact on me. That's eaxctly why it made it straight to my favourites list :) This is a must-read!

Exquisite, provocative, melodious novel spun by author Janet Fitch, artistic with the English language. White Oleander is an epoch/pastoral poem in the guise of a novel, a Romantic's dream, a Metaphysical masterpiece and yet underneath the beauty of language lies a gritty, edgy story of pain, lost hope, longing, desire and need; it is a journey of redemption often meeting with despair, broken glass and scars; it is a voyage of self-discovery and quintessential decisions that leave the reader unsettled and filled with hope as well as fear.
It is hauntingly amazing like a beautiful sunset and manipulates the reader's conscience while penetrating and seducing all five senses.

Poster za filmsku adaptaciju prikazuje četiri prelepe žene. Nežne plavuše prodornih očiju, mnogima simbol idealne lepote. Takva slika je savršena metafora jedne od centralnih tema "Belog oleandera": odnos spoljne lepote i unutrašnjeg razdora. Postoje one stare: "Bar si lepa." i "Lepa si, šta ti fali?". Lepa, ali nesigurna; lepa, ali tužna; lepa, ali sama; lepa, ali poput imenovanog cveta, toksična i sposobna da ubije.

Sav kalifornijski hedonizam plasiran u filmovima i muzici stavljen je u peti plan kroz roman Dženet Fič. Zlo postoji svuda pod suncem, čak tamo gde ono blještvo sija preko tri stotine dana godišnje.

Gde mi počinjemo da postojimo kao zasebne ličnosti? Kada naša stvarnost prestaje da pozajmljuje scenarije onih koji su nas stvorili? Takva ameboidna separacija teško da je ostvariva, većina dobrim delom nastavlja da nosi svoje reditelje duboko u sebi; jednima je legat osnova za dalji razvoj, drugima protetički ud bez kojeg kao da ne postoje.

"Beli oleander" je vrhunska psihološka studija. Izjedajuća patologija između majke, pesnikinje robijašice, ona nosi ruho namučenog/uzvišenog poete kao ekscentrični veo preko svoje mizantropije, i ćerke u boju sa nizom staratelja i željom za otegnućem od roditelja koji, čak iza rešetaka, upravlja događajima.

Prelomne tačke unutarnjeg sveta, promene percepcije devojčice, kasnije devojke, prema majci savršeno se ogledaju u ritmu teksta- od mimike roditeljske sintakse do nalaženja sopstvenog "ja". Taj pesnički jezik o kojem često slušamo, poezija u prozi, momenat objedinjavanja tekstualnog i emocionalnog, dok u mnogim delima guši narativnu strukturu, ovde, gladak kao svila, stvara dvojaku dinamiku- želja za raspletom biva ukroćena dubljom potrebom za lepotom jezika; čitalac zastaje, vraća se na pasuse, čak i zapisuje. Istinska umetnost, reklo bi se.

Treba se ponekad distancirati od paušalnih prideva( dobar, bolji, bolji od, itd.), voditi se mnogo pouzdanijom koncepcijom uspelosti. Magična linija na relaciji autor-urednik-čitalac, ovaj u sredini- delom tihi partner, delom agent provokator- igra presudnu ulogu u obuzdvanju piščeve bujice kao umetnika kako bi pred čitalačku publiku dospeo uravnotežen tekst. Pisanje kao umetnost naspram pisanja kao zanata, sklad ta dva rezultira delom poput ovog- uspelom na svakom planu.

"Beli oleander" je remek-delo moderne književnosti, zaslužno svih superlativa i statusa koji uživa. Nekada se Rubikova kocka baš sklopi, a rezultat je maestralan.