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    Where Lilacs Still Bloom: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Where Lilacs Still Bloom: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Where Lilacs Still Bloom: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    Where Lilacs Still Bloom: A Novel

    Written by Jane Kirkpatrick

    Narrated by Kimberly Farr and Susan Denaker

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    One woman, an impossible dream, and the faith it took to see it through, inspired by the life of Hulda Klager

    German immigrant and farm wife Hulda Klager possesses only an eighth-grade education-and a burning desire to create something beautiful. What begins as a hobby to create an easy-peeling apple for her pies becomes Hulda's driving purpose: a time-consuming interest in plant hybridization that puts her at odds with family and community, as she challenges the early twentieth-century expectations for a simple housewife.

    Through the years, seasonal floods continually threaten to erase her Woodland, Washington garden and a series of family tragedies cause even Hulda to question her focus. In a time of practicality, can one person's simple gifts of beauty make a difference?

    Based on the life of Hulda Klager, Where Lilacs Still Bloom is a story of triumph over an impossible dream and the power of a generous heart.

    "Beauty matters… it does. God gave us flowers for a reason. Flowers remind us to put away fear, to stop our rushing and running and worrying about this and that, and for a moment, have a piece of paradise right here on earth."

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateApr 17, 2012
    ISBN9780449008898
    Unavailable
    Where Lilacs Still Bloom: A Novel
    Author

    Jane Kirkpatrick

    Jane Kirkpatrick is the author of twenty books and is a two-time winner of the WILLA Literary Award. Her first novel, A Sweetness to the Soul, won the Western Heritage Wrangler Award, an honor given to writers such as Barbara Kingsolver and Larry McMurtry. For twenty-six years she "homesteaded" with her husband Jerry on a remote ranch in Eastern Oregon.  She now lives with Jerry, and her two dogs and one cat on small acreage in Central Oregon while she savors the value of friendship over fame.

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    Reviews for Where Lilacs Still Bloom

    4.5/5

    27 ratings8 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Based on the life of Hulda Klager, the "lilac lady" who developed dozens of new lilac varieties and whose home and gardens are still on display today. This novel follows from when, as a young wife, she first begins to dream of improving the plants on her farm - starting with creating crisper, tastier and easier to peel apples. She quickly moves to lilacs, her favorite flower, and dreams of making the blooms larger and more fragrant. Along the way she navigates marriage, rearing four children, family tragedies, opposition from neighbors and many more life events with a deep introspective faith. Part of the story is also told by a young female news reporter, who faces many obstacles as a working woman in the early 20th century. She eventually meets Hulda and is able to help publicize her work. This novel is long but the deep inner lives of the characters, particularly Hulda, make it one to savor. And you just may develop an interest in lilacs after reading it.
    • 5/5
      Jane Kirkpatrick has written a great novel. I just fiished "Where Lilacs Still Bloom" and was so sad that I had finished the book. I loved this characterization of Hulda Klager and her family's story. Hulda was an inspiration to all who have a dream and despite sorrows and setbacks, continue to work and plan to be able to fulfill this dream of hybridizing beautiful lilacs (a favorite of mine). At first I was not sure if this was a real person or not, but as the story grew, I knew it had to be. Hulda and Frank and their children exemplify the good old German love for famoily and work ethic. I can identify with this. I was impressed with the lesser characters and how they fit into the story of this remarkable woman. It was sad that Hulda lost most of her family during her lifetime, but gave me hope when she did not let it get her down. After reading this story I search online to see if I could find these miracle plants and sure enough, I found a website dedicated to the Klager Lilac Gardens. I would heartily recommend this book to all. It is a story of inspiration and perseverence that makes you want to accomplish something wonderful with your own life.
    • 5/5
      Jane Kirkpatrick makes history come alive, and she has done it again with her latest historical fiction, “Where Lilacs Still Bloom”. The book is based on the life of Hulda Klager, a German immigrant who settled with her husband and four children in Woodland, Washington, not far from Vancouver and Portland, Oregon. Hulda was born around 1864 and died at the age of 97, outliving her husband and all her children. Early in her marriage she wanted an apple that wasn't so hard to peel to make apple pies for her husband. Through selective breeding she attained her goal and began to use the technique to improve her flower garden and ultimately her lilacs. She wanted a creamy lilac with twelve petals which took her a lifetime to achieve. Jane tells her take with a real eye for making the people and events in her novels like living history. She tells her tales with humor and faith. In the story Jane gave us glimpses of the characters who would figure prominently in the story. Some of these characters were composite people from her research. But she has such an attention for detail for the time period that she is writing about that it seems as though the reader is right there. And we learn something about history in the process. And about the people who made history with their unique lives like Hulda Klager. I would very much recommend this book as well as any of Jane Kirkpatrick's 22 published books. You are in for a real treat.
    • 5/5
      Review: I had never heard of Hulda Klager before I picked up Where Lilacs Still Bloom, but after reading it, I will never forget her. Hulda was a no excuses kind of woman, full of life and ahead of her time, and Jane Kirkpatrick makes her come to life with a garden of descriptive and colorful words on each page, (no matter if those colors are bright or monochromatic). I believe that no matter who you are and what you know, you can do anything you put your mind to - and that is what I love about Hulda, she yearns to create even when things come crashing down around her. Her story is not completely unique - many people who change the world are told no to begin with - but it's the way in which it is told that pulls readers in and makes Hulda real. Her story is truly inspiring and her passion for life is evident. The plot-line was slow to start, but as I moved through the book I was not bothered by the pace. I liked how Jane Kirkpatrick created characters around the life of this one-of-a-kind woman, adding to the level of emotion that the text maintained. Very touching and readable format-wise, with few grammatical errors. The first person versus third person dialogue was well-written and fit nicely with the novel's structure. The hybridizing of the flowers was interesting to me as well - but I am a bit of a biology geek. Overall, I enjoyed this heartwarming story, and hope to read more of Jane Kirkpatrick's novels in the future.Rating: On the Run (4.5/5)*** I received this book from the author (Blogging for Books) in exchange for and honest and unbiased review.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book. It about life and it cycle as though Flowers. There are alots of lesson though out the book though followers. It teaches us that we must move on and keep going. Hulda had lost most of her family and she wondered why she did. Her children died before see did. That must be tough to do.This books teaches you lesson though the way Hulda did it though her garden. It book that really hit home with your emotions. I suggest that you have a few tissues on hand or you may be wipe your eyes while reading. It was heartfelt in some parts in this book. To me it a must read.
    • 4/5
      History is more than rulers, wars, or famous people. History can be found in knowing the past and the origins of the simplest things. These can include flowers. Where did the flowers we take for granted today come from? Where did so many of the versions of lilacs originate? The historical fiction book, Where Lilacs Still Bloom, by Jane Kirkpatrick can help you answer this.So many historical stories can be told through historical fiction where an author takes some liberties in an event or the life of a person and makes it a little more dramatic. Ms. Kirkpatrick explores the life of Hulda Klager who did not receive a formal education past the eighth grade but learned to create various hydrids of apples, daffodils, and lilacs that have since found homes across America.Hulda and Frank Klager made a home in Washington state where they raised their four children. As they grew up and founded families of their own, Hulda began to see how a hobby and desire to create different colored lilacs was actually a representation of life. As she encountered joy, love, sorrow, and the bleakness the world can bring upon you, she found herself living life as her flowers did. She had her blooming seasons and her dormant times as well as the times nature sought destruction.I found myself crying as the book progressed. I hate to read of someone’s pain in life which was made even more bittersweet as she compared everything to her flowers, especially the lilacs. Life is seasonal and can be weathered.Through this story, you learn how a lack of education is not an excuse for not finding happiness or success. You learn that people can survive the hardest times and find themselves blooming in the warmth of a new day’s sun. The book is a lesson to all that the stronger we are, the brighter we’ll bloom.This is a fictional story based on the true life of Hulda Klager. The author puts in the front a list of characters that helps the reader with relationships and to know who is historically accurate and who is completely fictitious. These fictitious characters were placed in the book as an artistic way to explain the impact one German immigrant woman with determination had on those across the country. There is also a map to understand the location of the Klager farm as well as a picture of Hulda herself at her famous home. Located at the end of the book is an author’s note explaining how the end of Hulda’s life played out and the impact she truly had on America.Note: I was given this book by the publisher with no expectation of a positive review.
    • 5/5
      Hulda Krager was a young married woman in 1889 when she first spoke to her father about the desire she had to develop a better apple—one she could peel easier; they grafted a tree in his orchard and from there her interest in horticulture took off. Her fascination with hybridizing then channeled towards flowers and specifically Lilacs. In a time when woman were told that having any interest other than home and family was not in God’s will, Hulda struggled to discern if messing with nature was wrong. She lived during the same years as Luther Burbank who was making great strides in cross breeding flowers and developing vegetables that would help with longer growing seasons and also improved shipping to markets. Where Lilacs still Bloom is based on a true story, well researched and told in a way that I felt like I was back walking in my own grandmother’s garden. It will inspire the gardeners in your life and maybe have you take a second look at nature’s beauty. I loved this journey through one woman’s life, whose Woodland, Washington’s garden survived a multitude of floods, and inspired and touched many people. Its message challenges us to follow our dreams and to carry on in hard times. The Novels’ release date this April makes it the perfect spring read. I have read 3 other books by Jane Kirkpatrick and loved them all; this is the first one I read as an advanced readers copy through the Amazon Vine program.
    • 5/5
      "Where Lilacs Still Bloom: A Novel", by Jane Kirkpatrick, is based on the remarkable true life story of Hulda Klager. A German immigrant and a "farm wife" with only an eighth-grade education, Hulda's natural intellect and intuition, along with a burning curiosity, allowed her to develop hundreds of hybrid fruit and flower varieties, especially lilacs. The book is beautifully written--an inspiring and life-affirming tribute to the courage and spirit of the amazing Hulda Klager. The book begins in 1948, with a brief prologue during which the flood waters are rising and threatening to destroy Hulda's work of a lifetime. She is eighty-five years old, and as she looks down on the surging waters from the safety of a bluff, she recalls her life story. What a story it is! As the book unfolds, we share with Hilda her triumphs and sorrows, and her indomitable spirit shines throughout the years. In her own way, she was a pioneer for women's rights, a scientist, an environmentalist, and an example for anyone who won't take no for a final answer. There is a pure, timeless joy in putting a seed into the ground, nurturing its growth, and watching it come into its full glory. Hulda did all that and more, ever adding newer and more sustainable plant varieties that she first cultivated in her agile mind. The real Hulda survived until 1960, when she passed away at the age of 96. I am now in my early fifties, and I cannot imagine living four more decades, much less being vibrant and vital until the very end. Hulda outlived her beloved husband Frank, all of her children, and all of her brothers and sisters. Her gardens were restored after the disastrous flood of 1948, and to this day, they remain open to the public. The "Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens" are a National Historic Site located in Woodland, Washington. The "Hilda Klager Lilac Society" revived her annual “Lilac Days” each spring when the lilacs come into bloom, selling lilac plants to visitors just as when Hulda Klager was there. As generations come and go, Hulda's sweetly scented legacy continues to enrich lives with its beauty. Review Copy Gratis WaterBrook Press