Love Among the Walnuts written by Jean Ferris is a very unique book. I came across this book by pure chance. When I was in the library one day, I decided I would choose a random book of a random shelf, and if I liked the cover I would try reading it. Well, since I am reviewing it and therefore obviously read it, it turns out I did like the cover. It has a chicken on it. While reading LAtW, I kept flipping the page and wouldn’t put the book down. I suppose one could call this book a “page turner”. It was also very effortless to “get into” this book. LAtW starts out when a very successful, unsociable business man goes to a show and bestows his sights upon a beautiful actress up on stage. It was love at first sight. As soon as the show gets out, the business man, Horatio, asks “Mousey”, one of the dancer/actresses, to marry him. Although knowing little about this man, he promises Mousey he will always love her and then Mousey agrees to marry him. I really enjoyed this part because it was unlike any other book-beginning I had ever read. I’ve never read a book where a spontaneous marriage happens in any part of the book, actually. So, after they get married they decide to live a happy isolated life in the middle of nowhere. The happy couple, with their trusted friend-butler Bentley, and his wife Flossie, agree upon a large estate which just so happens to be next-door-neighbours with a loony bin, named the Walnut Manor. Horatio and Mousey have a child, named Sandy. They all live happily-ever-after with nearly perfect lives, hardly ever having to leave their house. Sandy is home-schooled by his parents, Bentley, and Flossie, so he never even has to leave for education. The only thing this family really has to complain about is that Horatio’s two lazy brothers visit them at their house monthly. Since Horatio is a rich son of a bitch, they figure they’ll make all their money off of him and his inheritances. They never planned he would get married or have a child. So, Horatio’s two lazy brothers are constantly trying to get rid of Sandy, Horatio and Mousey. Well, the two brothers come up with an ingenious plan. They plan to poison Horatio and all his family. They bring Horatio’s family a very poisonous cake, and the only two who don’t end up eating the cake because they don’t trust the two brothers are Bentley and Sandy. The poison victims soon fall into a coma that lasts for many, many months. In the meantime, Bentley is working on a remedy in order to bring the comatose back into consciousness. Since it is deemed illegal for the comatose patients to receive care straight at their home, the three patients (and their chicken Attila the Hen) must be moved to a real care center. Conveniently, the Walnut Manor located right next to them is deemed a great place for them to stay. Over the months these comatose patients are residing at the Walnut Manor, Sandy, Bentley, and the nurse formerly in charge of caring for Mousey, Horatio and Flossie, Sunnie, now working as one of the two nurses at the Walnut Manor, these three develop many relations with all the other patients at the Manor, and even the other nurse and the only doctor. Everyone at the Walnut Manor becomes a huge family.I highly recommend you come join Sandy, Bentley and Sunnie in LAtW. I love how over the time the comatose patients are staying at the Walnut Manor, everyone there develops a strong family-like relationship. They all care for each other dearly, and it was a very great part on the author’s hand of writing these relationships. Each character was developed very well. The one thing I could say is that although many characters each have their own flaw, they all somehow manage to be Mary-Sues and Gary-Stews at the same time.
Keri McLucasHumorLove among the Walnuts, by Jean Ferris, is an entertaining story about a very wealthy man and his family. Horatio Alger Huntington-Ackerman lives in an ideal, perfect world with his wife, Mousey and their son, Sandy. The world the little family lives in is so complete; they never need to leave their home for anything. The home is located right next door to a sanitarium known as Walnut Manor. Unfortunately, Horatio’s brothers, Bart and Bernie are not quite as happy or wealthy. They devise methods to take over Horatio’s companies and financial kingdom. Bart and Bernie make mistakes while trying to get rid of Horatio and his family, leaving Horatio, Mousey and the pet chicken in deep comas. The “sleepers” are moved next door to Walnut Manor for easier care until they wake up. While Sandy, the family butler and a lovely nurse take care of the family and other patients they learn some terrible secrets about the dwindling finances of Walnut Manor. They work to devise a plan of their own to end the brother’s attempts to take over the family fortune and Walnut Manor.Love among the Walnuts is a book that readers will not be able to put down. At times the story seems a bit melancholy and other times very dramatic, yet the twists and turns keep it light and absolutely comical! This story begins as a novel for the younger teen; however, the plot quickly deepens and targets a much older group of young adult readers. The language is appropriately light and adds to this very clever and funny story!
What do You think about Love Among The Walnuts (1998)?
This was another one of my recent reads that had me underwhelmed. I wasn't a fan of the writing to begin with--I felt that it was trying much too hard to be whimsical and this was overly obvious. It gets better as the plot progresses, but the plot is pretty weak, predictable, and boring. I felt like it was in great need of plot twists and funny situations, instead of just ironically "funny" narration. Now, don't get me wrong, some of the whimsy was hilarious. The character's names were clever and really fun to track. I just don't know, though. If you're in the mood for whimsy, I would strongly recommend Ferris's other books, Once Upon A Marigold and Twice Upon a Marigold. This was more morbid, darker humor, reminding me a times of Pushing Daisies (but really not as funny). I just kept trying to look past the plot, theorizing that there'd be a twist in relation to the characters, the location, the mystery, whatever, and nothing really surfaced. I did enjoy watching the relationship between Sandy and Sunnie progress, but even that felt drastically drawn out (but maybe that's what made it so cute!). All in all, not the greatest book, but there are definitely worse.Rating: 3/5
—Runa
Love Among the Walnuts was a very sweet story that felt almost like a short instead of a full-length novel. The plot was silly, unrealistic, but ultimately heart-warming. This book is about a young man named Sandy, who grew up isolated from the world in his parents' large farm mansion. The story begins when Sandy's life is turned upside down in a ridiculous series of events, including a poisoned birthday cake, a sweet young nurse, and a bunch of "temporarily distressed" loony-bin patients. I liked this book so much because it felt like a fairy tale. Like fairy tales, it was ridiculous, but just so sweet and cliched. I also could relate to all of the characters, which was fun.I would suggest this book to ages 12 and up. It was as clean and friendly as a book can be, but it would probably bore anyone under 12. :)
—Caroline Potterf
When Horatio Alger Huntington-Ackerman meets Mousy Malone, Their lives are so perfect together that they find they have no need of the outside world. So they stay in their own world with their only son Alexander. When they become victims to a plot from Horatio’s greedy brothers, Alexander is the only one left to try and save them. Since they were put in a coma, he moves them in next door to the Walnut manor, the local insane asylum, where very nice, wealthy, eccentric people live. Sunnie, The new nurse at the asylum is glad to help out. Can they find a cure for Alexander’s sleeping parents? Will the residents of Walnut manor help them or will his parents be forever in a coma?
—Linda Katzman
