From INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLING AUTHOR Sara Alexi, who ranks as one of Amazon.co.uk’s TOP Literary Fiction authors
The first in the Greek Village Collection
Sara Alexi weaves this entrancing story of the burgeoning relationship that develops between two people from very different backgrounds and cultures; an English woman living in Greece and the Pakistani illegal immigrant who becomes her … becomes her gardener and house boy.
Each brings their own problems, their own past baggage, and she approaches these with sympathy and understanding as well as exploring the nuances and differences in therir cultures as they become more and more dependent on each other.
This is a book that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading…
What other readers have to say about The Illegal Gardener …
‘A really intelligent, moving book.’
‘Sensitive with beautifully crafted characters that you really cared about.’
‘The Illegal Gardener’ is a story of betrayal, love, trust and friendship. Not a romance but perhaps a lesson in life on just how young minds can be damaged by spite or thoughtlessness, and how those same minds can be repaired by true friends.’
‘I was captivated from the start unable to put the book down.’
‘The Illegal Gardener’ is a delightful story, filled not only with love of Greece but a deep understanding of the varieties of love which can bring people together.’
‘reminiscent of Remains of the Day.’
‘The author has huge potential and if she keeps writing and developing like this then I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see her name on a future Man Booker list!’
‘A good tale well told. Shades of Steinbeck and Bradbury.’
‘A most charming and sensitive book.’
If you like Gerald Durrell you’ll love this book…
more
I loved this book!
The author’s writing and descriptions are beautifully crafted.
We first meet Juliet, recently divorced and moved from Britain to Greece. She has bought a run-down house with an unkempt garden and goes to the town square to hire day-help: a temporary gardener.
The men waiting there are all illegal immigrants. The person she …
Not even done with the book and am recommendin it to everyone. A journey of twoeople who have both moved to Greece for very different reasons, yet have more in common than they had thought possible. A novel worth a 2nd read.
This book was so hard to believe as being a work of fiction. The Author has the characters so alive it’s almost like she knew them personally. Juliet & Aabroom came from completely different worlds.
Still they were able to understand with compassion the pain and suffering each had suffered and formed a loving respect for each other. Every …
I have read all of this series. I loved every one! Wonderful characters!
The story alone was worth the read but the characters were quite real. Put with the story it is a wonderful heart felt book. I didn’t want the story to end and to some extent it doesn’t. There is a second book, which I can’t wait to read. The kindness just goes on. It makes you feel there is some small hope for mankind. One person at a time.
I rarely read contemporary fiction, but truly enjoyed this one. Found it origonal, heartwarming, and thought-provoking.
Thoroughly enjoyable tale
I was able to view a slice of life very realistically that I’d never would have known without this story.
Anything by this author is wonderful!
Hauntingly beautiful- perhaps the best of Sara Alexi’s Greek Village series
The first of Sara Alexi’s stories based on a Greek island. In each book, you come across characters from previous books written.
An illegal immigrant as one of the primary characters, couldn’t help but remind me of today’s conflicts. In the world in which we currently live, this was a great book about hope and kindness.
I loved all the books in the Greek Village series but this one is what got me hooked on this wonderful author and I’ve read everything she has written
I don’t honestly know if I liked this book, but it was good. Definitely kept me thinking about it.
The Illegal Gardener, by Sara Alexi is a story that is not only relevant but also thought provoking. An unlikely and rare friendship blossoms between a lonely British divorcee who moves to a Greek island and an illegal Pakistani immigrant trying to earn enough money as a gardener to buy equipment for his family farm.
Juliet hires two men to help …
I loved this book! The characters, the setting, their stories hooked me from the first pages. Highly recommend.
A good story of what life might be like in a foreign country. Interesting.
Good book, with a “reality check” on what immigrants and victims of political oppression really experience.
An interesting perspective of what we take for granted and the bonds of unexpected friendships when moving to a new country….and coming to terms with ghosts of ones past…
Slow start but great sense of place anf engsges you