Consider the Lily by Elizabeth Buchan

It took me days to finish this book. The first few chapters are very dragging that even if I had already

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read a few pages I still did not understand a thing. In fact, I finished another book before checking out on this because I did not have much of a choice but in the end, I am grateful to get back to this.

Elizabeth Buchan is very poignant at this masterpiece while showing enough knowledge at gardening. A man (Kit) and a woman (Daisy) so in love with each other but the man ended up marrying another girl (Matty) because of social responsibilities and financial dilemma. The storyline is something I often encountered but what hooked me is the realness of the situation. It is not my habit reading synopsis of books because finding it myself gives me an element of surprise and Consider the Lily gave it to me.

All along, I thought the story will revolve around how Kit and Daisy get over the humps on their way to true love and live happily ever after (which is so traditional fairy tale-like for me). Instead, it was more about Matty and how she managed adultery while unravelling  Kit’s family secret. To be honest, I hated Matty on the first part. She is an orphan with quite a fortune left to her by her parents. Always sickly and always seeking for love, she ended up buying Kit to a marriage. But boy, I must give her credit for her willpower.

I have certain fascination about stories happened in Europe and this one gave me enough taste of it being set in London with scenes in France and some other parts of the world. The vivid experience of Kit’s father, Rupert, during the Great War also added meat and action to the story.

One that got me thinking while paying for this book is why is it titled Consider the Lily. There were quite a variety of flowers mentioned on this book but roses and lilies were the most talked about with lilies as the second option. There could be a lot of interpretations but as I am writing this review, it dawned into me that it has something to do with the storyline. Daisy is the rose and Matty, the lily. Despite of Kit’s obsession with Daisy and vice versa, in the end, both agreed to go on with their lives separately. Kit chose to have a brand new start with Matty.

In our lives, there are certain things we desired badly but we cannot get them. We try. And try. But life has a funny way of showing it cannot happen. And sometimes all we just have to do is move on  and make the most of what we have.

Title: Consider the Lily

Author: Elizabeth Buchan

Publisher:  Macmillan, 1993