From Library Journal: "This collection of interrelated stories from the talented Hoffman chronicles the 300-year history of Blackwell, MA, a mythical town tucked deep in the Berkshire Mountains. Bears, eels, and vigilant collies are among Blackwell's denizens, as well as a cast of characters both richly diverse and closely connected. From town founder Hallie Brady, a fearless woods-woman with an affinity for the ursine, to James Mott, the modern-day EMT who seems destined to tempt fate, these characters are singular and vivid: a beautiful baker who specializes in deadly sin cakes, a man so monstrously ugly he can't look at himself, a fisherman's wife with hair so long she can step on it, who has a strange connection to the eels that are the town's main natural resource. Linking them all is an extraordinary garden, where the greenest plant grows red and the answers to life's mysteries can be found. A poignant, compelling collection of fairy tales suffused with pathos and brightened by flashes of magic. Her fans, as well as those of magical realism in general, will be enchanted."