White Oleander
Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes-each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned-becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.
What you might want to know about White Oleander
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Twelve-year-old Astrid Magnussen lives in a small Hollywood apartment with her poet mother Ingrid until Ingrid poisons a man who left her and goes to prison.
Yes. A 2002 film starred Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, and Alison Lohman.
Yes. Janet Fitch's novel was selected for Oprah's Book Club in 1999, which contributed to its bestseller status.
It contains foster care abuse, sexual content, and emotional cruelty. It is not light reading.
White Oleander was written by Fitch, Janet, published in 1989 by Little, Brown and Company.
White Oleander is 390 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, White Oleander takes most readers 6 to 8 hours to finish.
White Oleander is a standalone novel by Fitch, Janet, not part of a series.
White Oleander is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
