“Language of Flowers” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh – Communication Taken to the Next Level

There are many different ways of communication: speech, writing in letters, in symbols, gestures, and even looks. There is no shortage of ways us humans have found ways of communicating our thoughts with others, which eventually gave birth to many fascinating methods, including the Flower language used during the Victorian era.

In Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh sheds light on this enigmatic form of communication through an engaging story, that of Victoria Jones, whose entire life has been plagued by solitude and disdain towards other people. Unable to get emotionally close to other people after having lost much of her innocence in the cruel foster care system she was drawn to the beauty of flowers and their ability to express her feelings. 

Unexpectedly, through time she observes that she actually has the ability to help others based on the flowers she gives them. However, just as she was starting to piece herself together, a mysterious strangers falls into her life, making her realize something big is missing from her life, something that will require her to look deep into her past and confront the demons imprisoned within.

First of all, regardless of what it may look like, you have to admit that communicating via flowers is quite extraordinary, especially when you take some time to read into just how elaborate the language became. I really like how the modern elements of this novel were mixed with the Victorian art of communicating via flowers, making it an unconventional work of art. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last novel I read where flower language occupied a central place in the story.

However, this isn’t simply a book about how a girl helps a bunch of people by giving them flowers… it would have been far too boring, at least in my opinion. No, we are treated to a complex protagonist who desires to do good to others, but is innately suppressed in her desire to get close to those others, especially when it comes to doing the unthinkable: fall in love. It is obvious from the get-go that Victoria bears many scars on her, ones that prevent her from ever truly being fulfilled. 

The mysterious stranger that enters her life serves as the catalyst to the rest of the story, introducing her to certain wonders she couldn't imagine, ones that will thrust her deep into a dilemma: does she take stability and relative comfort, or does she risk it all in hopes of finding true happiness? A dilemma similar to what many of us have, or will face at some point in our lives.

To conclude, The Language of Flowers is a very captivating story that will probably send you into a deep thinking mode, perhaps even forcing you to re-evaluate your own life, and see if you are missing anything vital to your happiness. I’d definitely recommend it, at least to those who like these types of reads.

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Vanessa Diffenbaugh Born in San Francisco, Vanessa Diffenbaugh studied creative writing at Stanford, after which she engaged herself in teaching English in low-income communities. Much of her life is focused on helping the disenfranchised of society, though that doesn’t mean she has no time to write as she wrote some interesting works, with the most prominent one being Language of Flowers.