Mozart in the Garden

Silicon Valley and Me. We Grew Up Together

By: Tom Liggett

Narrated by: Benjamin McLean

From the Ashes of Fruit Trees Grew Today's Silicon Valley

Thousands of cookie-cutter homes for high-tech workers sprouted from the funeral pyres of a vanishing way of life as acres of lush fruit trees were bulldozed and burned to create today's Silicon Valley.

One of the children who grew up in this new suburbia in San Jose, California, was Tom Liggett, a neglected, unwanted child of dysfunctional (that's being kind) parents, who befriended the "witch" who lived in the Spanish cottage on the hill.

Their unlikely friendship and Tom's adventures are told in this unforgettable memoir. It's a tale of lost dreams, boyhood innocence, and two remarkable characters in midcentury California history.

BONUS story

A stunning story-within-a-story recounts the life and times of Faye Wolfe, the last first-person account of a survivor of the Galveston hurricane in 1900, the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, and her connection to the Spanish-style architecture of the region and the sordid history of Silicon Valley - long before it was ever Silicon Valley - as told to an 11-year-old boy in this, his coming-of-age memoir.

Tom Liggett is one of the world’s foremost experts on roses. He founded the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, the second largest public rose garden in the world. This memoir is his third book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Tom Liggett (P)2020 Benjamin McLean

Did not meet my expectations

My expectations of a memoir include: 1) If the circumstances of childhood are truly unusual, then how did those circumstances uniquely manifest in the writer's adulthood? What was learned, or later un-learned, from that circumstance that is different from the life lessons of the other 99 million people who have survived childhood? 2) When a large portion of the story is retelling a hardship or pain, what is the objective of the telling, besides looking for a metaphysical hug from the reader? What perspective grew out of that experience? 3) If the memoir promises to connect the reader to one or more significant historical events, that promise demands a more extensive telling of the event than a brief, "XXX happened at the same time I was growing up."

"Mozart in the Garden" disappointed me on all three of these counts.

While being served repeated anecdotes of (not uncommon) physical deprivation and unhealthy living skills of his childhood, I don't feel I know anything about the man who lives now, or how that shaped him. Nor do I sense an appreciation for the women of his young life who survived with the only coping skills they had.

A significant share of the book is dedicated to the remembrances of events of 100 years ago. Stories of a 1900 hurricane, told to a child in the 1960s, then as remembered by the man another 60 years later in 2020. A historical event for which I would have gladly accepted a few old news photos and clippings in exchange for the abundance of Liggett family album photos peppered throughout the book.

I experienced this book through a combination of hard copy and audiobook, the media combination that permits me to switch back and forth as my day progresses. Sadly, the content did not live up to the grace and convenience of the delivery media.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Wasn't sure at first but so glad I stuck with it!

The first two chapters are quite coarse and I wasn't sure if this was going to be the book for me. I am not a prude by any means but I flinched a few times. I stuck with it and now realize the author was trying to set the tone for his family background and upbringing as it was an important aspect of his story. After that, the book just took off. It is a bittersweet story of a kid trying to make his way in very difficult and unfair circumstances. I admire his strength of character especially after it never being modeled to him at home. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading his others. The narration is awesome.

My only issue (however slight) is the reference to photos throughout the book that you obviously cannot see. I think the book would benefit from editing these references out.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

love this book

This is very colorful book. Never a dull moment. I couldn't stop listening. I would highly recommend it.

Different Silicon Valley

This book should have never been made into an audiobook. There are so many times that the narrator says "this photo..." well there are no photos. I made myself finish this book for two reasons. 1, I was given the book and felt I need to give the book a chance. 2, I also grew up in Silicon Valley but my life was a million times different. I still can't wrap my head around Tom's life. Where were adults that could help? Teachers, neighbors, social workers someone must have seen or heard! Did no one care? I did learn some interesting things about Silicon Valley but not enough to recommend this book. I will say, Benjamin McLean who narrates this book does a great job and if I could give him a separate star rating I would. 5 stars Benjamin. Finally, Tom seems to have risen above his horrible childhood and made a good life for himself. I am happy about that because given the life he describes I would think he would be either a drug/alcoholic or dead.