Marigold and Rose: A Fiction

Nobel Prize–winning poet and author Glück offers an exploration of the inner lives of twin infants. Marigold and Rose do not yet speak but are curious, and parts of their personalities have formed. Marigold is a watcher, already writing her first book in her head; Rose is smiley and friendly. They have memories of each other from being together as an egg. They understand each other and are learning to understand the world around them. Glück calls this “a fiction,” but it seems more like an experiment. When their grandmother dies, Marigold and Rose’s mother briefly returns to working outside the home, and listeners follow their progress through to their first birthday. Narrating her own work, Glück manages to convey a sense of wonder and childhood perspective that seems at once familiar and foreign. The author’s weathered voice may initially seem like a surprising choice to portray two infants, but it soon becomes clear that she is the perfect choice to voice these unique children.