Jeremy  Ray

The House Plant

The Houseplant

Ciel Zero

[ BOOK IG: @clumsyciel ]

overall rating: 5/5 ⭐️
time taken to read: ~1 hour
number of notes: 22 

"But because the fern knew what humans considered beautiful, it had skillfully remained the opposite for years. It stunted its own growth and kept its leaves shriveled up like a head of lettuce."

George, a fern, has spent all of his time and energy purposefully appearing as unattractive as possible, so as to prevent himself from being bought by the patrons of Garden Palace. but when unwillingly bought by Brenda, George learns the true meaning of grief and love. 

it was somewhere at 2AM in the morning when i read a friend's review for this book - i had decided to buy the kindle version on the spot. i mean, it's a book in the perspective of George, a plant! definitely a unique concept; especially with how little pages this book had as compared to my numerous 700-page novels (looking at you, The Goldfinch). 

i had finished the book a little less than an hour later and i was in tears, over a fucking plant!
if that doesn't say how beautifully this book was written, i don't know what does.

within the same morning, i had recommended this book to my mother, who is probably the biggest plant lover i know in existence. i mean, half of our living room are just filled with plants - this is not even discussing the other parts of our home where she has plants placed. 😂

i was surprised that she even finished the book! my mum doesn't have a thing for reading unlike my father and i, but she loved this book too! for someone who dislikes reading to say that they loved this book, i think that speaks volumes of how amazing this story was. 

THP is an impactful read, it reminds us about how plants are also living things too; they have feelings, just like you and i. just because they act differently from a pet, does not mean that they're no less worthy of love. 

though this book is a short 32-page story, it is packed with so much love and meaning. like me, you'll probably never look at plants the same way again.

C. J. Daley 

This was another story that was very nicely given to me as an ARC reader. 

At the beginning of Jeremy Ray’s stories there’s a nod to Pixar’s little shorts before their movies and how much he loves them and wants to honor them with little micro-stories before his own pieces. I love that and I particularly loved that for this piece because this entire story could read like a Pixar release. 

It follows a legitimate house plant in a story of love, death, grief, forgiveness, and growth. It should be silly and yet it pulls at all your heart strings instead. I was once again attached to my phone from start to finish, just like with Petrified Women. You’ll feel a genuine pit in your stomach and maybe some tears in your eyes as well. I think it’s a point in the authors favor as well that he can write such gripping drama and also horror. I feel like it’s not often enough that we see authors doing more than one genre well.

I absolutely encourage you to pick this up. You can find all of Jeremy’s work via the link in his bio on Instagram, and everything (paperback and digital) is available through Amazon!

Sintia

I loved this short story! Who could say that even a plant can have its own story?
I have to admit, I wanted to read more and more about George in the end.
I totally recommend it!

Charlotte J. Ruth

Thank you, Jeremy Ray, for the ARC! 

This short story made me feel sad, happy, wistful, and it made me laugh all within a few pages. I’m thoroughly impressed with how Ray taught such a meaningful lesson within such a short story. I highly recommend everyone give this a read - I’d definitely recommend it to English classes, as well.

Mary Baldwin

This short story was very generously gifted to me by the author; Thankyou Jeremy.

After my review you’re bound to want to know more, you’ll find ways to reach Jeremy and his work at the bottom of the page.

I am not, as a rule, a fan of short stories. I’ve never really stopped to ask myself why that is. Maybe a hangover from the beliefs that I am a) incapable of writing a short story myself, and b) dislike poetry which I sometimes associate with shorts (neither a or b are necessarily correct)

At the start of the book Jeremy talks about a relationship he’d had in the past with a houseplant - and it made me think of my own experiences with them. Honestly? I kill plants. I always struggle to keep them healthy but I love the idea of a home full of green, happy plants.

Having no idea where this tale would go, I was reading on with intrigue.

If you read no further, then leave with this: 

“The Houseplant is a beautiful and insightful story on what it means to be a human.”

I ended it with more than one tear in my eyes. 

George is a house plant. He wasn’t always called George, but we meet him at Brenda’s book club. Brenda loves to tell the story of how she met George, to her book club friends.

However, George has a different story to tell. And for a houseplant, he’s remarkable articulate! 

We learn a lot about Brenda, how she loves and lives, and George’s opinions on her under appreciation and self worth.

George calls on some friends as he and Brenda navigate grief, joy and friendship. 

There are so many beautiful sentences and sentiments, but I’d do the story an injustice to share any more with you.

This is a beautiful read. 


Gabriela Cardenas

What happens when a houseplant loses the thing he never knew he wanted?

Jeremy Ray was kind enough to send us a copy for a completely different short story: The House Plant.

If we are completely honest, we were a little bit skeptical about reading a story told from the perspective of a house plant, because well, what can a plant say? But we received an incredible surprise, because George the plant did have a lot to say.

This was a heartwarming little story about acceptance, and trying to get out of our comfort zone. Suffice to say, we loved it! In 31 pages you get so many emotions, it's surreal how such a short text made me go from laughing, to crying, to smiling again.

We were so glad to have read it, and we recommend everyone to check it out, you won't regret it!

Follow @ourbookishminds for more book content on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CT-8HgNrk...

Ashling Brown

I was gifted a copy of the house plant by the author in exchange for an honest review!!


The house plant, to me, was a story of acceptance, fear and love. It was a story on perseverance and pain, and I truly enjoyed the time I spent reading. I was first intrigued by the unusual synopsis of the story - A talking house plant is something I would love to read about, so I did. 

As someone who has been a fern mum for two years and takes care of it daily, I enjoyed the story's premise. I love how we got to see both Brenda and George's sides of the story. One's story was love at first sight, whilst the other had fear and a slow acceptance story. 

My favourite part of this short story was the imagination used. Who would have thought to create a story in the pov of a house plant? The story was well written, engaging and wonderful. I loved listening to both George and Brenda's story and I'm glad that in the end, George found his happy ending. I was shocked by how much emotion was packed into this little story!!

Now that I've read this book, I will take extra special care of my plants - although I already do, I need to love them just that little bit more!!