I first heard of this play back when I was in high school. I don't recall the exact circumstances, but I do recall that someone, somewhere was performing it and for some reason I didn't get to go see it. I've heard it referenced on other occasions, and have always been wanting to know the details of what it was about. It sounded so intriguing.
And so I ordered it at Waldenbooks - wasn't on the shelves. Took a while to get in, but it was a quick read (1-2 hours), only about 110 pages, and some of them with illustrations. First thing I read was a preface by the author...and was immediately unimpressed. My suspicion is that people who make a habit of complaining about their parents tend to be looking for some reason to blame someone else for their failures. And he's doing a bit more than complaining. He's ripping her to shreds. Still, if that's the kind of woman she was, why not express it honestly, I suppose.
The three characters in the story are Tillie (the author in drag), Ruth (the sister), and Beatrice (the loony mother) who doesn't like to be called loony and also doesn't like to be condescended to by by the people down at the school (some of whom had made found it amusing to torment her when she was a child).
The marigolds are a metaphor for Tillie, of course, and for her mother and sister. If they get too much radiation as the mother did, they die (spiritually). If they get only a certain amount of radiation then they might have some permanent damage (like Ruth) or they might become a new, vibrant kind of plant (like Tillie).
It's a good story. Zindel says it's a love letter to the "entire public school system," and it certainly reads like one. But the lop-sided, exaggerated portrayal of the mother and the school system make it seem less than authentic. I think I'll share it with my oldest daughter and get her opinion. Btw, the book got the 1971 Pulitzer Prize and probably deserved it.
