When Mr Harrington Brande moves himself and his precious young son Nicholas to a grand house in the deserted Spanish town of San Jorge he is planning on a fresh start for the two of them. And only the two of them. For Mr Harrington Brande is a proud man and a jealous man. His beloved wife has recently fled his stifling love and now Brande has transferred all of his adoration onto Nicholas. He monitors his son's every move and is obsessed with ensuring that the bond between them is stronger than ever. But history begins to repeat itself when Nicholas befriends the gardener José. José is like no one Nicholas has ever met before and he instantly holds him in high regard. Brande does not take too kindly to having to vie for his son's attention with the Spanish gardener, and becomes increasingly suspicious of his rival. Encouraged by his butler, Garcia, Brande becomes convinced that José is not the person he pretends to be. Blinded by love and jealousy, how far will Brande go to secure his son's affections? In the magnificent narrative tradition of The Citadel, The Stars Look Down and Cronin's other classic novels, The Spanish Gardener is a great book by a much-loved author.

クローニンの筆致は、愛という名の「独占欲」が招く悲劇を鋭く抉り出します。冷徹な父ブランドの執着と、庭師ホセがもたらす太陽のような自由。その対比は、単なる少年の成長譚を超え、人間の支配欲への痛烈な批判として響きます。心理描写の深淵に触れるテキストの凄みは、読者の心に静かな、しかし確かな戦慄を刻みつけることでしょう。 映像化作品では、スペインの光溢れる庭園が視覚化され、抑圧的な邸宅とのコントラストがさらに鮮明になります。小説が父の病的な内面を執拗に追う一方で、映像はホセの温もりをより直感的に伝え、両者を併せて享受することで物語はより重層的な輝きを放ちます。本作は、形を変えた二つの「愛」の激突を、美しくも残酷に描き切った不朽の名作です。