Ronit J

The Cutting Garden by Darcy Van Poelgeest, Erin Connally & Aditya Bidikar is a graphic novel that I discovered on NetGalley. The stunning cover and interesting title immediately drew my attention. I requested the eARC without reading the description because sometimes, I like taking risks like that. So far, I’ve only regretted it twice that I can think of in recent times. Lucky for me, I got approved.

So, did the book live up to my expectations?

The Cutting Garden by Darcy Van Poelgeest, Erin Connally & Aditya Bidikar | Synopsis

A mysterious young girl seeks out a florist to deliver a painful truth that will forever change them both in this tender, gothic drama about our need for love and the creatures we become in its absence.

On a quiet street in early twentieth-century New Orleans, a florist works through the night to craft a floral arrangement for a peculiar customer—a precocious young girl named Adeil who pays the florist in stories. For every new flower the florist adds to the bouquet, Adeil offers another dissonant detail in her narrative: a chance meeting with a disillusioned jazz singer, a dilapidated family home, an idyllic life on the fringes of an imperfect world. As dawn approaches and the arrangement takes shape, the florist is left to piece together the final details of Adeil’s mysterious life and ponder what this means for her own story.

From Eisner Award-winning writer Darcy Van Poelgeest (Little Bird, Precious Metal) and rising-star watercolor artist Erin Connally comes The Cutting Garden, a gorgeously rendered meditation on companionship, family, and sacrifice.

The Cutting Garden by Darcy Van Poelgeest, Erin Connally & Aditya Bidikar | Review

Stunning Watercolour Artwork

I’ll admit, I didn’t know what exactly to expect from this graphic novel. The cover illustration alone was intriguing enough, promising an aesthetic visual journey into something poetic and moving. And honestly, it was. The illustrations were by far my favourite part of the graphic novel. The minimalist watercolour style with its brilliant use of light and shadows to create contrasts brilliantly set a haunting atmosphere. Each panel is a meditative watercolour painting that you can sit down and admire for a long time.

I especially loved how each chapter is bookended with illustration figures of different flowers, which—in my interpretation—all form part of the bouquet that the florist makes. As the seasons change, so does the colour palette, reflecting both the demanding nature of the characters’ setting, as well as their inner emotional states. Overall, my admiration for the artwork is the primary reason for my rating of this book. From the art perspective, it was absolutely stunning.

Objective, even the story itself is quite moving. The only issue was that it didn’t move me as much as I expected it to.

A Story That You Have To Piece Together

The story follows—outright stating at some points—a mother character and a daughter character. However, these aren’t literal relations, but missing support that the characters project onto each other. The symbolism of this relationship and the love that’s been missing in their respective lives remains largely unexplained. And yet, the more you think about it, the more you’ll be able to piece it all together.

To be honest, I did have trouble following the story. I managed to piece together most of it by the end, but I was left scratching my head with regards to certain aspects. While this isn’t always a complaint from my end, in this case it was. Mostly because the characters didn’t really stand out to me in particular. The plot moved forward in a deliberately slow pace. However, the motivations weren’t clear enough for me to be convinced of certain happenings. This little dissonance between me and the story is what made the graphic novel a tad underwhelming for me.

While I absolutely loved the artwork, I can’t help but wonder if the story could have been fleshed out better or presented in a different way. Normally, I love books and movies that demand active engagement and interpretation. However, I guess this one wasn’t a book for me. Side note: I did find the cursive font a little hard to read, which could have added to my issues interpreting this story.

Conclusion:

The Cutting Garden by Darcy Van Poelgeest, Erin Connally & Aditya Bidikar is a hauntingly beautiful graphic novel where the watercolour illustrations create a dream-like atmosphere to tell this moving tale of mothers & daughters.

More Links:

• Goodreads
• Storygraph

Also Read:

• Jugnuma: The Fable (2024) | Film Review
• Zootopia 2 (2025) | Film Review
• r/Fantasy Bingo 2025 | Check out my card!
• Barrier: The Collected Edition by Brian K Vaughan, Marcos Martín & Munsta Vicente | Graphic Novel Review
• One Piece Live Action Season 2 | Netflix | TV Review
• Island of the Dying Goddess

Have you read The Cutting Garden by Darcy Van Poelgeest, Erin Connally & Aditya Bidikar? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments below.

Subscribe to my newsletter, and grab a free copy of Abandoned by the Gods! Until next time!