The Simple Wild: A Novel

Flowers play a significant role in the story, serving as a prominent motif that symbolizes the cultivated beauty of nature, relationships, and growth. Susan, who deeply loves flowers, names her daughter Calla after the delicately beautiful lily. She adorns the walls of Calla’s room with the flower, representing her love for flowers and her belief that she can't grow anything in Alaska. In Toronto, Susan opens a flower shop and enjoys painting flowers. She is passionate about nature but prefers the more cultivated aesthetic of cut flowers over Alaska’s untamed flora. When Corey and Calla first started dating, he had flowers delivered to her from Susan’s shop weekly. When the flower deliveries ended, Calla realized their relationship was changing significantly. Calla buys flowers for Agnes as a hostess gift in Alaska and discovers that finding fresh-cut flowers is challenging. Her gesture signals her intent to build a relationship with Agnes, a special part of Wren’s life. For Calla, flowers represent endings and the possibility of new beginnings.

When Wren shows Calla to her room, she discovers that he’s left the walls untouched. She muses, “[T]wenty-six years ago, in a land that is unforgiving for so many things, this was her garden.