 In Time , Brian T. Bennett wrote , " The Ash Garden may not be a page @-@ turner , but Bock 's prose lures the reader along through smooth , sculpted sentences full of rich detail and subtle meditation . " In Maclean 's magazine , Brian Bethune wrote , " Intellectually engaging , beautifully written and powered by three memorable characters , The Ash Garden will seduce anyone who reads it . " In the Christian Science Monitor , fiction critic Ron Charles wrote " Bock moves back and forth through time in a series of exquisite scenes , always keeping his vision tightly focused , despite the world @-@ altering events he describes . ... What makes the novel so compelling and disturbing , though , is its emotional restraint . " Regarding the quality of the prose , a review in the Quill & Quire said " Bock 's writing is both dense and immensely readable " while the review in Library Journal " highly recommended " it . In Books in Canada one reviewer highlighted that on " occasions , the prose turns mannered and cliches pop up " . though a later review by W. P. Kinsella called it a " brilliant novel ... [ with ] superb plot twists that make it a spellbinding adventure in reading " . 
