When the Tree Sings
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Book Overview
Set in an impoverished Greece at the cruel time of the
German occupation during WWII, When the Tree Sings is a boy's eye view
of war's terrible ways. His parents dead, his paternal home destroyed, the
narrator lives with his aged grandmother. With barely enough to survive on,
they struggle to avoid death, whether by hunger or violence. In short chapters,
the unnamed narrator gives us the life of his village, filled with its vivid
characters--the one-eyed companion, the Informer, the idiot, the whore, and
more. And the wonder of this novel is how engaging the world is to the boy and,
so, to readers, too, who accompany him on his sojourns. James Merrill described When
the Tree Sings this way: "A history lovely and appalling as wildflowers
from an old battleground."
German occupation during WWII, When the Tree Sings is a boy's eye view
of war's terrible ways. His parents dead, his paternal home destroyed, the
narrator lives with his aged grandmother. With barely enough to survive on,
they struggle to avoid death, whether by hunger or violence. In short chapters,
the unnamed narrator gives us the life of his village, filled with its vivid
characters--the one-eyed companion, the Informer, the idiot, the whore, and
more. And the wonder of this novel is how engaging the world is to the boy and,
so, to readers, too, who accompany him on his sojourns. James Merrill described When
the Tree Sings this way: "A history lovely and appalling as wildflowers
from an old battleground."
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1589881680
ISBN13:9781589881686
Release Date:October 2022
Publisher:Paul Dry Books
Length:232 Pages
Weight:0.45 lbs.
Dimensions:0.8" x 4.5" x 6.9"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Poignant & beautifully written
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
I first read this little book many years ago. It is one you will never forget. It describes the life of a boy in a small Greek village, first under the Nazi occupation, and then during the civil war that follows WWII. The author skillfully includes the hardships of life with the joys; the mysticism of ancient traditions and modern intrusions of technology and warfare. The imagery this book draws up makes it unforgettable.
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