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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Meandering...
like their walks or the river.
The power of tale telling, stories, anecdotes.
Courtship through stories, made me think of Scheherazade.
Curiosity, mystery.
Longing.
Love affair with trees.
Tree of life, can we tell our story through trees? (or something else)
Not necessarily an easy read but interesting and thought provoking nevertheless.
like their walks or the river.
The power of tale telling, stories, anecdotes.
Courtship through stories, made me think of Scheherazade.
Curiosity, mystery.
Longing.
Love affair with trees.
Tree of life, can we tell our story through trees? (or something else)
Not necessarily an easy read but interesting and thought provoking nevertheless.
I'm not a scientist or an arborist, but the detail and the descriptive language of trees in this book had enchanted, let alone the thoughtful anecdotes and stories of characters and circumstance woven throughout the book. What a mesmerising and incredibly beautiful read. Completely disarming and relaxing - this did what a good book should, every time I picked it up it transported me from where I was, into a completely different environment.
Two stars, because I liked the way it ended, which was how I hoped it would end, and I liked the structure of the stories within the story. Otherwise I would've given it one star. I didn't like how passive Ellen is, nor how Ellen and her father didn't really know each other.
The quote on the cover of the book says: "you will never forget what is at the heart of this book".. I am not sure what is at the heart of this book.
The quote on the cover of the book says: "you will never forget what is at the heart of this book".. I am not sure what is at the heart of this book.
dreamy and beautiful; it felt like i was reading modern australian updates of classic ancient tales and mythologies.
I had no recollection that I ever read this book, and to think back probably the only thing I brought away from it is that there are many type of Eucalyptus trees (and maybe type is not the right word, species?), and people's immense obsessions with anything is a starting point of a story.
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
I will get back to this but I need to make a fresh start and having this hanging over me is counter productive
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Eucalyptus is the perfect example of quality components being suffocated by structure and application of ideas. A man's obsession with eucalyptus offers an unique opportunity to prolong his inability to relinquish his ties to his daughter. He sets her betrothal to the challenge of identifying the various subspecies he has nurtured with greater attentiveness than he has ever bestowed upon his offspring. Those who flock to the intrigue of this task are as varied as his collection.
There was merit in what the author was trying to set up with parallels and legitimate moments of humor. But the balance was so off kilter. THe first quarter of the book was a slogging encyclopedia of the scientific and cultural details of several eucalyptus. When we finally do get to the characters and focus of the story these details return...paired with stories that are supposed to give us insight into the relationships and progression of several of the characters. While this is an interesting device, the narrator is so inconsistent and poorly defined that many times I had to stop and think if this was the outside narrator, the mysterious suitor, the daughter, or the father reacting. Once in a while others would chime in. Additionally, drawing sympathy only works when you actually have a character that isn't a blank slate. I was so frustrated by the bland and detached personalities. I simply couldn't bring myself to care about anyone's fate. ANd while I commend the author's research the closest moment of empathy I mustered was to mirror the daughter's sentiment that she never wanted to hear a tree name again.
Eucalyptus is a creative premise. There is a lot of effort and some interesting narrative choices were made. All in all, I think this would have made an excellent short story or novella. It simply wore out its welcome long before the final page.
There was merit in what the author was trying to set up with parallels and legitimate moments of humor. But the balance was so off kilter. THe first quarter of the book was a slogging encyclopedia of the scientific and cultural details of several eucalyptus. When we finally do get to the characters and focus of the story these details return...paired with stories that are supposed to give us insight into the relationships and progression of several of the characters. While this is an interesting device, the narrator is so inconsistent and poorly defined that many times I had to stop and think if this was the outside narrator, the mysterious suitor, the daughter, or the father reacting. Once in a while others would chime in. Additionally, drawing sympathy only works when you actually have a character that isn't a blank slate. I was so frustrated by the bland and detached personalities. I simply couldn't bring myself to care about anyone's fate. ANd while I commend the author's research the closest moment of empathy I mustered was to mirror the daughter's sentiment that she never wanted to hear a tree name again.
Eucalyptus is a creative premise. There is a lot of effort and some interesting narrative choices were made. All in all, I think this would have made an excellent short story or novella. It simply wore out its welcome long before the final page.