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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
Thorn Tree by Max Ludington is a very evocative novel. We see an art piece, hate it, or like it or love it. But how much of the back story do we know about the artist or what compelled them to create that art?
Thorn Tree is two stories combined in one. Daniel, now a school teacher, was an artist first. Dean, a seven year old boy, lives with his mom, Celia, an actress and Jack, his grandfather. One day, Dean visits Daniel, who is his neighbor. The story then picks from there with the back story of Daniel in almost alternative stories.
The book almost begins in the 1960s, and there's a lot of drugs and cult like atmosphere throughout this book. It's not exactly mystery, but there's an element of mystery for sure. I am still contemplating what I think of this book. Definitely needs content warnings, though.
Thank you, St. Martin's Press, for this book.
CW: Drug use, infidelity, child kidnapping, hostage, cult, prison
Thorn Tree is two stories combined in one. Daniel, now a school teacher, was an artist first. Dean, a seven year old boy, lives with his mom, Celia, an actress and Jack, his grandfather. One day, Dean visits Daniel, who is his neighbor. The story then picks from there with the back story of Daniel in almost alternative stories.
The book almost begins in the 1960s, and there's a lot of drugs and cult like atmosphere throughout this book. It's not exactly mystery, but there's an element of mystery for sure. I am still contemplating what I think of this book. Definitely needs content warnings, though.
Thank you, St. Martin's Press, for this book.
CW: Drug use, infidelity, child kidnapping, hostage, cult, prison
A sculpture is admired by the top art critics. It’s a thorn tree made from scrap pieces of metal with wild limbs in all directions. It has taken on a new meaning with this intriguing plot – one that you may find exciting and unusual.
The grandiose tree takes on a path of its own from the creator, Daniel, who remembered the love he had with his girlfriend, Rachel. This was the last place they were sitting together peacefully just south of Santa Cruz on one of the cliffs above the ocean. Rachel left to take a walk and when he woke up from a deep sleep, everything changed.
Life events can be unpredictable and this book is a prime example of how it can unravel when you think you have complete control of what’s ahead. We may meet someone who seems so familiar as described in the book -- like a reincarnated soul – and we try to make sense of it.
Max Ludington takes us into the drug scene of the late 60s with hippies living together at a mystical commune in California. For those living during this time, it could bring back some memories of this movement of free-spirited new-age love. I guess you can call this historical fiction for those that have to ask their parents or grandparents what this was all about.
The writing is engaging with a suspenseful plot and yet, the chapters are long without good breaking points. There are two stories that eventually merge into one and everything makes sense but can be confusing at first. Every character is well-thought out with vivid images to like or scorn with disgust. It’s a book like no other and I have a feeling that this story will linger in my head for a long time.
My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of April 16, 2024.
The grandiose tree takes on a path of its own from the creator, Daniel, who remembered the love he had with his girlfriend, Rachel. This was the last place they were sitting together peacefully just south of Santa Cruz on one of the cliffs above the ocean. Rachel left to take a walk and when he woke up from a deep sleep, everything changed.
Life events can be unpredictable and this book is a prime example of how it can unravel when you think you have complete control of what’s ahead. We may meet someone who seems so familiar as described in the book -- like a reincarnated soul – and we try to make sense of it.
Max Ludington takes us into the drug scene of the late 60s with hippies living together at a mystical commune in California. For those living during this time, it could bring back some memories of this movement of free-spirited new-age love. I guess you can call this historical fiction for those that have to ask their parents or grandparents what this was all about.
The writing is engaging with a suspenseful plot and yet, the chapters are long without good breaking points. There are two stories that eventually merge into one and everything makes sense but can be confusing at first. Every character is well-thought out with vivid images to like or scorn with disgust. It’s a book like no other and I have a feeling that this story will linger in my head for a long time.
My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of April 16, 2024.
The characters in Thorn Tree came of age in the Sixties with its drugs, sex, and rock and roll–and cults.
There is Daniel, who lost the woman he loved, accused of her murder but only found guilty and jailed for drug possession. After his release, he wandered into the desert and finds a place with an older man. Using junk metal, Daniel constructed a giant tree, the tree he was sitting under when his girlfriend took a walk and never returned. After selling the work, he destroys it, landing again in prison. Now in his sixties, he has a cottage next to a large estate owned by Hollywood star, Celia, who has a son, Dean.
And then there is Jack, who turned up late in his daughter’s life, taking on the role of caregiver grandfather to Dean while Celia is away filming the movie that could propel her career. When Jack is drunk, Dean wanders down to visit Daniel. Daniel is unaware that he has encountered Jack before.
When Jack returns to the philosophy he embraced at a commune in the Sixties, he indoctrinates Dean,an d the tension mounts.
There is murder and sexual abuse, drug use and alcoholism. The dark side of the Sixties leaves its impact on the characters.
Daniel’s creation of the Thorn Tree is beautifully presented. It is my favorite part of the story with its insight into the creative motivation and therapeutic healing behind art. I also enjoyed the character of Dean, who in the end is pivotal.
But the book is dominated by Jack in the later parts, which left me unsure. In the end, the story felt to be more about the impact of the cult on mentally unstable and unhealthy people than about art.
Readers who enjoy books about the Sixties will like this novel. The music of the Grateful Dead plays a part. Celia’s story takes readers into Hollywood and uncomfortable sexual exploitation.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book
There is Daniel, who lost the woman he loved, accused of her murder but only found guilty and jailed for drug possession. After his release, he wandered into the desert and finds a place with an older man. Using junk metal, Daniel constructed a giant tree, the tree he was sitting under when his girlfriend took a walk and never returned. After selling the work, he destroys it, landing again in prison. Now in his sixties, he has a cottage next to a large estate owned by Hollywood star, Celia, who has a son, Dean.
And then there is Jack, who turned up late in his daughter’s life, taking on the role of caregiver grandfather to Dean while Celia is away filming the movie that could propel her career. When Jack is drunk, Dean wanders down to visit Daniel. Daniel is unaware that he has encountered Jack before.
When Jack returns to the philosophy he embraced at a commune in the Sixties, he indoctrinates Dean,an d the tension mounts.
There is murder and sexual abuse, drug use and alcoholism. The dark side of the Sixties leaves its impact on the characters.
Daniel’s creation of the Thorn Tree is beautifully presented. It is my favorite part of the story with its insight into the creative motivation and therapeutic healing behind art. I also enjoyed the character of Dean, who in the end is pivotal.
But the book is dominated by Jack in the later parts, which left me unsure. In the end, the story felt to be more about the impact of the cult on mentally unstable and unhealthy people than about art.
Readers who enjoy books about the Sixties will like this novel. The music of the Grateful Dead plays a part. Celia’s story takes readers into Hollywood and uncomfortable sexual exploitation.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book
4 stars
I really enjoyed this book. It was very different, and I wondered how all the storylines and characters were going to intertwine. In the end the backstories in the flashbacks showed how these people all had histories that overlapped. It was very well done. Just a note, there is a lot about drug use and abuse, and some emotional/sexual abuse as well.
Daniel was a product of the sixties. Lived in California, smoked a bit of weed, kind of a carefree soul. Until tragedy hit his life and he found himself wandering through the desert where he came upon a salvage yard that became his home for a time. During this time he created an artistic masterpiece called Thorn Tree. He was known for it. Someone paid a very large sum of money for it. But after that Daniel became quite lost.
He met up with an old friend from the sixties, Cam, and moved into a guest house on Cam’s property in Beverly Hills. He cleaned up his act and became a teacher. When Cam passed, the house was purchased by a young actress, Celia, with a young son and her father. The son, Dean, became friends with Daniel, by wandering on over to Daniel’s house when his grandfather, Jack, is neglectful.
As these four lives become more interconnected, we see into the past of Jack’s and Daniel’s lives, and the circumstances that has brought them together.
Really great look into the culture and environment of the sixties in California. How it ultimately shaped so many lives, especially in cult-like groups and communes. How some people were able to move along with the times, and others firmly gripped in the mentality that existed at that time and have never changed. Great character studies for these people. Ludington has created a book that immerses you in their lives and what led them to today and how they are.
Not perfect, but a very enjoyable read that I would recommend.
I really enjoyed this book. It was very different, and I wondered how all the storylines and characters were going to intertwine. In the end the backstories in the flashbacks showed how these people all had histories that overlapped. It was very well done. Just a note, there is a lot about drug use and abuse, and some emotional/sexual abuse as well.
Daniel was a product of the sixties. Lived in California, smoked a bit of weed, kind of a carefree soul. Until tragedy hit his life and he found himself wandering through the desert where he came upon a salvage yard that became his home for a time. During this time he created an artistic masterpiece called Thorn Tree. He was known for it. Someone paid a very large sum of money for it. But after that Daniel became quite lost.
He met up with an old friend from the sixties, Cam, and moved into a guest house on Cam’s property in Beverly Hills. He cleaned up his act and became a teacher. When Cam passed, the house was purchased by a young actress, Celia, with a young son and her father. The son, Dean, became friends with Daniel, by wandering on over to Daniel’s house when his grandfather, Jack, is neglectful.
As these four lives become more interconnected, we see into the past of Jack’s and Daniel’s lives, and the circumstances that has brought them together.
Really great look into the culture and environment of the sixties in California. How it ultimately shaped so many lives, especially in cult-like groups and communes. How some people were able to move along with the times, and others firmly gripped in the mentality that existed at that time and have never changed. Great character studies for these people. Ludington has created a book that immerses you in their lives and what led them to today and how they are.
Not perfect, but a very enjoyable read that I would recommend.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
***These are my random thoughts after finishing the book. Some of the thoughts are an overall review of the book, or any questions/feelings that nagged at me throughout. There will almost definitely be spoilers. Read at your own risk.*** ‐----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you to publishers for ARC
Just didn't feel right to me/wasn't for me
Thank you to publishers for ARC
Just didn't feel right to me/wasn't for me
This novel moved slowly for me. It got more interesting as it went along, but there is a distance between the story and the reader—even though significant things happened, I never felt emotionally pulled into any of it. It was like these major things that happened are being reported on by a distant outsider.
Part of the story happens today. Daniel lives in the guest house of a property. He was a big-deal artist for a while in the seventies, and part of the story is about the events of the late sixties and the seventies that turned Daniel into the retired schoolteacher he is today.
In the main house is an actress who is away shooting a lot of the time. She leaves her young son with her father and part-time nanny.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 16, 2024.
Part of the story happens today. Daniel lives in the guest house of a property. He was a big-deal artist for a while in the seventies, and part of the story is about the events of the late sixties and the seventies that turned Daniel into the retired schoolteacher he is today.
In the main house is an actress who is away shooting a lot of the time. She leaves her young son with her father and part-time nanny.
NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 16, 2024.
I really liked this book. Compelling characters with an engrossing plot that kept me reading. I enjoyed the writing and would definitely recommend it.
DNF- I tried with this one, I really did. I first picked it up back in April and after two weeks of being stuck in the same chapter only 10% of the way in, I put it down. I picked it up again last week and started over. This time I made it to 35% before I decided this just wasn’t for me. The chapters are very long and there are way too many components to this. There are two completely different stories going on and while I’m sure they will come together by the end, I can’t make myself care enough to stick around for it. Should it ever be an audiobook I’ll try listening and perhaps my opinion will change, but for now this is it. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it. Thorn Tree hit the shelves on April 16th
Thorn Tree
Max Ludington
If the word “foreboding” was described by a single book, this would be the book! There is a dark ominous vibe from start to finish that kinda creeped me out but also sparked my curiosity. Usually I would call that suspense, but this was more like a muggy fug of impending doom that you are running towards in slow motion.
So that actually sounds like a nightmare and yeah, it does have a bit of that dissociative mindbending feel, especially when the author starts describing some of the weird theories a group of his characters embrace (more to come on that in a minute!). But it’s also a masterful building of tension that happens throughout the read that kept me flipping those pages fascinated by how this wild ride could possibly finish. Ludington’s writing style definitely engaged me and I didn’t want to put it down.
We meet Daniel in current day California and the timeline jumps back and forth between his past, starting in the no holds barred 60s, and his present reality. In the present, he is a man who has lived his life in the wake of a tragic incident which is a story that slowly unfolds for us with forays back into time. This incident has infiltrated all his relationships and life choices in the following years, turning him from a boy with life at his feet to an old man with a suitcase full of regrets. But there are things he also doesn’t know, missing facts that could have and maybe still will change everything. The structure of the story is anything but straightforward but it’s a puzzle I enjoyed figuring out.
One of Ludington strengths in this book is how he creates powerful and very realistic characters, full of flaws and relatable emotions. Their storylines, like Celia and Dean who the story opens with, develop extensively and exist almost independently of Daniel’s. Yet oddly his is the only story that has a beginning, middle and end. By the end, everyone else feels unresolved and relegated to the periphery like they didn’t matter so much, even though Ludington detailed their lives and thoughts with vivid contour from the start. I was highly annoyed to not get full stories about each and every person. Like, excuse me, sir, but don’t make me get involved with your characters and then leave me hanging! It’s an open-ended treatment that maybe could be said to create mystery and drama but for me felt unsatisfying.
But back to the foreboding part, the subject matter is part of what gives this book such a weird vibe. The other major character, Jack has some strange experiences with a cult and there are often extensive breakdowns of the cult’s mystic beliefs and supernatural philosophies. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like just the cult’s view but perhaps the author’s and you start to wonder if maybe the villain has a valid point despite some of his more questionable choices. It takes a skilled writer to make a villain still somehow relatable. Ludington definitely played with my mind a little bit here!
All said and done, this book won’t be a cookie cutter read and will stimulate your brain cells, which is always intriguing. It kept me thinking beyond the pages and I value that in a book! You probably won’t put this one down with the elation that comes with a nice tidy ending and a storybook high but I think you’ll find it worth the read!
*I was graciously provided an ARC to review by St Martin’s press in exchange for my honest opinion.
Max Ludington
If the word “foreboding” was described by a single book, this would be the book! There is a dark ominous vibe from start to finish that kinda creeped me out but also sparked my curiosity. Usually I would call that suspense, but this was more like a muggy fug of impending doom that you are running towards in slow motion.
So that actually sounds like a nightmare and yeah, it does have a bit of that dissociative mindbending feel, especially when the author starts describing some of the weird theories a group of his characters embrace (more to come on that in a minute!). But it’s also a masterful building of tension that happens throughout the read that kept me flipping those pages fascinated by how this wild ride could possibly finish. Ludington’s writing style definitely engaged me and I didn’t want to put it down.
We meet Daniel in current day California and the timeline jumps back and forth between his past, starting in the no holds barred 60s, and his present reality. In the present, he is a man who has lived his life in the wake of a tragic incident which is a story that slowly unfolds for us with forays back into time. This incident has infiltrated all his relationships and life choices in the following years, turning him from a boy with life at his feet to an old man with a suitcase full of regrets. But there are things he also doesn’t know, missing facts that could have and maybe still will change everything. The structure of the story is anything but straightforward but it’s a puzzle I enjoyed figuring out.
One of Ludington strengths in this book is how he creates powerful and very realistic characters, full of flaws and relatable emotions. Their storylines, like Celia and Dean who the story opens with, develop extensively and exist almost independently of Daniel’s. Yet oddly his is the only story that has a beginning, middle and end. By the end, everyone else feels unresolved and relegated to the periphery like they didn’t matter so much, even though Ludington detailed their lives and thoughts with vivid contour from the start. I was highly annoyed to not get full stories about each and every person. Like, excuse me, sir, but don’t make me get involved with your characters and then leave me hanging! It’s an open-ended treatment that maybe could be said to create mystery and drama but for me felt unsatisfying.
But back to the foreboding part, the subject matter is part of what gives this book such a weird vibe. The other major character, Jack has some strange experiences with a cult and there are often extensive breakdowns of the cult’s mystic beliefs and supernatural philosophies. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like just the cult’s view but perhaps the author’s and you start to wonder if maybe the villain has a valid point despite some of his more questionable choices. It takes a skilled writer to make a villain still somehow relatable. Ludington definitely played with my mind a little bit here!
All said and done, this book won’t be a cookie cutter read and will stimulate your brain cells, which is always intriguing. It kept me thinking beyond the pages and I value that in a book! You probably won’t put this one down with the elation that comes with a nice tidy ending and a storybook high but I think you’ll find it worth the read!
*I was graciously provided an ARC to review by St Martin’s press in exchange for my honest opinion.