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grahamclements's review against another edition
2.0
Just okay. A father promises his daughter's hand in marriage to any man who can name each of the over 500 eucalypts on his property. The novel is all about stories being told to the daughter Ellen, by her father and then one of her suitors. The stories are usually about love lost, scorned or not taken advantage of, and many of the stories have some relationship to a particular variety of eucalyptus tree. I did not find the stories that enthralling or memorable. Curiously, towards the end of the book Ellen begins to wonder about the connection between the stories, but like me, comes to no startling conclusion. The book is described as a modern day fairytale, well it does have a fairytale type ending. It is also described as an Australian version of magic realism. If I had read that before reading it I might have not bothered with the novel as I did not think much of the bastion of magic realism A Hundred Years of Solitude. I found the novel frustrating as I searched for some greater meaning to it.
janknappe's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
amotisse's review against another edition
3.0
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.
amyburra29's review against another edition
5.0
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.
sardine164's review against another edition
2.0
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.
cupkate147's review against another edition
4.0
dreamy and beautiful; it felt like i was reading modern australian updates of classic ancient tales and mythologies.
pookzzz's review against another edition
3.0
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.
12dejamoo's review against another edition
I will get back to this but I need to make a fresh start and having this hanging over me is counter productive