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The Memory Tree
When Paulina dies mid-dance, she leaves 12-year-old Zav and 7-year-old Sealie with their loving but unstable father, Hal. The grieving family decides to plant a tree in her memory - a magnolia which, growing along with the children, offers a special place where secrets are whispered and feelings can be confessed.
But as the memory tree grows, Hal, bereft, and increasingly suspicious of the world, turns to his own brand of salvation to make sense of the voices that bewilder and torment him. Mrs Mac, housekeeper and second mother since Paulina's death, cooks, cleans, loves and worries about her 'family'. She is even more concerned when Hal brings a larger-than-life stranger to the house for a beer; but Pastor Moses B. Washbourne, founder of the Church of the Divine Conflagration, ex-sergeant of the US Army, soon becomes part of the family, with surprising and far-reaching consequences.
As the seasons pass, Sealie blossoms into young woman, the apple of Hal's eye while Zav, having spent his childhood quietly trying to win his father's lost attention, is conscripted for duty in Vietnam.
And all the while, the voices continue to murmur poisonous words to Hal who knows he must keep them hidden . . . until he is persuaded into the most tragic of acts.
Written with humour and compassion, The Memory Tree is a poignant and compelling story of love, loyalty, grief and forgiveness.
But as the memory tree grows, Hal, bereft, and increasingly suspicious of the world, turns to his own brand of salvation to make sense of the voices that bewilder and torment him. Mrs Mac, housekeeper and second mother since Paulina's death, cooks, cleans, loves and worries about her 'family'. She is even more concerned when Hal brings a larger-than-life stranger to the house for a beer; but Pastor Moses B. Washbourne, founder of the Church of the Divine Conflagration, ex-sergeant of the US Army, soon becomes part of the family, with surprising and far-reaching consequences.
As the seasons pass, Sealie blossoms into young woman, the apple of Hal's eye while Zav, having spent his childhood quietly trying to win his father's lost attention, is conscripted for duty in Vietnam.
And all the while, the voices continue to murmur poisonous words to Hal who knows he must keep them hidden . . . until he is persuaded into the most tragic of acts.
Written with humour and compassion, The Memory Tree is a poignant and compelling story of love, loyalty, grief and forgiveness.
- GenresFiction
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
6 people are currently reading
190 people want to read
About the author
Tess Evans
7 books35 followersI was raised in the Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill and now live among the trees in Eltham. I am married with three grown children and four grandchildren. I love to travel, my most intense experiences being walking the Inca Trail and riding a camel in the Sahara desert.
Something about my working life. (I don't holiday all the time)
I worked in schools, full-time at first, and then as an emergency teacher when my children were small. When they started school, I moved to TAFE were I began as a teacher, then manager of programs for long-term unemployed. This was a very satisfying part of my life – we did some great work in those programs. When the funding was withdrawn, I worked in the money-making area – a challenge, but not as rewarding personally.
My job required a lot of writing--tenders, reports, curriculum--even advertising, but it wasn't until I took early retirement that I was able to tap into the stories and poetry that were waiting somewhere in my head. Beginning with poetry, I was delighted to win a prize with a poem I had submitted to a competition. Then I won an encouragement award for a short story. (I had no idea
how encouraging those encouragement awards can be.) Along the way, I joined a writers' group and began to attend a class at my old TAFE. Again, I was overwhelmed by the support I received from these people.
I was a late starter...
My first novel, Book of Lost Threads, was published by Allen and Unwin in
2010. My second novel, The Memory Tree was published in March 2012.
The third is a work in progress, and will give me the excuse to
visit the Darling Downs.
Book of Lost Threads was
published the year I turned sixty.
... so it's never too late
The Memory Tree is Tess Evan's second novel. Her first, the bestselling Book of Lost Threads, was published in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Indie Awards, 2011. Previous to her writing debut, Tess taught and counselled a wide range of people: youth at risk, migrants, Indigenous trainees, apprentices, sole parents and unemployed workers of all ages and professions. Her experience with people is clearly visible in her humane, compassionate writing.
Something about my working life. (I don't holiday all the time)
I worked in schools, full-time at first, and then as an emergency teacher when my children were small. When they started school, I moved to TAFE were I began as a teacher, then manager of programs for long-term unemployed. This was a very satisfying part of my life – we did some great work in those programs. When the funding was withdrawn, I worked in the money-making area – a challenge, but not as rewarding personally.
My job required a lot of writing--tenders, reports, curriculum--even advertising, but it wasn't until I took early retirement that I was able to tap into the stories and poetry that were waiting somewhere in my head. Beginning with poetry, I was delighted to win a prize with a poem I had submitted to a competition. Then I won an encouragement award for a short story. (I had no idea
how encouraging those encouragement awards can be.) Along the way, I joined a writers' group and began to attend a class at my old TAFE. Again, I was overwhelmed by the support I received from these people.
I was a late starter...
My first novel, Book of Lost Threads, was published by Allen and Unwin in
2010. My second novel, The Memory Tree was published in March 2012.
The third is a work in progress, and will give me the excuse to
visit the Darling Downs.
Book of Lost Threads was
published the year I turned sixty.
... so it's never too late
The Memory Tree is Tess Evan's second novel. Her first, the bestselling Book of Lost Threads, was published in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Indie Awards, 2011. Previous to her writing debut, Tess taught and counselled a wide range of people: youth at risk, migrants, Indigenous trainees, apprentices, sole parents and unemployed workers of all ages and professions. Her experience with people is clearly visible in her humane, compassionate writing.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 22, 2015
With the sudden death of his wife Paulina, Hal must find the strength to get through each day if not for himself then for his two young children. Throughout this story we are taken on a pretty sad journey at times on how a family must struggle through and try to pull together and be there for one another in the good times and the bad times.
A beautifully written tale about love, family, death, friendship, mental illness and so much more. For some who read this you may want to keep the tissues close at hand as it is rather sad at times, but in saying that, it's well worth reading. Recommended.
A beautifully written tale about love, family, death, friendship, mental illness and so much more. For some who read this you may want to keep the tissues close at hand as it is rather sad at times, but in saying that, it's well worth reading. Recommended.
June 1, 2016
The Memory Tree by Tess Evans
When Hal's adored wife Paulina dies suddenly whilst dancing with her seven year old daughter Selina (Sealie) in the kitchen of their home, it is more than he can comprehend or bear.
Paulina is an exceptionally good and highly regarded ballerina with a great career ahead of her, and she is the love of Hal's life.
Now Hal's adored wife, and Sealie and her 12 year old brother Zav's mother is suddenly and inexplicably gone from their lives...one minute laughing and dancing in the kitchen, next minute dead on the kitchen floor...with no apparent signs of death, or life about her.
When Sealie realizes this is not part of the game she starts screaming. The housekeeper Mrs.Mac finds them first, then Zav.
As Mrs.Mac takes control and makes all the calls, Sealie finds her brother Zav locked in his special hiding place under the stairs and she joins him there.
Absolutely bereft and inconsolable, Hal takes to his bed and refuses all attempts to be roused from his grief, and as he sinks deeper and deeper into his state of oblivion Mrs.Mac is left in sole charge of caring for his children and keeping a grip on the tenuous strings that connect them all.
The day comes when Mrs. Mac puts her foot down and uses threats to rouse Hal from his torpor, succeeding in getting his attention long enough to make him think about his children and what they can do.
He finally dresses and comes down to join them for breakfast where he tells his children that they will go out and buy a Magnolia tree to plant in the garden as a memorial to their mother.
The tree will grow with them and as they watch it grow they will be able to visit their mother there at any time.
The days pass slowly and although their grief eases, small cracks begin to appear in the foundations of this little family.
Hal's behavior starts to become erratic as he gropes for....what??...he doesn't know.
After insulting his priest and forsaking his religion, Hal is looking for some sort of balance to fill the huge void that his lost love has left, and as he wanders aimlessly his mind starts to wander also.
The only times he feels anything is when he can hear things clearly, and then he is grateful for those guiding voices in his head.
In his search for that "something", Hal makes some rash decisions and judgements which upset and destabilize his family even more.
He causes radical changes to their living conditions after he finds a ray of hope in a stranger; Pastor Moses B. Washbourne, founder of the Church of the Divine Conflagration, whom, on the spur of the moment, Hal invites to come live at his house.
His family's concern for his apparent declining mental stability is ever increasing.
The story follows Hal's slow descent into a sort of madness which is (seemingly) not bad enough to cause too much alarm for his friends and family because he always comes out of it, yet is bad enough to occasionally raise doubts.
Years go by and Hal's mood swings become an accepted part of his changing personality, not altogether preferable among his family and friends, but still [they decide] not cause for too much concern....
Then one day, seemingly out of nowhere and without rhyme, reason or warning, something unthinkable happens that will rock the foundations of this small family once again....
But how will they ever survive this? How could they ever recover from this??
My goodness, what a journey! I had no idea that this book would take me on such a journey as this. It is the journey of a lifetime, or the lifetime's of the people in this story, spanning some 40 odd years.
We watch as they grow and suffer and grow and decline and suffer some more, as they continue to grow individually and collectively.
With several strong key personalities involved, the dynamics within this family household are a constant source of tense curiosity for the reader as we watch or await their individual reactions to the unfolding events.
Tess Evans has an amazing acuity for describing the conditions surrounding the emotions at play, at any given circumstance or shocking event, making this a hard to put down book.
I must admit to being deceived by its cover, as it does not (except for its reference to a magnolia) imply any of the drama and anguish within.
This is not a criticism, just an observation as I was not expecting it to go quite so deep.
Tess Evans' insight into the wiles and thought processes of this man's slow decline into a kind of madness is quite amazing.
By no means a light read, it does give the reader a lot of insight into mental illness and how deceiving [to all concerned] can be the decline of the human mind.
It will have you questioning your own capacity for all things such as faith, patience, love, friendship, resilience, and not the least of all for Forgiveness and Grace.
This is the second book by this author and my second read of her work, I already have a copy of her third book Mercy Street here waiting to be read soon.
*Many thanks to the author Tess Evans for gifting me a signed copy of this thought provoking book.
4★s
Quotes I liked:
"She died to Les Sylphides. Her last dance was the Pas de Deux Waltz."
"What was worse, he wondered---to follow the wrong religion or to have no religion at all?"
"We are believers in search of a home."
"If" ..is such a little word but it punches way above its weight.
April 13, 2019
This moving Australian family drama has been sitting in my book club pile for a few years, but I am making a concerted effort to reduce it, and have again found myself really liking a book that I had low expectations of.
Beginning in the 1950s, this is about the Rodriguez family from Melbourne, and the devastating effects that the father's mental illness has on the family over the following decades. When their mother dies suddenly, seven year old Sealie and twelve year old Zav are left in the care of their boisterous father, Hal, and their loyal housekeeper Mrs Mac, but Hal's grief sets off his latent manic depression, and an obsession with religion that will have terrible consequences.
Told from the point of view of Grace, the grand-daughter, in a wonderfully warm and empathetic voice, this beautifully written story is terribly sad but totally worth reading. If you are struggling with the slow pace, I strongly recommend pushing on past page 200, before considering giving up. The ending felt very appropriate too.
Beginning in the 1950s, this is about the Rodriguez family from Melbourne, and the devastating effects that the father's mental illness has on the family over the following decades. When their mother dies suddenly, seven year old Sealie and twelve year old Zav are left in the care of their boisterous father, Hal, and their loyal housekeeper Mrs Mac, but Hal's grief sets off his latent manic depression, and an obsession with religion that will have terrible consequences.
Told from the point of view of Grace, the grand-daughter, in a wonderfully warm and empathetic voice, this beautifully written story is terribly sad but totally worth reading. If you are struggling with the slow pace, I strongly recommend pushing on past page 200, before considering giving up. The ending felt very appropriate too.
January 6, 2015
The Memory Tree is the second novel by Australian author, Tess Evans. It is the late 1950s in the rural Victorian town of Yarra Falls. When ballerina Paulina Rodriguez suddenly dies, mid-dance, her family are devastated. Seven-year-old Sealie (Selina) and twelve-year-old Zav (Xavier) are lovingly cared for by the family’s housekeeper, Mrs Mac (Eileen McLennon). But, suddenly a widower, Hal (Heraldo) is finding it hard to cope without the love of his life.
Although they plant a magnolia tree together in her memory, Hal’s moods swing wildly, and it is often only Sealie who can bring him some measure of calm. Then he meets Godown Moses (former US Sergeant Moses B. Washbourne), Pastor of the Church of the Divine Conflagration. Convinced that this larger-than-life black man can help him find the answers he needs in the scriptures, Hal brings him home to join the family.
Evans chooses Hal’s granddaughter, Grace to narrate the events that bring joy, sorrow and tragedy to this family. As these are gradually revealed, Evans paints a vivid picture of various mental illnesses: Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Paranoid Delusions and Bipolar Disorder are very well described. The Vietnam War, psychiatric hospitals, deinstitutionalisation of patients and dreams unrealised also feature.
This novel has a plot that is not predictable from the cover blurb; the characters are easy to love and care about; the prose is often beautiful and evocative: “He held back on the power of his voice when he sang to me and it had a sweetness then, that fell softly on my ears” and “…she learned to cope. She did this by packing her feelings out of sight, the way she did the objects in the boxes that crowded the room at the top of the stairs. In the attic of her mind lay a box into which she folded and lay the terrible, wrenching loss of her dream of the ballet” are just two examples.
While there is much sadness in this novel (readers will need plenty of tissues for the last chapters), there are also laugh out loud moments, and Hal’s limericks for his family are a true delight. This is a novel about love and loyalty, about regret (“’If’ is such a little word, but it punches way above its weight”), about sorrow and compassion. Readers who enjoyed “Book of Lost Threads” will not be disappointed in this second offering from Tess Evans. This moving story will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.
Although they plant a magnolia tree together in her memory, Hal’s moods swing wildly, and it is often only Sealie who can bring him some measure of calm. Then he meets Godown Moses (former US Sergeant Moses B. Washbourne), Pastor of the Church of the Divine Conflagration. Convinced that this larger-than-life black man can help him find the answers he needs in the scriptures, Hal brings him home to join the family.
Evans chooses Hal’s granddaughter, Grace to narrate the events that bring joy, sorrow and tragedy to this family. As these are gradually revealed, Evans paints a vivid picture of various mental illnesses: Depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Paranoid Delusions and Bipolar Disorder are very well described. The Vietnam War, psychiatric hospitals, deinstitutionalisation of patients and dreams unrealised also feature.
This novel has a plot that is not predictable from the cover blurb; the characters are easy to love and care about; the prose is often beautiful and evocative: “He held back on the power of his voice when he sang to me and it had a sweetness then, that fell softly on my ears” and “…she learned to cope. She did this by packing her feelings out of sight, the way she did the objects in the boxes that crowded the room at the top of the stairs. In the attic of her mind lay a box into which she folded and lay the terrible, wrenching loss of her dream of the ballet” are just two examples.
While there is much sadness in this novel (readers will need plenty of tissues for the last chapters), there are also laugh out loud moments, and Hal’s limericks for his family are a true delight. This is a novel about love and loyalty, about regret (“’If’ is such a little word, but it punches way above its weight”), about sorrow and compassion. Readers who enjoyed “Book of Lost Threads” will not be disappointed in this second offering from Tess Evans. This moving story will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned.
February 29, 2012
The Memory Tree is the story of a family shattered by the unexpected death of wife and mother, Paulina. Spanning a period of almost 40 years the novel reveals a family fractured by grief, devastated by tragedy and longing for freedom from the losses that torment them. Tess Evans explores the everyday, and life changing, moments that bind the Rodriguez family in joy and sorrow, with compassion and tenderness.
The narrative moves between the past and present revealing the changes wrought to the family in the aftermath of Paulina's sudden passing. Hal is broken by the loss of his wife and while he rallies briefly with the help of housekeeper, Mrs Mac and lay preacher Godown Moses, he slowly slips into a cyclical fugue of depression and mania. Zav (Xavier) and Sealie (Selina) witness their mothers death but it is the aftermath that changes who they are. Hal pulls away from Zav in a misguided attempt to 'raise a man', seeding bitterness and resentment. Sealie's good nature protects her from her father's developing eccentricities but traps her in the role as first her father's, and then her brother's, carer.
The Memory Tree has an unique narrator whose identity is not confirmed until late in the novel. I thought this added a particular poignancy to the story and provided an unusual twist. The third person point of view allows the reader to explore events from multiple perspectives, providing insight into Hal's distorted thinking, Sealie's self-sacrificing anxiety and Zav's simmering anger. Evan's protagonists are complex characters shaped by both nature and nurture. They provoke both sympathy and frustration, but are intriguing precisely because they are so contradictory.
The story of the past is obviously building to a pivotal event that explains the issues the family is facing in the present. It is difficult to say much more that that without spoiling the plot. The tension simmers quietly throughout the novel, so you know something is coming, but at times the story seems to meander aimlessly until it is pulled sharply together at its denouement.
Wonderfully written, there is much to admire about this literary family drama. The Memory Tree is an insightful novel that examines the strength and fragility of familial relationships, the devastation of mental illness and the grace of forgiveness.
The narrative moves between the past and present revealing the changes wrought to the family in the aftermath of Paulina's sudden passing. Hal is broken by the loss of his wife and while he rallies briefly with the help of housekeeper, Mrs Mac and lay preacher Godown Moses, he slowly slips into a cyclical fugue of depression and mania. Zav (Xavier) and Sealie (Selina) witness their mothers death but it is the aftermath that changes who they are. Hal pulls away from Zav in a misguided attempt to 'raise a man', seeding bitterness and resentment. Sealie's good nature protects her from her father's developing eccentricities but traps her in the role as first her father's, and then her brother's, carer.
The Memory Tree has an unique narrator whose identity is not confirmed until late in the novel. I thought this added a particular poignancy to the story and provided an unusual twist. The third person point of view allows the reader to explore events from multiple perspectives, providing insight into Hal's distorted thinking, Sealie's self-sacrificing anxiety and Zav's simmering anger. Evan's protagonists are complex characters shaped by both nature and nurture. They provoke both sympathy and frustration, but are intriguing precisely because they are so contradictory.
The story of the past is obviously building to a pivotal event that explains the issues the family is facing in the present. It is difficult to say much more that that without spoiling the plot. The tension simmers quietly throughout the novel, so you know something is coming, but at times the story seems to meander aimlessly until it is pulled sharply together at its denouement.
Wonderfully written, there is much to admire about this literary family drama. The Memory Tree is an insightful novel that examines the strength and fragility of familial relationships, the devastation of mental illness and the grace of forgiveness.
December 8, 2014
I struggled majorly for the first half of this book. Trying to follow the story was really hard, and nothing seemed to make sense or connect. But Im glad I pushed through, as once I reach the middle you are told something that makes it all start to make sense. (I wont tell you as that would give away the story).
This is the story of a family that stuggled through many different tragities. Unfortunately in times were they should have worked together to get through it all, it was left to one to hold it all together and take care of everyone. It also opens you eyes to how people deal with others they dont understand
This is the story of a family that stuggled through many different tragities. Unfortunately in times were they should have worked together to get through it all, it was left to one to hold it all together and take care of everyone. It also opens you eyes to how people deal with others they dont understand
January 16, 2012
I totally loved Tess Evan's debut novel so this one had a great deal to live up to. I didn't fall in love with this one as I did the first but still found it a really enjoyable read. An interesting narrator is used and the effects of war and grief upon a family are tenderly examined. Definitely worth a read when this one is released :)
May 26, 2012
This is Tess Evans second novel, very different from her first. It is about a family that deals with the mental illness suffered by Hal after the death of his wife, Paulina, it looks at the effects of his illness on his two children and friends and the consequences bought about by delusions, very sad at times with an interesting ending. I enjoyed it and I love to read books by Australian authors.
May 4, 2013
I have not read Tess Evans previous book. I found this in a second hand book store while on holiday. I found it an easy read and an interesting one. It is a sad story looking at grief,mental illness,love,family,sacrifice . In fact there are many elements to this story.
The ending was not one that I wanted - and I was left feeling saddened.
I am now curious to read her first book.
The ending was not one that I wanted - and I was left feeling saddened.
I am now curious to read her first book.
March 23, 2012
Disappointing. I loved Tess Evans's first book, The Book of Lost Threads. But this one? Not so much. The lovely characterisations and sub-plots that made 'Lost Threads' so enjoyable were missing and the main plot was dark with no light relief.
October 5, 2013
Loved it. I too wasn't expecting it to go the way it went, on many occasions, but couldn't put the book down. Can't wait to read her first book now!
November 30, 2014
I was looking forward to reading this book after enjoying The Book of Lost Threads, but found it a bit depressing, but still a good read.
January 26, 2015
Enjoyed this book however, not as much as her first novel. However, I think it was my frame of mind not so much the writing.
January 22, 2020
A story of mental health and family. Following the loss of his beloved wife, Hal’s life falls apart and with a serious mental health issue it has a huge impact on those he loves and those who love him
A little too ‘wordy’ in parts, but very moving with the characters very real.
A little too ‘wordy’ in parts, but very moving with the characters very real.
May 21, 2019
Wow.
This book hit a lot harder than I was expecting.
This book hit a lot harder than I was expecting.
August 28, 2020
While an unusual storyline, it was cleverly constructed and an excellent read. I felt sad for some of the characters yet this made it quite authentic. Recommend.
January 19, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It is a well crafted family saga, documenting the hardships and difficulties encountered. Y only struggle with it was that the book was written from the perspective of a person who clearly wasn't there when events were taking place, and yet they had a huge understanding of what was going on in everyone's heads. But if I set that aside, I found the book easily readable and enjoyable.
I received this book free from Goodreads.
I received this book free from Goodreads.
June 30, 2016
A well-written, thought-provoking insight into grief, mental illness & the effects on the family & surrounding community. However, I found the book very disturbing & shocking in its content. Personally, it was disappointing compared to other books by Tess Evans that I have recently read, but my reaction in no way detracts from the fact that it is an amazing, insightful & thoughtful book.
June 1, 2016
I found this book slow to begin with but once a turn of events occurred I was totally engrossed. In fact I have found myself thinking about the characters all afternoon since I finished the book at lunch time
January 20, 2014
Great characters and story but too slow and couldn’t compete with The Host and other current reads.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews