Climbing the God Tree: A Novel in Stories

by Jaimee Wriston Colbert

Book by Colbert, Jaimee Wriston

Genres: Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[George Yuhasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great books are timeless and endure beyond any expectation. CLIMBING THE GOD TREE is such a book. Author Jaimee Wriston Colbert has written a brilliant collection of connected stories with characters cleverly interwoven into a fabric of human emotions displayed haphazardly, as well as by design on a patchwork mosaic. I was profoundly struck by the concept of creative tension as it took hold in the characters' attempting consciously or unconsciously to get in touch with their higher selves. It is evident throughout the stories that the gap between desires and not being able to create or achieve what they want affects ability to cope with change, the only constant in the universe. Universality. I cannot help but believe that there is something, perhaps a lot that anyone reading this book will be able to claim as their own. Can we embrace change and move ahead and upward with hope toward wholeness? Or, do we fight it and revert back to fragmented pieces of ourselves that manifest negative feelings in which darkness fades but never quite disappears, waiting to cast its shadow? A conversation between Elinor, who teaches an art class to a group of prison inmates, and Travis the prison rehabilitation coordinator, is illustrative of this plight. "Don't fret over them Eli. They're inmates. They do their time then inside a year most of them are back again. How many of us change? They're attached to this place, Eli, you shouldn't mess with it." As the give and take of life progresses and regresses, steps forward-steps back, the author reminds us that achieving higher wisdom in order to ascend to a sacred level is at the core of all being that we can consistently return to for comfort and peace. It is the basis of prayer, meditation, transformational understanding, and healing. An award-winning book beautifully and masterfully written, CLIMBING THE GOD TREE is a literary treasure and I give it my highest recommendation.

[Linda DiMeo Lowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first novel in stories read. Tragedy, grief, sadness and a struggle to survive in each character's lives are woven perfectly through the connected stories. I found it a moving book despite the struggles the characters wrestle with. Isn't that what life is all about? Happiness, IMHO, is brief and fleeting.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the title, and that the book is prefaced by Rilke's Panther, the idea of telling a Novel by stories, and the intriguing chapter headings and parts. I'm likely to remember the form more than the content.