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A House Among the Trees
From the beloved author of the National Book Award winning Three Junes. The unusual bond between a world-famous children's author and his assistant sets the stage for a richly plotted novel of friendship and love, artistic ambition, and the power of an unexpected legacy.
When the revered children's author Mort Lear dies accidentally at the Connecticut home he shares with Tomasina Daulair, his trusted assistant, she is stunned to be left the house and all its contents, as well as being named his literary executor. Though not quite his daughter or his wife, Tommy was nearly everything to the increasingly reclusive Lear, whom she knew for over forty years since meeting him as a child in a city playground where Lear was making sketches for Colorquake, a book that would become an instant classic.
Overwhelmed by the responsibility for Lear's bequest, she must face the demands of all those affected by the sudden loss, including the lonely, outraged museum curator to whom Lear once promised his artistic estate; the beguiling British actor recently cast to play Lear in a movie; and her own estranged brother. She must also face the demons of Morty's painful past the subject of that movie and a future that will no longer include him. A visit from the actor leads to revelations and confrontations that challenge much of what Tommy believed she knew about her boss's life and work and, ultimately, about her own."
When the revered children's author Mort Lear dies accidentally at the Connecticut home he shares with Tomasina Daulair, his trusted assistant, she is stunned to be left the house and all its contents, as well as being named his literary executor. Though not quite his daughter or his wife, Tommy was nearly everything to the increasingly reclusive Lear, whom she knew for over forty years since meeting him as a child in a city playground where Lear was making sketches for Colorquake, a book that would become an instant classic.
Overwhelmed by the responsibility for Lear's bequest, she must face the demands of all those affected by the sudden loss, including the lonely, outraged museum curator to whom Lear once promised his artistic estate; the beguiling British actor recently cast to play Lear in a movie; and her own estranged brother. She must also face the demons of Morty's painful past the subject of that movie and a future that will no longer include him. A visit from the actor leads to revelations and confrontations that challenge much of what Tommy believed she knew about her boss's life and work and, ultimately, about her own."
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2017
740 people are currently reading
6107 people want to read
About the author
Julia Glass
15 books832 followersJulia Glass is the author of
Three Junes
, which won the 2002 National Book Award for Fiction, and
The Whole World Over
. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Her short fiction has won several prizes, including the Tobias Wolff Award and the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society Medal for the Best Novella. She lives with her family in Massachusetts.
Her new novel, I See You Everywhere is scheduled for release October 14, 2008.
Her new novel, I See You Everywhere is scheduled for release October 14, 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 699 reviews
July 1, 2017
For me, reading a Julia Glass novel is like returning home after a long trip, or visiting close friends or family. You immediately feel so comfortable, so happy, and so interested in what is going on around you. I've been a fan of hers since her very first book,
Three Junes
, and while her books aren't always perfect, I love the way she unfurls her stories, and creates immensely memorable characters.
Tomasina "Tommy" Daulair was 12 years old when she first met beloved children's book author Morty Lear. She doesn't know who he is or what he has written, but he becomes immersed in sketching her younger brother while he plays on the playground, and she is caught totally unaware a few years later when she finds out that her brother became the inspiration for the main character in Lear's most famous book.
These encounters serve as the start of a 40+-year relationship, with Tommy serving as Morty's trusted assistant, confidante, and all-around savior. The job, and their relationship, opens Tommy's life to a lot of different opportunities, but despite the fact that Morty is gay and older than she is, her job and Morty's dependence on her serves to close off her life to little but him. And for the most part, she's fine with that fact.
Unexpectedly, Morty dies in a freak accident while Tommy is out running his errands. She is completely shocked to find that Morty has left her their Connecticut home and all of his possessions, and while she is overwhelmed by his generosity, when she realizes that he also intended for her to carry out many of his complicated, confusing, and sometimes surprising requests he outlined in his will, she resents having to do his dirty work one last time.
As she tries to figure out what her future holds, since so much of her life was lived on Morty's terms, she must deal with several different people, each of whom wants something else from her, or from Morty's estate. From her estranged younger brother, Dani, who has always resented her relationship with Morty, especially after learning he was the author's inspiration all those years ago and got nothing for it, to Meredith Galarza, the museum director to whom Morty all but promised much of his work, only to find he changed his mind without telling her, and Nick Greene, the handsome, Oscar-winning actor cast as Morty in a film about his life, to whom Morty disclosed secrets he never even shared with Tommy, these encounters will force Tommy to deal with Morty's legacy, and what he meant to her, in many different ways.
"It was invigorating to be indispensable to a man like Morty; at times it was a source of pride—even vanity. But equally vain was her notion that to meet his expectations would permit her to know him inside and out; to know, as the filmmakers believe they do, the inner Lear."
Spanning the years of their relationship, from their first encounter through the tumultuous times of Morty's life, including the death of his lover from AIDS, A House Among the Trees is an indelible portrait of life with an artist, and how easily dependency can merge into codependency, on both sides. It's the story of a woman struggling to find herself after so long of having her life defined by her job, which was so much more than a job, and it's also an interesting exploration of how much we truly know someone, even after working and living with them for more than 40 years.
Morty's character bears some slight similarities to Maurice Sendak, but this is hardly a fictionalized account of that man's life. Once again, I loved the way Glass told this story, and I loved the emotions she evoked in its telling. While I liked Tommy's encounters with Nick, Meredith, and Dani, at times when the story shifted to Nick or Meredith's perspective, it seemed a little jarring, and I wanted to get back to the core of the story. The pacing can be a little slow at times, but I felt this book in my heart and my mind, and overall, really enjoyed it.
There's a warmth to this story, and to most of Glass' writing, that I am so enamored of. If you like Glass' books, this is another one to savor; if you've never read her before, she's definitely an author worth exploring.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
Tomasina "Tommy" Daulair was 12 years old when she first met beloved children's book author Morty Lear. She doesn't know who he is or what he has written, but he becomes immersed in sketching her younger brother while he plays on the playground, and she is caught totally unaware a few years later when she finds out that her brother became the inspiration for the main character in Lear's most famous book.
These encounters serve as the start of a 40+-year relationship, with Tommy serving as Morty's trusted assistant, confidante, and all-around savior. The job, and their relationship, opens Tommy's life to a lot of different opportunities, but despite the fact that Morty is gay and older than she is, her job and Morty's dependence on her serves to close off her life to little but him. And for the most part, she's fine with that fact.
Unexpectedly, Morty dies in a freak accident while Tommy is out running his errands. She is completely shocked to find that Morty has left her their Connecticut home and all of his possessions, and while she is overwhelmed by his generosity, when she realizes that he also intended for her to carry out many of his complicated, confusing, and sometimes surprising requests he outlined in his will, she resents having to do his dirty work one last time.
As she tries to figure out what her future holds, since so much of her life was lived on Morty's terms, she must deal with several different people, each of whom wants something else from her, or from Morty's estate. From her estranged younger brother, Dani, who has always resented her relationship with Morty, especially after learning he was the author's inspiration all those years ago and got nothing for it, to Meredith Galarza, the museum director to whom Morty all but promised much of his work, only to find he changed his mind without telling her, and Nick Greene, the handsome, Oscar-winning actor cast as Morty in a film about his life, to whom Morty disclosed secrets he never even shared with Tommy, these encounters will force Tommy to deal with Morty's legacy, and what he meant to her, in many different ways.
"It was invigorating to be indispensable to a man like Morty; at times it was a source of pride—even vanity. But equally vain was her notion that to meet his expectations would permit her to know him inside and out; to know, as the filmmakers believe they do, the inner Lear."
Spanning the years of their relationship, from their first encounter through the tumultuous times of Morty's life, including the death of his lover from AIDS, A House Among the Trees is an indelible portrait of life with an artist, and how easily dependency can merge into codependency, on both sides. It's the story of a woman struggling to find herself after so long of having her life defined by her job, which was so much more than a job, and it's also an interesting exploration of how much we truly know someone, even after working and living with them for more than 40 years.
Morty's character bears some slight similarities to Maurice Sendak, but this is hardly a fictionalized account of that man's life. Once again, I loved the way Glass told this story, and I loved the emotions she evoked in its telling. While I liked Tommy's encounters with Nick, Meredith, and Dani, at times when the story shifted to Nick or Meredith's perspective, it seemed a little jarring, and I wanted to get back to the core of the story. The pacing can be a little slow at times, but I felt this book in my heart and my mind, and overall, really enjoyed it.
There's a warmth to this story, and to most of Glass' writing, that I am so enamored of. If you like Glass' books, this is another one to savor; if you've never read her before, she's definitely an author worth exploring.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
April 14, 2017
I may be one of the few people reading A House Among the Trees who didn’t know beforehand that the book was inspired by the famed children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak and his legendary book, Where The Wild Things Are.
No matter. This intelligently written, character-driven novel stands on its own merits, using Mr. Sendak as a departure point and then building a wholly original character in Mort Lear, who is cared for by his trusted assistant Tomasina (Tommy) Daulair – whose brother Dani just happens to be the prototype for his own character, Ivo.
When Mort dies – and we know he has died from the first few pages – Tommy is named his literary executor and is left with a lot of memories and a palpable feeling that she may not have known the man to whom she has dedicated much of her life. When the well-known British actor and heartthrob Nick Greene shows up at her door – wanting to find out more about Mort Lear because he wants to inhabit him in a soon-to-be movie – both realize that knowing more about Mort may be key to knowing more about themselves.
Julia Glass is a fine writer and as a result, she does not rely on suspenseful plot twists and bells and whistles to elucidate the journeys of her characters. It might have been easy for her to fall into clichés with Mort’s younger gay lover who is dying from AIDS, or the spurned Book Museum director who believed her museum would eventually inherit Mort Lear’s archives. Instead, each character is fleshed out and becomes his or her own person.
The questions this book raises are: do we really ever know another human being? Do we ever truly know ourselves? Are each of us acting a role in life? Does it matter that mysteries remain in the end? Should we ever expect to become “whole” by trying to solve those mysteries? The novel, I believe, could benefit from a bit of editing here and there, but still maintained my attention all the way through.
At one point, Mort says in an interview, “A story is just like a road. It’s got to take you somewhere. Somewhere fun, somewhere new! The trip would be dull indeed without some unexpectedly sharp corners.” Here, in a House Among the Trees, Julia Glass is not particularly taking her readers somewhere new. But she is revealing new glimpses into life. And for me, as a reader, that is just enough. 4.5 stars.
No matter. This intelligently written, character-driven novel stands on its own merits, using Mr. Sendak as a departure point and then building a wholly original character in Mort Lear, who is cared for by his trusted assistant Tomasina (Tommy) Daulair – whose brother Dani just happens to be the prototype for his own character, Ivo.
When Mort dies – and we know he has died from the first few pages – Tommy is named his literary executor and is left with a lot of memories and a palpable feeling that she may not have known the man to whom she has dedicated much of her life. When the well-known British actor and heartthrob Nick Greene shows up at her door – wanting to find out more about Mort Lear because he wants to inhabit him in a soon-to-be movie – both realize that knowing more about Mort may be key to knowing more about themselves.
Julia Glass is a fine writer and as a result, she does not rely on suspenseful plot twists and bells and whistles to elucidate the journeys of her characters. It might have been easy for her to fall into clichés with Mort’s younger gay lover who is dying from AIDS, or the spurned Book Museum director who believed her museum would eventually inherit Mort Lear’s archives. Instead, each character is fleshed out and becomes his or her own person.
The questions this book raises are: do we really ever know another human being? Do we ever truly know ourselves? Are each of us acting a role in life? Does it matter that mysteries remain in the end? Should we ever expect to become “whole” by trying to solve those mysteries? The novel, I believe, could benefit from a bit of editing here and there, but still maintained my attention all the way through.
At one point, Mort says in an interview, “A story is just like a road. It’s got to take you somewhere. Somewhere fun, somewhere new! The trip would be dull indeed without some unexpectedly sharp corners.” Here, in a House Among the Trees, Julia Glass is not particularly taking her readers somewhere new. But she is revealing new glimpses into life. And for me, as a reader, that is just enough. 4.5 stars.
May 23, 2019
In A House Among the Trees Tomasina (Tommy) finds herself at a loss and in shock, following the death of her employer, children’s author/illustrator, Mort Lear.
Morty was much more than Tommy’s boss. She knew him for most of her life, meeting the author when she was just 12 years old. No, this isn’t a love story with a drastic age difference between the couple. It’s a story of love, in the sense of friendship and family. Tommy was Morty’s right hand woman, his rock. He admitted not knowing how he’d function without her. She served as his assistant for many years, helping to organize his book tours and speaking engagements, handling his administrative tasks, and managing Morty’s home and studio.
While Tommy tries to come to terms with this unexpected loss, her grief, and being named executor of Mort’s will (which is very detailed and specific), actor Nick Greene is headed to Mort’s Connecticut estate, hoping to learn more about the man he only communicated with through email. Nick is going to play Mort in an upcoming movie, and wants to soak up as much of him as he can.
The story switches between the current:
Tommy, Nick, and others (including museum curator, Merry, and Tommy’s brother, Dani), affected by Morty, grappling in the aftermath of his death, and the past: memories of childhood and of Morty, mostly from Tommy and Nick’s third-person perspectives.
I wasn’t sure where A House Among the Trees was headed for a good portion of the story, but I definitely enjoyed the journey. The characters were all different and I found them each, for the most part, likable. I also enjoyed the descriptions throughout the book - Those of Morty’s illustrations as well as the scenery, including his home, where a large amount of the story takes place. Lastly, the vivid cover of the book is what initially drew me to want to read it - A bright, colorful art theme, which was very fitting.
Morty was much more than Tommy’s boss. She knew him for most of her life, meeting the author when she was just 12 years old. No, this isn’t a love story with a drastic age difference between the couple. It’s a story of love, in the sense of friendship and family. Tommy was Morty’s right hand woman, his rock. He admitted not knowing how he’d function without her. She served as his assistant for many years, helping to organize his book tours and speaking engagements, handling his administrative tasks, and managing Morty’s home and studio.
While Tommy tries to come to terms with this unexpected loss, her grief, and being named executor of Mort’s will (which is very detailed and specific), actor Nick Greene is headed to Mort’s Connecticut estate, hoping to learn more about the man he only communicated with through email. Nick is going to play Mort in an upcoming movie, and wants to soak up as much of him as he can.
The story switches between the current:
Tommy, Nick, and others (including museum curator, Merry, and Tommy’s brother, Dani), affected by Morty, grappling in the aftermath of his death, and the past: memories of childhood and of Morty, mostly from Tommy and Nick’s third-person perspectives.
I wasn’t sure where A House Among the Trees was headed for a good portion of the story, but I definitely enjoyed the journey. The characters were all different and I found them each, for the most part, likable. I also enjoyed the descriptions throughout the book - Those of Morty’s illustrations as well as the scenery, including his home, where a large amount of the story takes place. Lastly, the vivid cover of the book is what initially drew me to want to read it - A bright, colorful art theme, which was very fitting.
March 30, 2020
This sounded an interesting story and I loved the cover of this book, which is about a loved children’s author. When he dies unexpectedly, he leaves his home which he shares with Thomasina Daulair to her. He also leaves her as literary executor. She is left to deal with an outraged museum curator as well as the actor chosen to play the part of Mort in a film. She must face issues in Mort’s life, and her own relationship with her estranged brother. It all sounded a recipe for an interesting read. So why didn’t I finish it?
Now it may not be the book. It may be just me and the current world situation that is affecting my reading. But I simply could not get interested in the chracters or the story. It felt like a chore every time I picked it up. So as a result I gave up. At a different time maybe this story would have worked for me. But at present it is not holding my interest and so I am abandoning it and not going to give a rating. Changed my mind and gave it one star for the cover. Others may well react differently, so if it sounds like your sort of thing, given it go and see what you think.
Now it may not be the book. It may be just me and the current world situation that is affecting my reading. But I simply could not get interested in the chracters or the story. It felt like a chore every time I picked it up. So as a result I gave up. At a different time maybe this story would have worked for me. But at present it is not holding my interest and so I am abandoning it and not going to give a rating. Changed my mind and gave it one star for the cover. Others may well react differently, so if it sounds like your sort of thing, given it go and see what you think.
July 14, 2017
For more book reviews and recommendations please go to my blog https://booknationbyjen.wordpress.com Book Nation by Jen.
In author Julia Glass’s latest, character driven novel, A House Among the Trees, Mort Lear, a famous children’s author, vaguely reminiscent of Maurice Sendak, unexpectedly falls to his death off the roof of his Connecticut home in a fluke accident. His longtime, live-in assistant Tomasina (Tommy) is left to pick up the pieces, address his fortune, complete unfinished business and come to terms with their co-dependent relationship. In addition, surprising details of Morty’s past surface causing Tommy to question how well she actually knew him.
When Tommy was a child she saw an eccentric man sketching pictures of her little brother as she watched over him on the playground. She gave the man the ok to continue as long as her brother remained unaware, and years later she came across Mort Lear’s popular children’s book with those familiar illustrations from long ago. As a favor, and to pay her back for allowing him to draw her brother, Mort gives Tommy a job working for him, and 40 years later after setting aside her personal needs and living with Morty in the country, Tommy is left alone.
Mort’s best-selling children’s book has a movie deal, and the unlikely famous, British actor, Nicholas Greene, cast to be the lead, had been in touch with Mort via email, sharing private stories and developing an unprecedented relationship. Both had experienced loss, fame and loneliness in different ways and Nick had been looking forward to continuing to bond with Mort in person prior to his unexpected death. As a courtesy, Tommy agrees to host Nick for a few days and help him get a feel for what Morty’s life was like. Little did she know To her shock and surprise, Nick had learned some personal details of Morty’s past that were very different from what he had shared with her during their lifetime together.
Tommy is faced with processing upetting information about Morty’s youth while hosting Nick at the Connecticut home, giving Merry the museum curator some bad news about artwork she had been expecting to receive, and reconnecting with her estranged brother who was never publicly recognized as the model for Morty’s popular illustrations.
Julia Glass provides well written back story to enrich the detail and provide depth as she weaves her story around the characters. She touches upon issues such as fame and loneliness, nontraditional relationships between adults and children, what we think is owed to us, family, legacy, loyalty and the individual quest for happiness. I enjoyed A House Among the Trees and highly recommend it for book clubs.
In author Julia Glass’s latest, character driven novel, A House Among the Trees, Mort Lear, a famous children’s author, vaguely reminiscent of Maurice Sendak, unexpectedly falls to his death off the roof of his Connecticut home in a fluke accident. His longtime, live-in assistant Tomasina (Tommy) is left to pick up the pieces, address his fortune, complete unfinished business and come to terms with their co-dependent relationship. In addition, surprising details of Morty’s past surface causing Tommy to question how well she actually knew him.
When Tommy was a child she saw an eccentric man sketching pictures of her little brother as she watched over him on the playground. She gave the man the ok to continue as long as her brother remained unaware, and years later she came across Mort Lear’s popular children’s book with those familiar illustrations from long ago. As a favor, and to pay her back for allowing him to draw her brother, Mort gives Tommy a job working for him, and 40 years later after setting aside her personal needs and living with Morty in the country, Tommy is left alone.
Mort’s best-selling children’s book has a movie deal, and the unlikely famous, British actor, Nicholas Greene, cast to be the lead, had been in touch with Mort via email, sharing private stories and developing an unprecedented relationship. Both had experienced loss, fame and loneliness in different ways and Nick had been looking forward to continuing to bond with Mort in person prior to his unexpected death. As a courtesy, Tommy agrees to host Nick for a few days and help him get a feel for what Morty’s life was like. Little did she know To her shock and surprise, Nick had learned some personal details of Morty’s past that were very different from what he had shared with her during their lifetime together.
Tommy is faced with processing upetting information about Morty’s youth while hosting Nick at the Connecticut home, giving Merry the museum curator some bad news about artwork she had been expecting to receive, and reconnecting with her estranged brother who was never publicly recognized as the model for Morty’s popular illustrations.
Julia Glass provides well written back story to enrich the detail and provide depth as she weaves her story around the characters. She touches upon issues such as fame and loneliness, nontraditional relationships between adults and children, what we think is owed to us, family, legacy, loyalty and the individual quest for happiness. I enjoyed A House Among the Trees and highly recommend it for book clubs.
June 22, 2017
This was my first novel by this author so I wasn't sure what I was in for. But for some reason, I didn't care for this one. It felt long and that is never a good sign for me.
The author had some great descriptive strokes, and there was some humor....all things appreciated by me. But bottom line, I just wasn't pulled in by the story or the characters. It was a lot of telling. I will read another book by her just to compare.
The author had some great descriptive strokes, and there was some humor....all things appreciated by me. But bottom line, I just wasn't pulled in by the story or the characters. It was a lot of telling. I will read another book by her just to compare.
June 24, 2017
If you’ve ever read Maurice Sendak’s children’s books, you may recognize the central but now dead (mort) character in Glass’s new novel, Mort Lear. But don’t expect him to be modeled entirely after Sendak; this is not a bio or even a “faction” of the great artist’s life. Instead, this is Glass’s original creation, about adults attempting to actualize their lives in a continuum of age and experience.
After an accident that kills Lear, his live-in assistant, Thomasina “Tommy” Dulair, is named Executrix, and inherits his house in the Connecticut woods, the land, and a tidy sum of money. This does not please her; in fact, the future and her further obligations to her boss and friend trouble her. For over thirty years, she has been his assistant—many of these years his live-in assistant, who was his Jackie-of-all-trades, directing and organizing all of his professional obligations. Lear was increasingly reclusive as the years passed, and Tommy was indispensable to him.
At 55, Tommy was hoping to finally find a path separate and independent of Mort’s life, and perhaps repair the relationship with her estranged brother, Dani, who was unknowingly the model for Mort’s main character in his best-selling book, “Colorquake.” Not only does she have a mountain of decisions and legacy requirements, she now has to accommodate a five-day visit from Nicholas Greene, the British actor and recent Oscar-winning heartthrob, who made plans with Lear to come stay at his house in order to “study” Mort’s life. Nick is doing his homework/groundwork to star in a biopic of the American Lear, playing the late, great icon’s most relevant years, the beginning and next several decades of the artist’s crowning success. A child actor will play Mort’s early years, when he endured unforgettable personal trauma that shaped him as an artist and an individual.
One task that Tommy keeps putting off is dealing with Merry Galarza, a museum director who expected to receive Lear’s estate, and was shocked to be shunned. This now consigns the museum to a shaky future. Like Tommy, Merry is single, childless, and, as allegory to the museum, at a loss about her future.
Rounding out the cast is Mort’s one time great love, Soren, a flamboyant partier who died of AIDS, and caused friction between Tommy and Mort due to Soren’s emotionally immature and reckless behavior. His character was the least engaging, however, as his flamboyance and illness were treated with mostly pat and derivative execution. It didn’t bring anything new to the table about either the tragedy of living with AIDS (before the latest life-saving medicines), or tortured relationships.
The book as a whole shines tantalizingly, as Glass hefts Mort, Tommy, Nick, Dani, and to a lesser extent, Merry, with a robust background that allows the reader to understand the fragile, struggling, and striving children within the adults. The narrative gives weight to the pressure of celebrity, “All celebrity does is arrange and spotlight your foibles as if they were mannequins in a shop window…you become a parade unto yourself, but if you are diligent and have a decent sense of direction, you determine the route.” Nicholas considers Lear’s celebrity while anxious about his own.
Moreover, there are philosophical questions that are mined: what is a full life, and what makes us whole? Do we establish our identity through the prism of others, is life a theater where we are merely players, or can we become our genuine selves, comfortable in our own skin? Glass also explores sons raised by distressed single mothers, albeit in different eras, and examines how our childhood experiences affect our behavior and trust in others as adults.
A few protracted scenes and events could have been redacted or tightened, but overall it was a thoughtful, character-driven, and highly engaging sixth novel from Julia Glass.
After an accident that kills Lear, his live-in assistant, Thomasina “Tommy” Dulair, is named Executrix, and inherits his house in the Connecticut woods, the land, and a tidy sum of money. This does not please her; in fact, the future and her further obligations to her boss and friend trouble her. For over thirty years, she has been his assistant—many of these years his live-in assistant, who was his Jackie-of-all-trades, directing and organizing all of his professional obligations. Lear was increasingly reclusive as the years passed, and Tommy was indispensable to him.
At 55, Tommy was hoping to finally find a path separate and independent of Mort’s life, and perhaps repair the relationship with her estranged brother, Dani, who was unknowingly the model for Mort’s main character in his best-selling book, “Colorquake.” Not only does she have a mountain of decisions and legacy requirements, she now has to accommodate a five-day visit from Nicholas Greene, the British actor and recent Oscar-winning heartthrob, who made plans with Lear to come stay at his house in order to “study” Mort’s life. Nick is doing his homework/groundwork to star in a biopic of the American Lear, playing the late, great icon’s most relevant years, the beginning and next several decades of the artist’s crowning success. A child actor will play Mort’s early years, when he endured unforgettable personal trauma that shaped him as an artist and an individual.
One task that Tommy keeps putting off is dealing with Merry Galarza, a museum director who expected to receive Lear’s estate, and was shocked to be shunned. This now consigns the museum to a shaky future. Like Tommy, Merry is single, childless, and, as allegory to the museum, at a loss about her future.
Rounding out the cast is Mort’s one time great love, Soren, a flamboyant partier who died of AIDS, and caused friction between Tommy and Mort due to Soren’s emotionally immature and reckless behavior. His character was the least engaging, however, as his flamboyance and illness were treated with mostly pat and derivative execution. It didn’t bring anything new to the table about either the tragedy of living with AIDS (before the latest life-saving medicines), or tortured relationships.
The book as a whole shines tantalizingly, as Glass hefts Mort, Tommy, Nick, Dani, and to a lesser extent, Merry, with a robust background that allows the reader to understand the fragile, struggling, and striving children within the adults. The narrative gives weight to the pressure of celebrity, “All celebrity does is arrange and spotlight your foibles as if they were mannequins in a shop window…you become a parade unto yourself, but if you are diligent and have a decent sense of direction, you determine the route.” Nicholas considers Lear’s celebrity while anxious about his own.
Moreover, there are philosophical questions that are mined: what is a full life, and what makes us whole? Do we establish our identity through the prism of others, is life a theater where we are merely players, or can we become our genuine selves, comfortable in our own skin? Glass also explores sons raised by distressed single mothers, albeit in different eras, and examines how our childhood experiences affect our behavior and trust in others as adults.
A few protracted scenes and events could have been redacted or tightened, but overall it was a thoughtful, character-driven, and highly engaging sixth novel from Julia Glass.
July 17, 2017
Not my favorite Julia Glass novel. It felt like a slog most of the way, although there were chunks that I really enjoyed and kept me reading.
June 24, 2017
I wanted to like this and I didn't. Well written but a oh-so-boring story.
August 22, 2017
"A House Among the Trees," while it was certainly well-written in a conventional sense, offered no surprises, no moments of thrilling "I wish I'd written that!" revelation. Is it possible to be too proficient a writer? At a certain level of competency, polished metaphors and technically adroit sentences just seem predictable and boring—even though the writer might be talented and accomplished. Julia Glass's words are so carefully chosen that I went from nodding at her success to rolling my eyes at her fussy perfectionism.
Plus, I don't understand her choice to tell this story about a "Great Man" (a very Sendak-like children's book author named Mort) from the POV of his dowdy, prudish live-in assistant. It could have been hilarious if it were satire, since "Tomasina" is kind of a prototypical Mrs. Danvers type (remember the sinister housekeeper in "Rebecca"?), only less domineering and more mousy. But her coldness and envy of her employer's colorful life are treated with the utmost seriousness. He is a dynamic, passionate gay artist, and she is an uptight, competent bore. We get LOTS of exposition about her past, which seems utterly beside the point. The novel often cuts away from potentially vibrant scenes to examine the lackluster, passive-aggressive interior rumination of the narrator. Can you imagine if Gatsby had ten more chapters, all about Nick Carraway?
There are two other part-time narrators, but they don't fare much better: One is Merry, a timorous, dowdy museum assistant who is also obsessed with the Great Man (duelling fag-hags?); the other is Nick, a British actor/celebrity who is slated to play Mort in a big Hollywood movie. How do we know he's British? Every other word out of his mouth is "fortnight," "knackered," or "Crikey." How do we know he's super famous? He's followed by paparazzi at all times! And his cell phone is constantly buzzing with demands from his agent!
I kept thinking of Zadie Smith's "Swing Time," and how much I loved her narrator, who is also a passive-aggressive, diffident celebrity's assistant. But her voice is humorous, self-examining, and morally ambiguous. So... it can be done! Just not by Julia Glass (whose work I've never read before, and probably won't again).
I feel like I need to note that most everyone in my book group loved this book, and it got glowing reviews and probably won numerous awards. Eye roll.
Plus, I don't understand her choice to tell this story about a "Great Man" (a very Sendak-like children's book author named Mort) from the POV of his dowdy, prudish live-in assistant. It could have been hilarious if it were satire, since "Tomasina" is kind of a prototypical Mrs. Danvers type (remember the sinister housekeeper in "Rebecca"?), only less domineering and more mousy. But her coldness and envy of her employer's colorful life are treated with the utmost seriousness. He is a dynamic, passionate gay artist, and she is an uptight, competent bore. We get LOTS of exposition about her past, which seems utterly beside the point. The novel often cuts away from potentially vibrant scenes to examine the lackluster, passive-aggressive interior rumination of the narrator. Can you imagine if Gatsby had ten more chapters, all about Nick Carraway?
There are two other part-time narrators, but they don't fare much better: One is Merry, a timorous, dowdy museum assistant who is also obsessed with the Great Man (duelling fag-hags?); the other is Nick, a British actor/celebrity who is slated to play Mort in a big Hollywood movie. How do we know he's British? Every other word out of his mouth is "fortnight," "knackered," or "Crikey." How do we know he's super famous? He's followed by paparazzi at all times! And his cell phone is constantly buzzing with demands from his agent!
I kept thinking of Zadie Smith's "Swing Time," and how much I loved her narrator, who is also a passive-aggressive, diffident celebrity's assistant. But her voice is humorous, self-examining, and morally ambiguous. So... it can be done! Just not by Julia Glass (whose work I've never read before, and probably won't again).
I feel like I need to note that most everyone in my book group loved this book, and it got glowing reviews and probably won numerous awards. Eye roll.
April 19, 2018
The sudden death of an elderly wealthy and famous author/illustrator of children’s books in the middle of the shooting of a film about his life, sets into motion a minor tug of war over his literary and personal legacy. I am sure that many readers will find this to be insightful and erudite. I thought it was tedious and pretentious. It was incredibly over-written, words lined up, pearlescent balls strung together, opalescent teeth, enamelized decay, so many shiny similes like Mylar bubbles atop curling ribbon. Most of this novel was spent on the back stories of the various characters: the deaths of romantic partners to AIDS and parents to cancer, overly hyped childhood traumas, the settling on a particular life path, etc. These threads of past narratives swelled, spread, swallowing up the current events until like some prehistoric nest of killer gnats, it covered and obscured the precipitating tension. If by this point in my review, the reader has absolutely no idea what I am getting at, then I have successfully communicated my frustration with this book.
March 26, 2017
A little uneven, but very good character development.
June 7, 2017
Gave this book 162 pages and 5 days and still don,t know what was going on. Could not spend another minute in it and its strange characters. See it has good reviews, but just could not see it. Thanks to Goodreads.
February 2, 2019
Tonasina Daulair was watching her younger brother in the neighborhood park when she noticed Morty Lear sketching her exuberant brother. He was the author/illustrator of children's books. Years later, Morty later gave Tomasina a job as his live-in assistant. She did not have much of a life of her own since she devoted her time to managing his life, even helping to nurse his gay lover as he died.
Morty experienced a fatal fall from the roof of his Connecticut home. Tomasina was surprised to inherit his home, and be appointed his literary executor in his new will. Morty had gone back on a promise to Meredith Galarz to give his illustrations to her museum, and decided to fund a charity instead. To complicate matters more, a film was being made of Morty's life and actor Nick Greene came to visit to discuss some traumatic events from Morty's boyhood. Tomasina found that she did not know Morty as well as she thought in spite of spending decades with him.
Each of these four characters had a complex back story with problems involving many family members and acquaintances. The flashbacks even went into the deaths of four parents. Although the book was about relationships, it felt like the story was going in too many directions with an overabundance of characters.
I enjoyed the charming descriptions of Morty Lear's books. Author Julia Glass is also an artist so she depicted the work of a children's author well. The characters' relationships with Morty, their complicated pasts, and their career demands all helped mold them into the people they became. Julia Glass' writing is good, but the story is weighed down by far too many flashbacks involving minor characters.
Morty experienced a fatal fall from the roof of his Connecticut home. Tomasina was surprised to inherit his home, and be appointed his literary executor in his new will. Morty had gone back on a promise to Meredith Galarz to give his illustrations to her museum, and decided to fund a charity instead. To complicate matters more, a film was being made of Morty's life and actor Nick Greene came to visit to discuss some traumatic events from Morty's boyhood. Tomasina found that she did not know Morty as well as she thought in spite of spending decades with him.
Each of these four characters had a complex back story with problems involving many family members and acquaintances. The flashbacks even went into the deaths of four parents. Although the book was about relationships, it felt like the story was going in too many directions with an overabundance of characters.
I enjoyed the charming descriptions of Morty Lear's books. Author Julia Glass is also an artist so she depicted the work of a children's author well. The characters' relationships with Morty, their complicated pasts, and their career demands all helped mold them into the people they became. Julia Glass' writing is good, but the story is weighed down by far too many flashbacks involving minor characters.
April 13, 2017
I have loved every book I've read by Julia Glass and this one is no exception. Her writing is exceptional, her story line fascinating, and the literary quality of her novel is superb.
Morty Lear, the protagonist of this book, is a world famous author of children's books and appears to be modeled after Maurice Sendak. His most famous creation, 'Colorquake', features a young character named Ivo who is much like Max in 'Where the Wild Things Are'. As the novel opens, Morty has just died and his loved and cherished assistant, Tommy (short for Thomasina), finds that she has inherited his home and land and has become the literary executor of his estate. As she tries to take all of this in, she is forced to face some difficult truths about Morty's life and her own.
There is a movie picture in the works about Morty's life. The star is Nicholas Greene, a new British sensation who has just won an Oscar. He will be playing the role of Morty. He plans on visiting the Lear estate in an attempt to find out as much as he can about Morty's life. Tommy, who is a lover of solitude, finds that the actor will be arriving shortly and she is aghast. Not only is she starstruck, but she is also very protective of her own solitude and Lear's legacy and life.
As the story unfolds, it become obvious early on that Lear gave an interview to a leading news magazine in which he revealed that he was sexually abused early in his life. Why he chose to tell this particular journalist about his trauma is a puzzle. He has also been emailing Nick and Nick believes that what Lear revealed to the journalist is only part of what happened to him. As he searches for answers, more and more questions about Lear's life emerge.
Another important aspect of the novel is that a book museum in New York City expected to be the beneficiary of Lear's literary estate. However, Lear's will indicates that he wants the bulk of his estate to go towards building a home for traumatized children. He wants this home to be called Ivo's house.
Tommy is trying to balance all the various facets of Lear's estate at the same time she is trying to deal with the conflicted relationship she has with her brother Dani, the original model for Lear's Ivo. She has worked for Lear for decades and now, at 55, she is wondering if she truly has a life of her own.
The novel is character driven and each and every character is fleshed out and given a rich and delicious fictional persona. Though there are some parts towards the middle of the novel that move a bit slowly, I still ate up every work. Glass knows how to entice and enchant her readers and she never disappoints.
Morty Lear, the protagonist of this book, is a world famous author of children's books and appears to be modeled after Maurice Sendak. His most famous creation, 'Colorquake', features a young character named Ivo who is much like Max in 'Where the Wild Things Are'. As the novel opens, Morty has just died and his loved and cherished assistant, Tommy (short for Thomasina), finds that she has inherited his home and land and has become the literary executor of his estate. As she tries to take all of this in, she is forced to face some difficult truths about Morty's life and her own.
There is a movie picture in the works about Morty's life. The star is Nicholas Greene, a new British sensation who has just won an Oscar. He will be playing the role of Morty. He plans on visiting the Lear estate in an attempt to find out as much as he can about Morty's life. Tommy, who is a lover of solitude, finds that the actor will be arriving shortly and she is aghast. Not only is she starstruck, but she is also very protective of her own solitude and Lear's legacy and life.
As the story unfolds, it become obvious early on that Lear gave an interview to a leading news magazine in which he revealed that he was sexually abused early in his life. Why he chose to tell this particular journalist about his trauma is a puzzle. He has also been emailing Nick and Nick believes that what Lear revealed to the journalist is only part of what happened to him. As he searches for answers, more and more questions about Lear's life emerge.
Another important aspect of the novel is that a book museum in New York City expected to be the beneficiary of Lear's literary estate. However, Lear's will indicates that he wants the bulk of his estate to go towards building a home for traumatized children. He wants this home to be called Ivo's house.
Tommy is trying to balance all the various facets of Lear's estate at the same time she is trying to deal with the conflicted relationship she has with her brother Dani, the original model for Lear's Ivo. She has worked for Lear for decades and now, at 55, she is wondering if she truly has a life of her own.
The novel is character driven and each and every character is fleshed out and given a rich and delicious fictional persona. Though there are some parts towards the middle of the novel that move a bit slowly, I still ate up every work. Glass knows how to entice and enchant her readers and she never disappoints.
March 25, 2017
Reading a Julia Glass novel is like entering another lifetime for a few hours. I tend to favor character-heavy books, and this one does not disappoint. Meredith, Nick, and Tomasina are people whose lives were pulled into the orbit of Mort Lear, a beloved artist and author of best-selling children's books. Tommy has been especially close to the man, having served as his assistant and live-in companion for nearly all her adult life. After Mort's sudden death, she, who thinks she knows Mort the best, realizes that there were secrets unknown to her that were revealed to others. How well do we ever really know another person? For that matter, how well do we know ourselves, and how much of what we do is to protect others or ourselves? Glass's characters are trying their best to figure it all out, and I loved them for it. Highly recommended.
August 18, 2017
I have Loved 3 of Julia Glass' books: Three Junes, The Whole World Over, and And the Dark Sacred Night, mainly because I love her character Fenno McCleod. I enjoyed reading all her other books, too. I was looking forward to this one, but for me, it never really clicked. Reading it required more work than I anticipated. I just didn't love it. I feel bad about that. This one just wasn't my cup of tea. I never really read anything in it that made me care about any of the characters. Maybe there were too many characters, too many subplots? I'm not sure. I look forward to reading the next one, Julia!
February 12, 2019
Je pense qu'avec Une maison parmi les arbres, on sait au bout de quelques pages seulement si le roman va nous plaire ou non car sa grande force, c'est sa prose qui nous saisit immédiatement. Julia Grass fait souffler sur toute son histoire un vent de tendresse et de légèreté grâce à ses mots – saluons d'ailleurs ici le travail de la traductrice ! - et on a juste à se laisser bercer.
C'est avec ce talent que l'autrice parvient à nous parler de deuil(s) (car si l'évènement central est le décès de Mort Lear, le deuil va être un thème récurrent) mais aussi d'enfance et de solitude sans jamais tomber dans le pathos. La construction du roman n'a cessé de me subjuguer, les allers-retours entre présent et passé et l'entrelacement des destins de Tommy, Morty, Merry et Nick sont parfaitement menés. Julia Glass ménage beaucoup de suspens par petites doses en ne révélant qu'en plusieurs fois les évènements importants de la vie de nos personnages principaux et ça donne un vrai rythme à une lecture qui ne m'a jamais ennuyée.
Il y a tant de questions qui sont soulevées dans ce roman : que restera-t-il de nous après notre mort ? Connaît-on jamais vraiment les gens qu'on aime ou qu'on admire ? Qu'est-ce qui compte le plus dans cette vie et y'a-t-il vraiment une bonne réponse à cette question ?
Une belle histoire où la mélancolie ne parvient jamais vraiment à prendre le dessus sur la douceur de vivre.
C'est avec ce talent que l'autrice parvient à nous parler de deuil(s) (car si l'évènement central est le décès de Mort Lear, le deuil va être un thème récurrent) mais aussi d'enfance et de solitude sans jamais tomber dans le pathos. La construction du roman n'a cessé de me subjuguer, les allers-retours entre présent et passé et l'entrelacement des destins de Tommy, Morty, Merry et Nick sont parfaitement menés. Julia Glass ménage beaucoup de suspens par petites doses en ne révélant qu'en plusieurs fois les évènements importants de la vie de nos personnages principaux et ça donne un vrai rythme à une lecture qui ne m'a jamais ennuyée.
Il y a tant de questions qui sont soulevées dans ce roman : que restera-t-il de nous après notre mort ? Connaît-on jamais vraiment les gens qu'on aime ou qu'on admire ? Qu'est-ce qui compte le plus dans cette vie et y'a-t-il vraiment une bonne réponse à cette question ?
Une belle histoire où la mélancolie ne parvient jamais vraiment à prendre le dessus sur la douceur de vivre.
July 4, 2017
Disappointing.
December 18, 2021
I got a good deal on this book and thought I'd give it a whirl - and I'm so glad I did. With the turmoil of our 2021-22 pandemic, politics, and panning culture, I relished the opportunity to dig deep into a book filled with unusual and deep friendships, a book filled with questions of celebrity, ego, love, trust, and responsibilities.
The storyline is quiet but becomes complex quickly, as the narrative shifts between three characters, moving forward and backward in time. The main character, Tommy Daulier, finds herself the unexpected heir and executor of the estate of an iconically famous author of child/teen lit, Mort Lear. If you're thinking of Shakespeare's Lear here, you're on track. Tommy has been Mort's amanuensis and his live-in manager and friend for more than 30 years, to the detriment of building her own life. The question of the little emotional betrayals of Tommy over the years are only rivaled by the great disappearing act that Mort enacted in his will. After all but promising his archives to Meredith Galarza, who has been orchestrating a NYC literary museum with Mort's work sharing center-stage, Mort surprisingly sets Tommy on a mission to distribute his life's work toward creating a youth home in Phoenix. The narrative shifts to Meredith's voice, as she copes with this loss and betrayal, and then shifts to a recently famous and breathtakingly dashing British movie star who has recently taken a job playing Lear in his biopic.
There are several other key characters whose lives contribute to the complete storytelling of this novel. Excellent, real characters who care about others, suffer great losses, and forge ahead even in their hardest, darkest moments. It is, as I said, a perfect book to read in times of turmoil, and reading it gave me great perspective and joy.
The storyline is quiet but becomes complex quickly, as the narrative shifts between three characters, moving forward and backward in time. The main character, Tommy Daulier, finds herself the unexpected heir and executor of the estate of an iconically famous author of child/teen lit, Mort Lear. If you're thinking of Shakespeare's Lear here, you're on track. Tommy has been Mort's amanuensis and his live-in manager and friend for more than 30 years, to the detriment of building her own life. The question of the little emotional betrayals of Tommy over the years are only rivaled by the great disappearing act that Mort enacted in his will. After all but promising his archives to Meredith Galarza, who has been orchestrating a NYC literary museum with Mort's work sharing center-stage, Mort surprisingly sets Tommy on a mission to distribute his life's work toward creating a youth home in Phoenix. The narrative shifts to Meredith's voice, as she copes with this loss and betrayal, and then shifts to a recently famous and breathtakingly dashing British movie star who has recently taken a job playing Lear in his biopic.
There are several other key characters whose lives contribute to the complete storytelling of this novel. Excellent, real characters who care about others, suffer great losses, and forge ahead even in their hardest, darkest moments. It is, as I said, a perfect book to read in times of turmoil, and reading it gave me great perspective and joy.
July 9, 2017
A House Among the Trees” is a story of the fictional Morty Lear. Morty Lear is a famous author of children's stories, best known perhaps for his novel "Colorquake". Colorquake is a story about Ivo, whose "mother kept a perfect house, a house among the trees." Ivo is "utterly beguiling", an artist, a painter of fantastic creatures, all of which come alive off the page. Everyone loves Ivo and Morty Lear is renowned. By the way, Morty Lear is not his real name--try Mordecai Levy.
The thing is, when we meet him, Morty is dead, having fallen off the roof of his house in the trees (Connecticut) trying to remove a limb. And all sorts of things are happening. Morty's assistant, Tomasina (Tommy) Daulair has been with Morty (and for a while Morty and his lover Soren) for more than 25 years, in Morty’s house among the trees in Connecticut. Tommy has a difficult relationship with her brother, Danilo ( Dani), who as it so happens was the inspiration for Ivo and is just perfectly resentful about Ivo's wild success; not to mention that Dani is, of course, a failure at virtually everything he does.
Before he died, Morty had agreed to have a movie made about his life. The famous (and very handsome) young actor, Nicholas (Nick) Greene, has agreed to play Morty. Nick has made some arrangements to spend time with Morty in his house and, with Tommy's approval, spends a few days and nights at the house despite Morty's death.
While alive, Morty had nurtured an engaging, although obviously platonic, relationship with Meredith Galarza (Merry--nobody's name is their name), a museum curator , leading her to believe that her museum would receive most of Morty's collection. But alas, such was not to be, as his collection was directed into Tommy's hands, to be sold off to establish a halfway house for runaway boys. Ugh!
So Nick visits the house in the trees, the paparazzi shows up and oh by the way, Dani and Merry somehow connect and they show up too. All is well in the end.
I am a Julia Glass fan. I loved "Three Junes". But there is simply too much going on in this book. Glass can't seem to decide if she wants to write about loss (Morty, family), regret (Tommy spending 25 years of her life with Morty), family dysfunction (lots of that here), the competitive world of art, or the cynicism of fundraisers and their very disdain for the donors ("Merry's primary task is to condense and focus all her verve and vigor on anyone who might become a benefactor. She becomes a heat seeking laser... Sadly, the artists are all beside the point..."). Or perhaps Glass wanted to focus on gay rights and AIDS issues, feminism and antifeminism ("it seems she can never quite shake off the instinctive relief she feels when a male authority gives her the sign of professional approval." Ugh again!). Perhaps Glass wanted us to understand the loneliness of celebrity ("All celebrity does is arrange and spotlight your foibles as if they were mannequins in a shopwindow, tart them up for all to see" ). As a result of addressing so many issues, the characters seemed to me to be unsympathetic and unlikeable, and the book seemed cold and forced.
Oh, one more thing, the book actually seems to be inspired by Maurice Sendak and his book "Where the Wild Things Are." All that said, if you are a Julia Glass fan you will probably want to read this book anyway. If you like this review read more at www.frombriefstobooks.com. Subscribe!
The thing is, when we meet him, Morty is dead, having fallen off the roof of his house in the trees (Connecticut) trying to remove a limb. And all sorts of things are happening. Morty's assistant, Tomasina (Tommy) Daulair has been with Morty (and for a while Morty and his lover Soren) for more than 25 years, in Morty’s house among the trees in Connecticut. Tommy has a difficult relationship with her brother, Danilo ( Dani), who as it so happens was the inspiration for Ivo and is just perfectly resentful about Ivo's wild success; not to mention that Dani is, of course, a failure at virtually everything he does.
Before he died, Morty had agreed to have a movie made about his life. The famous (and very handsome) young actor, Nicholas (Nick) Greene, has agreed to play Morty. Nick has made some arrangements to spend time with Morty in his house and, with Tommy's approval, spends a few days and nights at the house despite Morty's death.
While alive, Morty had nurtured an engaging, although obviously platonic, relationship with Meredith Galarza (Merry--nobody's name is their name), a museum curator , leading her to believe that her museum would receive most of Morty's collection. But alas, such was not to be, as his collection was directed into Tommy's hands, to be sold off to establish a halfway house for runaway boys. Ugh!
So Nick visits the house in the trees, the paparazzi shows up and oh by the way, Dani and Merry somehow connect and they show up too. All is well in the end.
I am a Julia Glass fan. I loved "Three Junes". But there is simply too much going on in this book. Glass can't seem to decide if she wants to write about loss (Morty, family), regret (Tommy spending 25 years of her life with Morty), family dysfunction (lots of that here), the competitive world of art, or the cynicism of fundraisers and their very disdain for the donors ("Merry's primary task is to condense and focus all her verve and vigor on anyone who might become a benefactor. She becomes a heat seeking laser... Sadly, the artists are all beside the point..."). Or perhaps Glass wanted to focus on gay rights and AIDS issues, feminism and antifeminism ("it seems she can never quite shake off the instinctive relief she feels when a male authority gives her the sign of professional approval." Ugh again!). Perhaps Glass wanted us to understand the loneliness of celebrity ("All celebrity does is arrange and spotlight your foibles as if they were mannequins in a shopwindow, tart them up for all to see" ). As a result of addressing so many issues, the characters seemed to me to be unsympathetic and unlikeable, and the book seemed cold and forced.
Oh, one more thing, the book actually seems to be inspired by Maurice Sendak and his book "Where the Wild Things Are." All that said, if you are a Julia Glass fan you will probably want to read this book anyway. If you like this review read more at www.frombriefstobooks.com. Subscribe!
July 12, 2017
Another set of unlikable, unsympathetic characters here. I could feel the author trying so hard on every page to make the characters come alive, but it just didn't happen for me. It is not this author's fault, but I have really had a string of bad luck with my reading material lately.
July 1, 2017
I usually enjoy Julia Glass novels but this one never pulled together for me. Too many self-centered characters who were either whiny of self-sacrificing martyrs that they were not very compelling.
August 14, 2017
Much has been written about Maurice Sendak being the inspiration for Glass's central character, Mort Lear, and I suppose that was one initial attraction for me. But more importantly, I was hoping for another emotionally resonant story like "Three Junes," which sadly, "A House Among the Trees" is not. There is plenty of beautiful writing: rich descriptions of the Connecticut estate and cottage, tumultuous inner monologues, and Lear's fantastical illustrated books (which I wish existed!).
The most engaging character, Lear, dies in the opening pages, and his assistant/companion, middle-aged Tomasina, is left to tell the story - with assists from a Hugh Grant-like movie star, a frazzled museum curator, and Tommy's ne'er do well younger brother. Glass creates in Tommy a rather sad, friendless, and humorless protagonist who is a passive observer. It makes for a rather sad and humorless read.
The most engaging character, Lear, dies in the opening pages, and his assistant/companion, middle-aged Tomasina, is left to tell the story - with assists from a Hugh Grant-like movie star, a frazzled museum curator, and Tommy's ne'er do well younger brother. Glass creates in Tommy a rather sad, friendless, and humorless protagonist who is a passive observer. It makes for a rather sad and humorless read.
April 21, 2017
Ever since "Three Junes", I open any new novel by Julia Glass with a long sigh of pleasant anticipation. I did so with her latest novel, "A House Among the Trees", and was richly rewarded with another wonderful experience with Glass' beautiful prose and stellar story-telling. It will be on my Top Ten of 2017 List for sure.
Moms, especially "Boy Moms", will immediately recognize that the main character, Mort Lear, is loosely based on children's lit writer and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, and that Lear's character Ivo is a stand-in for Max, in "Where the Wild Things Are" (raise your hand if you have it memorized!) As the novel opens Mort est mort, and he has surprisingly left everything, including his artistic legacy, to his long-time assistant, Tomasina (Tommy) Daulair. Tommy must now carry out Mort's wishes, one of which is to aid and encourage a biopic in the works to star Nick Greene, a handsome and newly famous British actor slated to play Mort on film.
We also have Merry, a NYC museum curator who had counted on curating Mort's artifacts, who is now doubly surprised that Mort's new will (drawn up a few weeks before his untimely death) withdraws his support for her gallery, and puts Tommy in charge. Merry has always been dismissive of Tommy as a mere assistant to the great artist/author. (Ooops.) And WHY did Mort withdraw his support so suddenly and secretly? Well, you are going to want to keep reading to find out. And rounding out the cast we have Dani, Tommy's younger brother who figures in the creation of Ivo.
The exposition structure of having Mort's life unfold for the actor, Nick, who will play him on film, is a wonderful way for Glass to reveal Mort's character and the character's of those surrounding him, both dead and alive. The novel unfolds flawlessly as Mort's life - a portrait of an artist and a man - is revealed, along with some surprising twists and secrets. Treat yourself to this absorbing and beautifully rendered novel.
Moms, especially "Boy Moms", will immediately recognize that the main character, Mort Lear, is loosely based on children's lit writer and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, and that Lear's character Ivo is a stand-in for Max, in "Where the Wild Things Are" (raise your hand if you have it memorized!) As the novel opens Mort est mort, and he has surprisingly left everything, including his artistic legacy, to his long-time assistant, Tomasina (Tommy) Daulair. Tommy must now carry out Mort's wishes, one of which is to aid and encourage a biopic in the works to star Nick Greene, a handsome and newly famous British actor slated to play Mort on film.
We also have Merry, a NYC museum curator who had counted on curating Mort's artifacts, who is now doubly surprised that Mort's new will (drawn up a few weeks before his untimely death) withdraws his support for her gallery, and puts Tommy in charge. Merry has always been dismissive of Tommy as a mere assistant to the great artist/author. (Ooops.) And WHY did Mort withdraw his support so suddenly and secretly? Well, you are going to want to keep reading to find out. And rounding out the cast we have Dani, Tommy's younger brother who figures in the creation of Ivo.
The exposition structure of having Mort's life unfold for the actor, Nick, who will play him on film, is a wonderful way for Glass to reveal Mort's character and the character's of those surrounding him, both dead and alive. The novel unfolds flawlessly as Mort's life - a portrait of an artist and a man - is revealed, along with some surprising twists and secrets. Treat yourself to this absorbing and beautifully rendered novel.
December 31, 2017
What a marvelous book! I have read all Julia Glass' novels and her exploration of character never disappoints. "A House Among the Trees" starts simply: "Today the actor arrives." And we enter into the mind of Tommy (Tomasina Daulair) one of Glass' wonderful, stanch, competent women. This one knows how she ought to feel, but doesn't, and that annoys her. "Awake too early, too nervous for breakfast (coffee alone makes her more nervous still), fretful over what to wear (then irritated at caring so much.)"
And right away you know her. Excited, but not wanting to show it. And she goes on, "Unlike many women around the civilized world, Tommy does not yearn to meet or spend time with or even catch sight of Nicholas Green. That she will be alone with him--if he complies with her conditions--is even more unsettling." Nick Green, the actor, is handsome, accomplished, very serious about his craft, and too young for Tomasina. Glass nails his English good manners and reticence along with his voracious desire to learn everything about the character he is about to play.
Others here and in the New York Times have described the plot in great detail and noted that Mort Lear, the children's author and illustrator Tommy has given up her life to take care of, was inspired by the children's author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak. So I will leave it to them and say reading a "A House Among the Trees" is like meeting new friends and exploring their lives more deeply than is possible in real life. I felt sad to leave their company.
Reading this book is a deep and serious pleasure. One you must not miss.
And right away you know her. Excited, but not wanting to show it. And she goes on, "Unlike many women around the civilized world, Tommy does not yearn to meet or spend time with or even catch sight of Nicholas Green. That she will be alone with him--if he complies with her conditions--is even more unsettling." Nick Green, the actor, is handsome, accomplished, very serious about his craft, and too young for Tomasina. Glass nails his English good manners and reticence along with his voracious desire to learn everything about the character he is about to play.
Others here and in the New York Times have described the plot in great detail and noted that Mort Lear, the children's author and illustrator Tommy has given up her life to take care of, was inspired by the children's author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak. So I will leave it to them and say reading a "A House Among the Trees" is like meeting new friends and exploring their lives more deeply than is possible in real life. I felt sad to leave their company.
Reading this book is a deep and serious pleasure. One you must not miss.
August 18, 2017
The Short of It:
Strong story potential that fell flat for me.
The Rest of It:
From Indiebound:
When the revered children’s book author Mort Lear dies accidentally at his Connecticut home, he leaves his property and all its contents to his trusted assistant, Tomasina Daulair, who is moved by his generosity but dismayed by the complicated and defiant directives in his will.
This book is said to be a tribute to Maurice Sendak, the beloved illustrator and author of children’s books and the inspiration behind the main character for A House Among the Trees. When I read that blurb, I just had to read it.
Morty Lear falls from his roof to his death and leaves his estate to Tommy, his long-time live-in assistant. Much of the story centers around the visit of a well-known actor who has been cast to play Morty in a film and how Tommy has to deal with that and all the other things required of her.
Normally, this type of story intrigues me but this time I felt no connection whatsoever to the characters. I can’t even say why. I could not connect or relate to any of them and there seemed to be a lot of back and forth where things didn’t flow well. Perhaps that is more of an editing issue. Not sure, but in the end this one didn’t work for me at all and I really wanted to love it.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
Strong story potential that fell flat for me.
The Rest of It:
From Indiebound:
When the revered children’s book author Mort Lear dies accidentally at his Connecticut home, he leaves his property and all its contents to his trusted assistant, Tomasina Daulair, who is moved by his generosity but dismayed by the complicated and defiant directives in his will.
This book is said to be a tribute to Maurice Sendak, the beloved illustrator and author of children’s books and the inspiration behind the main character for A House Among the Trees. When I read that blurb, I just had to read it.
Morty Lear falls from his roof to his death and leaves his estate to Tommy, his long-time live-in assistant. Much of the story centers around the visit of a well-known actor who has been cast to play Morty in a film and how Tommy has to deal with that and all the other things required of her.
Normally, this type of story intrigues me but this time I felt no connection whatsoever to the characters. I can’t even say why. I could not connect or relate to any of them and there seemed to be a lot of back and forth where things didn’t flow well. Perhaps that is more of an editing issue. Not sure, but in the end this one didn’t work for me at all and I really wanted to love it.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.
February 9, 2022
An engaging character based novel about an unusual relationship between a famous illustrator/author and his assistant that lasted over four decades. Mort Lear is a successful children’s book illustrator and writer who dies in his fifties from falling off a ladder at his Connecticut home. He leaves his property and assets to his trusted and long time assistant, Tomasina Dauclair. Tommy met Marty in a Manhattan playground when she was 12 and he was sketching her younger brother for the book that would launch his career. Nickolas Greene, a British actor, plays Morty in a movie about Morty’s life. Nick spends a few days at Morty’s house after Morty died to gain a better idea of who Morty was.
Overall, an interesting, satisfying reading experience. The author’s first novel, ‘Three Junes’, won the 2002 National Book Award. Readers who enjoyed ‘Three Junes’ should find this book a worthwhile read.
This book was first published in 2017.
Overall, an interesting, satisfying reading experience. The author’s first novel, ‘Three Junes’, won the 2002 National Book Award. Readers who enjoyed ‘Three Junes’ should find this book a worthwhile read.
This book was first published in 2017.
February 10, 2018
I rank this book right up there with The Cookbook Collector. Like Allegra Goodman, Julia Glass has a knack for telling complicated stories about multi-faceted people and making it all seem simple and obvious. Not a lot “happens” in this book plotwise, but we learn a tremendous amount about the four point-of-view characters, as well as the figure who unites them, esteemed children’s book author and illustrator Mort Lear, whose unexpected death a few weeks before the book opens drives whatever plot there is. I enjoyed my time with this book and look forward to reading more by Glass in the future.
June 25, 2017
Altering between three different time periods, a famous children's author dies and leaves his assistant of many years to take care of his estate. The book looks at his childhood, bits and pieces of his life throughout his career and then after his untimely death. Many characters with good character development and and interesting story line.
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