The Widow and the Tree

by Sonny Brewer

Drawing from a true story, the author of The Poet of Tolstoy Park tells the tale of the Widow Anson and her mystifying and painful decision to fell a historic five-hundred-year-old oak tree.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook

219 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Sonny Brewer is the author of four novels, including The Poet of Tolstory Park and The Widow and the Tree. He edited the anthology series Stories from the Blue Moon Café and most recently, Don't Quit Your Day Job - Acclaimed Authors and the Day Jobs they Quit published by MP Publishing in 2010.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm no expert, but.....

This was written by an editor? And an editor whose website touts the editing work he can do for budding authors? That's quite a stretch.

I gave up after the first two chapters. The dialog was full of so much information it was just unnatural. "Oh, Bob, who I bribed two years ago to do X, where are you going today?" (I paraphrase.)

I lost count of how many times the No Trespassing sign is mentioned in the first chapters. Yea, we got it. No trespassing around the tree. We got it.

I started this book with high hopes. I read Don't Quit Your Day Job and loved his writing style in the Introduction (the rest of the book is written by "acclaimed authors"). I find it hard to believe that this book was written by the same person. Much less an editor!

[Cody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Total disappointment! Book needs and editor as the chapters appear out of order and several were totally unecessary. Ignore the blurbs on the cover, it's not worth it. Story was obvious from the beginning and never really goes anywhere.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started strong, lost ground though-intriguing idea and true to the
setting. Engaging, enjoyable.

[A.P. Hawkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

The imagery is good and is the reason I gave more than one star. There's lots of awkward sentence structure throughout this book, so much so that I was re-wording many sentences in my head as I read them. The story didn't really do much for me, in fact for such a short book it kind of plodded along and we didn't really get to the real story until about halfway through. We're given a lot of backstory for the veteran, though it never really seems to matter (he's allowed to be surly and weird simply because he went to Vietnam and came back, he doesn't have to have a complicated relationship with his dad, too), and none at all for the game warden (except for a few cryptic hints in passing). The game warden's backstory would be a much more interesting and relevant inclusion, would give more insight into his motivations, and would maybe serve to help rachet up the tension (because a struggle over property between a spoiled rich kid who's only the game warden because daddy had influence in town and a widow with very little to her name besides her family property is a story I could really get behind).

Also, concerning the use of racial slurs: I'm of the opinion that white authors in particular should avoid using the n-word, even in the context of a racist character or a character that the author wishes to portray as terrible. There are other offensive turns of phrase that can be used by racist/otherwise terrible characters that don't carry the same baggage as that particular slur yet will still get the point across.

I think the best thing this book has going for it is that parts of it read like a love letter to South Alabama's ecology and people. The author clearly has a soft spot for this place in his heart, and he reminded me why I so often think fondly of my home state.

[Sephipiderwitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing read! It reads like a dream and a myth and a step back in time. It's a book about a beautiful widow, a 500 year old tree, a black panther that shouldn't exist in that place and time, a crow who picked up a button and a veteran with a past to it all. Then one day, the widow walks into a biker bar to hire someone to cut down the 500 year old Ghosthead oak. It's a beautiful, sad, lyrical story that you want to take your time with and breathe in each word and sit down at the base of the old oak or lay down on one of its great branches.

I read some of the other reviews on this book. I can only imagine that they cannot appreciate it because it is a different kind of story that a bestseller full of murder and action. It's not a story to keep you on the edge of your seat and make your blood pressure rise a few points. It's a story like a piece of fine dark chocolate and a fine wine that are meant to be slowly savored. In my humble opinion, it's a masterpiece of writing. I will be looking for more of his books.

[Rene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is based on a true story that happened in south Alabama, my home state. However, the writing style was so difficult to follow that I found it hard to get to the story much less really understand the characters' motivations and feelings.

In short, a widow owns a piece of property that contains a huge, ancient oak tree that provided the background for many memorable moments in her life. To her great annoyance, teenagers and others often trespass on her land to hang out around the tree. When she refuses to sell the land to the crooked sheriff, he takes it by eminent domain. Rather than see this happen, she gets her neighbor, a reclusive veteran, to girdle the tree so that it will die.

The story is told by four different characters and bounces around between present and past events. It also switches between dialogue with typical Southern speech and poetic phrasing. It was like listening to four different conversations at once, making it a tedious read.

[Jana Gutiérrez Kerns · Rating 5 out of 5]

It starts with the characters presented in the title: The Widow and the Tree. Then we meet the deputy and the game warden, the panther and the crow, the veteran and the widow’s dog, and a few more, mostly unnamed, players in this classic Man vs. Nature saga that is the story of our main, aptly named, protagonist, Ghosthead Oak. I savored these passages. Some chapters are only a paragraph, but Sonny Brewer’s prose sings with such a haunting beauty. This whole book envelops the reader like Spanish moss hugging a fat live oak trunk. Hints of Faulkner and The Giving Tree. . . this book is a real treat! Enjoy!

[Barbaraleah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, wrought with what I am sure are deeper and deeper meanings. Reading this in the midst of senior projects and preparation for final exams was not the best choice. I should, and will, reread when I have more time.
The widow - protector of the tree and the wildness in life
The veteran - understands the and participates in and I suppose, protects the wildness of this life
The game warden - wants to possess
The deputy - most of us, understands what is happening, chooses not to acknowledge it and finally decides to acknowledge and walk away - not helping at all.

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me about 100 pages to get into this book & then I finished it in one sitting. All the threads don't come together easily & the end isn't really the end. Would I do what was done? No, I still don't really get why that was the only option. But this book will stay in my mind for a while.

[Jenlovestoread1978 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another story that I may have skipped based on the reviews but I thought it was a beautiful story!

[Wendy Fuess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spare, beautifully written book

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Stetschulte was one of my favorite narrators. It was good to hear his voice again.

[Melissa Markham · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story just didn't have much of a story and didn't interest me.

[Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sonny Brewer is this year's Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium keynote author, so I took his latest book on a weekend trip, thinking I'd have a little extra time to give it a good read. By the time I got off the plane in Albuquerque, I didn't have much left to finish. This story is very engaging and the prose is a delight. It's not an easy book to put down. Deceptively simple, the story concerns the right of the widow to own the tree on her property, the right of the law to claim it for the public (or his own profit), and the rights of her neighbors and the townspeople to visit the tree for their own purposes. Though the widow is rumored to shoot trespassers, she rarely has. This 500-year-old live oak has seen plenty of activity around its trunk and roots, and the stories that unfold present a microcosm of Americana. More than the story of a tree, Brewer presents us with a story of ourselves and raises questions of ownership, wilderness, death, and rebirth. The book is finished, yet the story remains. What more can we ask of a true work of literature?

[Vené · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on a true story involving a magnificent oak tree and the lives touched by it, the author puts the reader deep in the heart of this drama set in Alabama's backwater bays and rivers. Gorgeous writing combined with dialogue that feels true to the setting and its inhabitants. The book jacket includes a quote from Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird (as if you didn't know that). She writes: "Sonny Brewer holds the reader close..."

I can't top that.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring

[Sarahjane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted more of everything. More character development, more story, more pages... It was beautiful but not satisfying.

[Renie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a beautifully written, poignant tale. I enjoyed the rich language and imagery presented as the tale unfolds. It's reminiscent and equally as tragic as The Giving Tree...

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird book. Creepy, good... but sometimes it tries too hard to be creepy. Read House of Leaves instead, much cooler.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short read but deep and meaningful. Set in northern Florida backwoods, country. Loved it.

[Jennifer Garza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really disliked this book. Mostly the way it was written. But I didn't connect with any of the characters.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sonny Brewer is a great Southern writer and storyteller. This book is endorsed by Harper Lee - need I say more?!

[Johnvano · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique and expansive tree fosters differing viewpoints on its power--from a widow, a veteran, a former journalist, and a game warden.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this as an audio book from Net Library knowing nothing about it. There's just not a huge choice there. It wasn't terrible, just not that interesting.

[Kitty Tomlinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ghosthead Oak, 5 centuries old, becomes the centerpiece of a beautifully written novel with the characters of the widow, the veteran, the game warden and the deputy.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book & great audiobook. I was riveted to every lyrical line. Highly recommended!

[Cami]

Not a bad book, but not my style enough to hold my interest.

[Ron Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting story, especially if you are familiar with Weeks Bay close to Mobile, AL. It is a fast read.

[Igna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written with a sort of melancholy hovering throughout the whole story. Even the animal characters have a part to play.

[Barb French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful short read. Very simplistic and reminded me of the South. Worth reading for sure.