The City of Windy Trees

by Simon Van Booy

A short story from the collection Love Begins in Winter by Simon Van Booy.

Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2009

About the author

Simon Van Booy is the award-winning, bestselling author of more than a dozen books for adults and children, including The Illusion of Separateness and The Presence of Absence. Simon is the editor of three volumes of philosophy and has written for The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, and the BBC. His books have been translated into many languages and optioned for film. Raised in rural North Wales, he currently lives in New York where he is also a book editor and a volunteer E.M.T. crew chief.

Reviews

[An]

The City of Windy Trees is a collection of five interconnected short stories that explore human relationships, memory, love, and moments of unexpected connection. Through thoughtful and emotional storytelling, Simon Van Booy examines how small encounters and personal experiences can shape people's lives.

[Cecily]

My review of this is story is in the review of the collection, Love Begins in Winter, HERE.

[Samir]

Every photograph is a lie, he thought—a splinter from the tree of what happened.

- Simon Van Booy, The city of windy trees


The city of Windy Trees is the third book that I have read in Simon Van Booy's series of short story books. While 'Love begins in Winter' was sublime and 'The Coming and Going of Strangers' was subtle, 'The City of Windy Trees' is a moving tale about finding solace in long lost relationships. In all three books Simon Van Booy uses poetic imagery to tell his stories. Across the three books I have read till now, the common emotion that all his lead characters go through is melancholy. And strangely it still doesn't feel like an overdose when personally I despise melodrama. The writing style of Simon Van Booy is sensitive and yet far from melodramatic. He chooses insight in his characters over sentimentality just for effect. Most of the story takes place in the mind of the lead character George which allows us to feel the way he feels about his situations. The city of Windy Trees is another breezy read that will brush off its moodiness on you.


Love between strangers takes only a few seconds and can last a whole life.

- Simon Van Booy, The city of windy trees

[Lolly K Dandeneau]

Simon Van Booy's writing is deeply moving no matter what the story is about. I don't often get weepy reading fiction but he writes so movingly, tenderly that he tricks tears out of you. I read a stack of his short stories and felt so weepy after. I look forward to his novel being released in July. He does not have an equal!

[Qsg123]

Loved it.