Spider in a Tree

by Susan Stinson

"Stinson reads the natural world as well as Scripture, searching for meaning. But instead of the portents of an angry god, what she finds there is something numinous, complicated, and radiantly human."—Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home "Through an ardent faith in the written word Susan Stinson is a novelist who translates a mundane world into the most poetic of possibilities."—Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones "Wonderfully fuses the historic and the imaginative."—Kenneth Minkema, executive director, Jonathan Edwards Center Jonathan Edwards is considered America's most brilliant theologian. He was also a slave owner. This is the story of the years he spent preaching in eighteenth century Northampton, Massachusetts. In his famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards compared a person dangling a spider over a hearth to God holding a sinner over the fires of hell. Here, spiders and insects preach back. No voice drowns out all Leah, a young West African woman enslaved in the Edwards household; Edwards's young cousins Joseph and Elisha, whose father kills himself in fear for his soul; and Sarah, Edwards's wife, who is visited by ecstasy. Ordinary grace, human failings, and extraordinary convictions combine in unexpected ways to animate this New England tale. Susan Stinson is the author of three novels and a collection of poetry and lyric essays and was awarded the Lambda Literary Foundation's Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize. Writer in Residence at Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts, she is also an editor and writing coach.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Spirituality, Historical, Religion, Novels, Literary Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2013

About the author

Susan Stinson's novels are Venus of Chalk (2004), Fat Girl Dances with Rocks(1994) and Martha Moody(1995). Spider In A Tree is her novel in progress. Belly Songs, a collection of poetry and lyric essays, was published in 1993.

Her work -- which has appeared in The Kenyon Review, The Seneca Review, Curve, Lambda Book Report and The Women's Review of Books -- has received the Benjamin Franklin Award in Fiction as well as a number of fellowships. She was born in Texas, raised in Colorado, and now lives in Northampton, MA.

Susan has given workshops and been a featured speaker at Dartmouth College, Amherst College, Wheaton College, Hampshire College, University of Massachusetts, and Smith College, as well as conferences such as the National Women's Studies Association, Nolose, NAAFA, OutWrite, and Saints and Sinners Literary Festival.


Honors
Grants and fellowships from the Vogelstein Foundation, Millay Colony, Blue Mountain Center, Money for Women/​Barbara Deming Fund, The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation and others. Venus of Chalk was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bodies are meaty things. These characters have bodies...most writers give characters mouths to speak, occasionally brains to think, but very seldom bodies that take up space. Stinson's writing is full of proprioception's quiet contrails. I enjoyed this book quite immoderately.

ETA Go read Author Stinson's "Craft Capsule" at Poets & Writers!

[Francesca Forrest]

The writing here is lovely, and the observations of the human condition are keen. Unfortunately, somehow I just didn't connect properly. Part of it is being too interested in the subject matter in my own idiosyncratic way: I've been exposed to the writings of Jonathan Edwards, have read about his life, and so have my own ideas on how I want things to be portrayed. (Though I pretty much liked the portrayal of Edwards himself, actually; he was one of my two favorite characters. There's a lovely scene where he comes home covered all over with notes he pinned to himself while riding--inspirations he jotted down on the way and then pinned to his coat so as not to lose them.)

Another part of it was feeling too distant, somehow, from the characters. People experience tragedies, but also petty jealousies, minor irritations, etc., and somehow these arrived in my mind with equal weight, which didn't work for me. I didn't feel that any of the characters were making progress, if that makes sense (and yet manifestly they did advance through their lives, so I'm not sure why I have this impression). For me, Leah, a slave in the Edwards household, was the best-drawn character: I got a sense of her growing and changing in response to what happens to her, incorporating her experiences and reacting to them--but I think I wanted even more of this for her, and definitely more for the other characters.

I appreciated that the book took people's religious feelings seriously. I think my personal druthers would have been to explore this much more deeply--but as it is, I think it's respectful, honest, not condescending, and not prettifying, and that's great. I liked the (to my mind) unflinching way it addressed the issue of slavery, too. Leah's memory of her mother and her saying to Jonathan Edwards that she wishes she could see her mother--and his reaction--those were great moments.

So yeah, writing this up, I find that there's a lot about it that I admired and appreciated, but somehow it didn't add up to a my-cup-of-tea novel.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oddball little gem of a book about puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards in 18th-century Massachusetts, and his battles over orthodoxy in the church. I like books about faith, and people's struggles and glories with it, and this a great example of the genre. Stinson clearly drew a lot from Edwards's own writings and tight research, which sometimes makes itself obvious, but more often helps set the stage for a believable series of struggles on the part of her characters: Edwards and his large family, including his beloved and devout wife Sarah, their relatives and fellow Northampton townspeople, and a tight-knit circle of slaves.

I've heard of fire-and-brimstone preaching and the puritans, of course, but this brought the concept to life in a vivid and human way. Slow paced but lovely. Pair this one with a book I have sitting on my desk at work, The World Is Great, and I Am Small: A Bug's Prayer for Mindfulness.

Found via a Lithub feature, 26 Books From the Last Decade that More People Should Read, recommended by Elizabeth McCracken.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really remarkable novel, though it's certainly no surprise that it's not a bestseller. Set in Northampton, MA, in the years from 1731 to 1750, years when the town's minister, Jonathan Edwards, was a leading figure (probably THE leading figure) in New England's so-called Great Awakening. Edwards is at the epicenter of the novel, but I wouldn't say that he's the main character; Stinson gives equal attention to a number of other characters in the town--all, like Edwards, real, historical figures: Jonathan's wife, Sarah; his slave Leah (and, to a lesser extent, her husband, Saul, also the Edwards' slave); and two nephews of the Edwardses, sons of a man who, in the early stages of the Awakening, commits suicide while struggling with the state of his soul. It's really hard to get into the mindset of people of this time & place, when people saw the hand of God (or the Devil) in every occurrence, but if we can't, it's no fault of this author; she has clearly mastered her material--her note on her sources would be impressive for a PhD dissertation). She does not shy away from doctrinal debates over who is eligible to take Communion or whether people need to make a public pronouncement of their faith before joining the church. (I treated some of these issues in my PhD dissertation, and the scene in chapter 11 of this novel also appeared in chapter 3 of my dissertation--and Stinson nails it, bringing it vividly to life. I am, however embarrassed to admit that I had forgotten, if I ever knew, that Edwards owned slaves) Of course, her careful attention to these details, even though she does not really show off her historical knowledge at the expense of the story, is why the novel's readership is bound to be limited. I was also impressed with the way she treated the slaves' distinctive spirituality, even as they sought to be a part of the church. And she gives due attention to the role Sarah (and other women) played in the story; Sarah, Jonathan notes at one point, is better at reading the town's moods; she also regularly acts as a healer in town, as does the mother of the two boys who play a big role in the story. The genuine affection in the relationship between Jonathan & Sarah is also treated sensitively and effectively. Finally, scholars often bemoan that Edwards's famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," is not really representative of his larger work. Stinson gives due attention to the sermon and the context in which it was given, but she does not give it undue importance, except that she begins with, and returns repeatedly to, images of Edwards (and other characters) carefully observing spiders (and other insects) and extrapolating from those observations to conclusions about life and human-divine relations. (Edwards's "Sinners" sermon includes the image of holding a spider over flames as a metaphor for God's relation to humans.) Many of the strengths of the novel are reflected in a beautiful passage that occurs after Sarah has had her 10th baby, all of which, unusual for the time, survive. Meanwhile, the slave Leah's only pregnancy had ended a few years earlier in a miscarriage. "Leah . . . had opened [Edwards's pamphlet] Religious Affections a few months before when she had found it in the study. Now she thought of the verse of scripture he had used to begin part one: Whom having not seen, ye love. That was, of course, Jesus. Leah did love him. She didn't see him, but she felt him, strongly. Feelings, it seemed, were what Religious Affections was about. She had been working her way through the pages when she could. She had not gone very far, but far enough to find brokenness of heart counted as a great part of true religion, along with fear, zeal, hope, hatred, and holy joy, with love, a source of all the other affections, at its very core. Now, on the stump, she drifted for a moment, and started to tell herself a story about a spider with nothing to trap with except strands of light, but her mind trailed off as she watched a crow dart at a scuttling bug and eat it quickly in the grass. She felt a sob rise in her, then fall back, dry. Her mind was on her child, never born: another whom, having not seen, she loved. She had walked away from Sarah's groaning cake to groan alone in her soul, but the sun was like honey on the budding limbs, and she did not feel alone. This was prayer, secret prayer. She kept her open eyes on the tree limbs, which moved, then fell still. The affections, Mr. Edwards had taught her, resided not in the body or in the animal spirits, but in the soul. An unbodied spirit could feel love. True religion was known in love. Her love for her child, the child whom she had never seen, never raised, never risked in a world where even a baby could have been sold or ground down in the service of owners, was unbodied. Still, it was a specific surge in the great waters. Her heart knew its current by feel. She gave it up to God, raised her head as she sat on the stump as if the strand of web had wound round her hair and was gently pulling her skull upward, her neck straight, and her spine more upright. She stretched her body, raised her arms, and accepted absence, presence, and consolation, then turned away from the trees to watch the open sky. She could find no language within her, not even private words from home, for the way the sky filled with birds that were so soon gone on by." (216-17) If you have the patience to read lots of this kind of prose, I highly recommend this novel.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd, compelling, deeply researched fictionalized account of the lives of Jonathan Edwards, several members of his household including those he enslaved, and some assorted relatives and townsfolk. Also contains some small insect sermons. The prose is luminous and encourages slow reading.

CN: suicide, miscarriage, sexual assault; enslavement including specific painful experiences; racism, sexism; theological cruelty, familial estrangement

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing

I stayed with this book and it stayed with me. It made me think of what happens between people, the loves and betrayals, innocent and not so innocent mistakes, regret and mourning, dearness and disgust, everything that happens over time and crops up because it must. It’s a beautiful book. I’ll read anything Susan Stinson writes.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, though it took me a while to get into it. (Not helped by the ebook formatting which is not very good at showing section breaks.) A period (pre-revolutionary America, focus on religious issues) about which I know very little. But worked for me as an evocation of the time, place, mindset. Reminded me somewhat of The Corner That Held Them - perhaps the sense of a small remote community, inward-looking but occasionally impinged upon by the wider world?

[Susannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine, not my favorite.

Read it for a class at Amherst.

Felt like it went on and on, with no real intention. I didn't really fall in love with any of the characters or care if they made it to the end of the book. The multiple voices really didn't sync up.

[Sally Bellerose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure - love this author and this book - Stinson is a personal friend and writing pal. But this is still a damn god book. Will be out in October 2013.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, dense writing. Not an easy read, but very rewarding.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lets you see the natural world tied into religion. This book is very poetic.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accustomed as I am these days to reading current books in current language, I took awhile becoming attentive enough and patient to read the seemingly convoluted language of this excellent historical, philosophical, thoughtful, novel. However, once I adapted, I was unable to not keep reading it, and found myself resentful of every task, need, hour that kept me from picking it up again.

It travels through the life of Preacher Jonathan Edwards for approximately 20 hard years in the civil and religious history of largely puritan Massachusetts (1730-1750) experienced in Northampton, where Jonathan Edwards preached and ministered (and held slaves). The book informs even as it draws you into the family and the surrounding families and times. It notes the wars and the killings that filled these times (are there times when there are not wars and killings?), but they are not the book's focus, only part of its life. It deals in more detail with slave holding, although, again as an element of the whole.

It is a good read.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in New England during the Great Awakening, this novel tells the story of Jonathan Edwards and his family, including a young female slave who comes to live in his house. The book is very well-researched, and includes meticulous descriptions of daily life in the American colonial period. However, the author never really shows the reader what it was like to experience the Awakening, or to have a truly religious experience during this period. She focuses instead on the religious practices of the period, but never really shows how the Great Awakening changed things. It is still a well-crafted book, and covers a period that doesn't often appear in fiction.

[Chris Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the most credible and incredible historical novel I have ever read.

Nothing about the subject should have drawn me in (except, perhaps the enigmatic title). I have no great interest in the time period (1731 - 1750) the setting (the middle of Massachusetts) or even religious revivals, but something about the language used, the descriptions of daily life, the interesting and sometimes odd words, just kept me enthralled.

There is some beautiful writing in this book.

I loved it.

[Aron Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

As historical fiction goes, this is exquisite. Stinson's attention to detail is remarkable. And it's a book that forced me to suspend my modern categories and boxes. The variety of perspectives, lovingly told, appealed to me, and it didn't feel like Stinson favored one over others. It took me some time and mental energy to sort through some of the intellectual and theological discussions and differences, but the effort was worth it.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book. Rich historical research, beautiful writing. Read it!

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow burn but I came to enjoy it and actually came away feeling more positive about Jonathan Edwards than I had before. He wasn’t much earthly good but he was less authoritarian than I had thought.

[Lisa Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids read for school, liked it pretty ell.

[Shelley]

Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2023/07...

[Diann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but found it to be a slow read. It is a well researched historical novel about Jonathan Edwards and the dominant theology of the time. A good read for those who are interested in this historical period.

[Cissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the interest of full disclosure, this is not the type of fiction I usually read; I generally prefer genre fiction, especially SFF.

Still- the past is a different world! and this novel definitely made that clear, and often in interesting ways.

However- to me it mapped as more "literary fiction" than a novel, since it didn't finish as much as just...stop. In media res. Nothing really got resolved, in any of the potential plot threads.

OK, this is true to life. Generally we do not have plot threads in our lives. Things happen, and then other things happen.

But- that is why fiction can be so satisfying! It DOES have a plot, and a plot arc, and an ending that ties up at least some loose threads- andf this book did not do that.

As a fan of historical fiction, this seemed very well-researched, although not in ways I was much interested in. I wish there had been more focus on the mores, the clothing, the housekeeping, etc. I believe this was well before stoves with ovens- HOW did they bake bread? No reference either to wood-fired ovens nor bake shops. Particularly since this was in many ways more an account of daily life then and there, the lack of data about the practical aspects was frustrating.

The bug motif seemed arbitrary, and only occasionally present.

I think the aspect that this book lacked the most, though, was immediacy. Tell rather than show? or maybe it was the sheer number of POVs. Leah was pretty sympathetic, and oddly Joseph- though I found the sympathetic depiction at odds with his fairly sleazy choices. Most of the rest were ciphers.

I do not remember why I bought this book; it was probably recommended somewhere. I did not find it a satisfying read.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stinson does an admirable job of imagining the life and surrounding world of Jonathan Edwards in this work of historical fiction. Her work is admirable because it shows clear evidence of familiarity with historical sources, and she often makes use in the actual novel of actual historical texts from Edwards, from church records, and from newspaper accounts. However, these insertions of actual historical material don't intrude on the narrative--rather they enhance it.

After a completely surprising and affecting first chapter revolving around Edwards' purchase of a slave, Stinson settles into a rather episodic treatment of the lives of the Edwards family as well as a number of significant figures around the family, including slaves. Stinson's democracy in her choices of who to follow highlight issues of social structure that interestingly end up informing the results of Edwards' time spent as pastor in Northampton. In this, the novel builds momentum toward its captivating final third, as Stinson describes rising tensions in Western Massachusetts over a number of issues including war, death, immorality, and control.

That the book, in the final estimation, carries something of a somber tone, should not dissuade the reader. For a novel covering Edwards' days in Northampton, such a tone is wholly appropriate.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susan Stinson's "Spider in a Tree" tells the story of American theologian Jonathan Edwards as he spent his days in Massachusetts being a preacher. The story itself is set after his famous speech "Sinners of an Angry God" & tells the story of just how his life was in that part of the 18th century. Stinson introduces us to a wide variety of characters & people that were a part of Edwards life at the time & does for the most part a decent job of keeping the historical accuracy of the story. The book itself in spots is a little choppy as it moves between events across 20 years, but is overall a decent period piece to read for anyone interested in this particular person in early American history.

[Elizabeth Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book a few days ago, and I'm still mulling it over. I enjoyed getting to know some of the people surrounding the famed Jonathan Edwards, and getting a closer look at events surrounding the Great Awakening. On the other hand, I never quite understood the spider/insect motif. The title, taken from Edwards' most famous sermon, maybe. The insect sightings throughout the book, not so much.

If you're interested in learning about the Edwards' time in Northhampton, MA, I would recommend it as a way to imagine more than what history books have to say. It's somewhat fictionalized, of course, but it certainly provides a broader idea of what their lives might have been like.

[Dereka · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is about Jonathan Edwards, the renowned colonial preacher and I thought it was great. Based on historical events the author does a great job of taking the reader back in time. The characters, including Edwards, his wife Sarah, his slave Leah and others, were skillfully written. And, while I did not struggle to internalize the very dense theological arguments, I found it satisfying to get a better understanding of the "Great Awakening" and religion in colonial New England.

[Glenn Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book some time ago. I have met Susan in person, I used to live in the same town as her - I was born in Northampton, Mass. where she resides, and I used to live there. It is a good read, with great detail in the time of Puritanical New England focused on the history of Northampton - and the religious movement that was occurring centuries ago. If you're interested in Protestant history, pick this book up, or in Puritanical New England -

[Cyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: Susan Stinson is a friend. I truly enjoyed this book, which gives a glimpse into daily life and spiritual life in Northampton, MA, a city I know well in the modern day.

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this one....

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very unusual, immersive book. I wouldn't have thought to pick up a historical novel about the Great Awakening, but a friend recommended it, and she was right.

[M.B. Caschetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still thinking about it a week later.