The Tree
Book description
John Fowles' writing life was dominated by trees. From the orchards of his childhood in suburban Essex,to the woodlands of wartime Devon, to his later life on the Dorset coast, trees filled his imagination and enriched his many acclaimed and best-selling novels.Told through his lifelong relationship with trees, blending autobiography,…
Why read it?
3 authors picked The Tree as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I feel the same about this book as Barry Lopez—who wrote a most wonderful introduction—when he notes that throughout his reading of the text, he often had to take a break to walk outside; the writing was just so stimulating.
Appealing to me as a poet, this is a slim book—about 90 pages—really a meditative essay that I return to again and again. I am fascinated by the originality of the author’s thought process, his supple prose, and his discussion of the polarities that exist between cultivated nature and wildness.
One singular sentence in this book (“The wood waits…”) has…
From Scott's list on our human relationship with the natural world.
This booklet is thin, smaller than a kindle, small enough to fit in an outer pocket or any small bag. I bought my copy in 2011 and ever since I have given copies of the booklet as a present to those who would connect with his ideas about trees. He wants us to forget the trimmed apple trees of his father and urges us to fall in love with the overgrown trees in a scrap of ancient woods in the English countryside. He hated Victorian botanists for their passion for naming and classification. He sounded like a heretic when he…
From Leopoldine's list on the woodlands before the Industrial Revolution.
This booklet is thin, smaller than a kindle, and small enough to fit in an outer pocket or any small bag. I bought my copy in 2011 and ever since I have given copies of the booklet to those who would connect with his ideas about trees. He wants us to forget the trimmed apple trees of his father, and urges us to fall in love with the overgrown trees in a scrap of ancient woods in the English countryside. He hated Victorian botanists for their passion for naming and classification. He sounds like a heretic when he takes on…
From Leopoldine's list on trees in literature and art.
Want books like The Tree?
Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Tree.
