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Loading... The Boys in the Trees: A Novel (edition 2008)by Mary Swan
Work InformationThe Boys in the Trees: A Novel by Mary Swan
  
None No current Talk conversations about this book.  katiekrug | Apr 1, 2024 |    ) ParadisePorch | Jul 6, 2022 |  ) Siubhan | Feb 28, 2018 | We think that family murder/suicides are a new phenomenon but the act that is central to this book took place in 1888. A man who had been embezzling from his employer (and this wasn't the first time he had done so) systematically kills his wife and then his two daughters. He flees the house and is found in nearby woods with one bullet still left in the gun he used on his family. The book uses many different narrators to talk about the events before, during and after the murders but never the man himself. Mary Swan says in the Q and A at the back of the books that "...I am most interested in the ripples caused by events, and the way so many things, especially human beings themselves, are ultimately unknowable." For me, this book seemed unfocused because of that. While it was interesting to read the different points of view there was no real climactic point. I would probably read something else by this author but I won't be rushing out to the library to see if there are more books by her. It will be interesting to see what the other members of the book club think. ( ) gypsysmom | Dec 17, 2011 |  ) Eliz12 | Dec 6, 2011 | no reviews | add a review
"This is a mesmerizing novel, that can truly claim to be filled with a 'terrible beauty.'" - Alice Munro Newly arrived to the countryside, William Heath, his wife, and two daughters appear the picture of a devoted family. But when accusations of embezzlement spur William to commit an unthinkable crime, those who witnessed this affectionate, attentive father go about his routine of work and family must reconcile action with character. A doctor who has cared for one daughter, encouraging her trust, examines the finer details of his brief interactions with William, searching for clues that might penetrate the mystery of his motivation. Meanwhile the other daughter's teacher grapples with guilt over a moment when fate wove her into a succession of events that will haunt her dreams. In beautifully crafted prose, Mary Swan examines the volatile collisions between our best intentions - how a passing stranger can leave an indelible mark on our lives even as the people we know most intimately become alienated by tides of self-preservation and regret. In her nuanced, evocative descriptions a locket contains immeasurable sorrow, trees provide sanctuary and refuge to lost souls, and grief clicks into place when a man cocks the cold steel barrel of a revolver. A supreme literary achievement, The Boys in the Trees offers a chilling story that swells with acutely observed emotion and humanity. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.4)
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I really loved Swan's writing, which is elegant and almost poetic at times. This could have been a 4.5-star or more read for me, but I wanted a little more insight, a little more detail, and a little more closure. Some things were left just a bit too ambiguous for my liking. Still, it was a good read.
4 stars (