The Poison Tree

I dislike having to say I enjoyed a book like The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly because the subject matter is a bit grim. But I did like it. It’s got loads of atmosphere, believable characters and a great writing style. Some of the imagery really stood out for me. On page 36:

‘When she turned around, I saw her costume actually was a wedding dress: the dirty train trailed perilously near to the flickering flames, and like a dutiful bridesmaid I gathered the grubby satin in my arms, out of fire’s way. Her vertebrae protruded like a string of pearls suspended between her shoulder blades.’

The main female character brought to mind a couple of people I encountered during my adolescence and, as I recall, was appalled by. The setting where show more the action takes place, an old and very large house in a state of vast neglect and disrepair, had a personality all its own.

I think the prologue threw me off a bit. I expected at some point that the author would go back to it and all would become clear but that didn’t happen until the end. Which was fine – I was just very curious what the prologue had to do with the rest of the story. The ending was somewhat abrupt but I didn’t see it coming. (I’m not that good at guessing endings though I do try anyway!)

I'm not sure if it was because I was reading an ARC, but I had a small bit of trouble with the jump between the past and the present. There didn't seem to be enough 'separation' - one paragraph might be in the present and the next in the past. Perhaps the finished book would have more of a split between the two.

I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys suspense and twisty-type endings. show less

I picked this book up off of the new books shelf at the library, having never heard anything about it, expecting a simple thriller. What I found, to my pleasant surprise, was so much more. It's truly a novel of psychological suspense, but it's also a story about coming of age, the families we make, and the regrets we live with. The melancholy harshness of it reminded me a little bit of Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which is one of my favorite novels of all time. I won't say too much more without giving away the plot, but I highly recommend this little novel and cannot wait to see what Kelly writes next. Four and a half stars.

Review based on Advance Reading Proof

A wonderfully well-written, psychological thriller debut, one that just cries out to be read and discussed. A perfect choice for a book club. Although I found it a bit disconcerting with early chapters switching between then and now, it is really just an essential hiccup in the storyline. This ploy simply increases the building suspense as the story unfolds. Watch out for author Erin Kelly, she has thrown down the gauntlet and intends to stay around for a long time!

An unusual storyline from the voice of the protagonist, Karen Clarke, the characters with their many differences are well-drawn and continue to grow throughout the book. Take a young normal girl who just happens to be fluent in several show more languages and throw her suddenly into a completely different society and what is she to do? Her meeting with Biba opens a whole new world to her, one she is not only introduced to, but embraces wholeheartedly. In 1990s London, the beautiful and vivacious Biba lives her life fully and dramatically, essentially the actress she wants to be. When she meets Karen, the straight-A student of linguistics, she brings her to her home, a very run-down yet exotic house of many characters, some of whom live there with Biba and her brother Rex. Soon Karen is a constant visitor.

The book begins near the end, then switches back to this carefree and exciting life, time and time again. We learn of old secrets that have a distinct effect on the brother and sister, and later newer secrets come between them. Karen can not tell her story alone without telling the story of Rex and Biba. Their lives and stories are tangled as one. These three are the main characters, but there are more roles to be played by lesser players. Still, they are all bigger than life and all play their parts boldly. The story unfolds between this wild beginning, fraught with suspense and lies, racing toward an unknown and unexpected tragedy. Clues and portents are sprinkled between these carefree days of one summer, building and building to an excruciating level. Murder, prison, life, loss, all wrapped up in one great read. Descriptive, alluring, and definitely atmospheric, characteristics run the gamut from innocence and trust to parties, drugs, drama, sex and lies.

This is not a book one can easily review without spoilers, mostly because of the way the book is written with all its portents. That said, the ending is shocking and yet feels right. Once read, the reader will understand what I mean, but earlier in the book he/she may not. This is an exceptional start to what I believe to be a long run for this author. show less

Wow. That was the thought I was stuck with for days after finishing this book. It was amazing. When the author contacted me on twitter, I told her I wish that I was Karen and Biba’s friend. She said let me know if I felt that way on the last page. ;)

There were so many twists and turns in this book, that I was surprised. I did guess a couple, but there were so many more that I completely missed. As a girl that likes to read this type of book, I think of myself as usually pretty good at sussing out the end ahead of time, but this one got me.

I like the format of where it jumps from time and place through the life of the main character (Karen). It was a little difficult at times to follow the transitions, as the only clues were name show more changes, but that could have been the formatting of the copy I had.

The characters are wonderful. Biba is as wild and dramatic and carefree as Karen is studious, responsible and down to earth. Fun seems to ensue following these two through the book, and I often wanted to join them. Rex, Biba’s brother, was not a character I enjoyed as much. I found him a little dry, and did always appreciate the way he reacted to situations, but that could be because he is the type of person that wouldn’t be my cup of tea in real life either. I loved the minor characters that popped in and out, and found they added depth, extra personality and humor, and sometimes needed lightness to the story.

The setting is beautiful, and I could see it as if I was there. It was the type of descriptive writing that could only come from someone who had spent a great deal of time in a place. I could see it, hear it, smell it, but most importantly, wanted to visit it.

I also can relate to the feeling she describes, of wandering into somewhere different, and knowing that is where you want to be. Have you ever gone to someone’s home for the evening, or the weekend, and it so fun/ cozy/ welcoming/ comfortable/ different then your own, that you want to curl up and not leave. Kinda like being at home and escaping, all at the same time? She captures this beautifully.

I have a feeling this one is going to stay with me for a long time to come. It was a very enjoyable ride. =D show less

This book was interesting to me since the story was told from the heroine's perspective and jumped from past to present every chapter. That way you were always learning little bits of the back story as the current story was progressing. I will say that it took me about 50-60 pages to really get into the book but once I did I didn't want to stop reading.

Karen meets Biba and her brother Rex the summer after she finishes her undergraduate degree and moves into their home for the summer of "experiences." You see, Karen has always been responsible and has forgone fun and adolescent craziness. This is her time to let her hair down and it is all because she met free-spirit Biba. During the summer, Karen and Rex become lovers and everything is show more perfect until that fateful night when Karen's world in turned upside down and Rex is convicted of murder. The cuurent story line shows Rex and Karen trying to reconnect after Rex is released from prison and Rex trying to forge a new life released from his painful past.

I would definitely recommend this book to others and found it very enjoyable and mysterious. show less

I WAS ANGRY WITH MY FRIEND:
I TOLD MY WRATH, MY WRATH DID END.
I WAS ANGRY WITH MY FOE:
I TOLD IT NOT, MY WRATH DID GROW.

Karen lives in a flat with her mates, she has a boyfriend, good grades at school, parents not too boring, what else? Could Karen be angry with them?
Casually Karen meets Biba, and later her overprotective brother, Rex. A hot London summer begins: are they Karen’s foe?

TILL IT BORE AN APPLE BRIGHT.
AND MY FOE BEHELD IT SHINE,
AND HE KNEW THAT IT WAS MINE

A child gives birth, Alice. Meanwhile two people die, and one person goes to jail.

IN THE MORNING GLAD I SEE
MY FOE OUTSTRETCH’D BENEATH THE TREE.

Finally Karen takes out her wrath.

*********************************************************************
Start again
Karen bears show more ‘... a life lived in translation’, so when she meets Biba and her brother, a new world is before her. A first Karen’s impression: ‘I felt as though I were being read and interpreted for the first time, unfolded and examined like a map left in a drawer for so long that it creates and pleats come permanently to describe their own topography.’ (p.29) But the compass of this undiscovered map points towards drugs, alcohol, and homicides.

The Poison Tree is narrated from the point of view of Karen, jumping between events in the present and in the past. The author of the book, Erin Kelly, during the narration often suggests that something has to happen, creating an atmosphere of waiting for a catastrophe. Almost twenty chapters of the book (there are twenty-nine chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue) are surrounded by this atmosphere, but this is also the weak part of the book. Kelly, every a while, uses some ‘post it’ to remind to the reader about the events to come; but these reminders are not enough for a psychological thriller.
Another weak part is the character of Biba: why is she so special? Is Biba special because of her pseudo-bohemian way of life? Is Biba surrounded by an aura, air of mystery? and which is this aura? Karen and Biba friendship doesn’t suggest anything extraordinary.
The Poison Tree sometimes seems Karen’s journal indicating only a cathartic objective, so the reader is an outsider in this contest.

On overall I liked the characters, especially Karen’s descriptions of other people: accents (maybe inspired by George Bernard Shaw), and idiosyncrasies.

Ending with the poet:
‘A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees’ (William Blake)
Every review is a different translation of the same book. show less

SPOILER possibility...proceed with caution...

I enjoyed this, and will certainly look for others by this author. As well as a story that carries you along, the writing is generously peppered with interesting observations and compelling description.

I've read other reviewer which comparing it to The Secret History, yet feeling let down when it fails to measure up as a campus novel. Not too sure where this could have arisen from, but it feels a bit unfair to me. I saw no signs that the author was attempting to retrace Donna Tartt's steps. This felt much more Barbara Vine to me, which is also excellent company to be in. The fact that the central characters happen to be students when the back-story begins is neither here nor there. They could show more just have easily been working in offices and/or theatres and events could have unfolded in much the same way.

So if you're after a campus novel, then this really isn't it. But if, like me, you've a soft spot for novels which are more squarely in that Vinesque territory, where a character with a secret past tries to gain greater insight into her role in terrible events from many years ago, and the way in which these events are suddenly a new threat to the life she's built from the ashes, then the Poison Tree does what it says on the tin.

There is also an ITV version, which, while also interesting in many ways, did not, in my view, really capture the most interesting elements of this novel. I had bought the book before seeing the TV version, so I then read it to compare the two. But if I hadn't already bought the book before seeing the TV version, I wouldn't have bothered, and this would have been a shame. The telly version stuck to the plot, and certainly tightened elements of it to make it into a far greater tragedy, yet simply did not have the time/space to fully mine the richness of the tragic love triangle(s) present in the novel.

However, there were things I personally found preposterous in the telly version (to give one example, without wishing to add spoilers, I will just say the NHS was actually already heavily computerised by '97). I was delighted to see that convincing groundwork had indeed been laid for these problems in the novel, and so they needn't have been in the TV version at all, had it not been for the need to fit something slightly more complex around ad breaks. show less