The Memory Tree
Mar 2012 · Allen & Unwin
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About this ebook
When Paulina dies mid-dance, she leaves 12-year-old Zav and 7-year-old Sealie with their loving but unstable father, Hal. The grieving family decides to plant a tree in her memory - a magnolia which, growing along with the children, offers a special place where secrets are whispered and feelings can be confessed.
But as the memory tree grows, Hal, bereft, and increasingly suspicious of the world, turns to his own brand of salvation to make sense of the voices that bewilder and torment him. Mrs Mac, housekeeper and second mother since Paulina's death, cooks, cleans, loves and worries about her 'family'. She is even more concerned when Hal brings a larger-than-life stranger to the house for a beer; but Pastor Moses B. Washbourne, founder of the Church of the Divine Conflagration, ex-sergeant of the US Army, soon becomes part of the family, with surprising and far-reaching consequences.
As the seasons pass, Sealie blossoms into young woman, the apple of Hal's eye while Zav, having spent his childhood quietly trying to win his father's lost attention, is conscripted for duty in Vietnam.
And all the while, the voices continue to murmur poisonous words to Hal who knows he must keep them hidden . . . until he is persuaded into the most tragic of acts.
Written with humour and compassion, The Memory Tree is a poignant and compelling story of love, loyalty, grief and forgiveness.
But as the memory tree grows, Hal, bereft, and increasingly suspicious of the world, turns to his own brand of salvation to make sense of the voices that bewilder and torment him. Mrs Mac, housekeeper and second mother since Paulina's death, cooks, cleans, loves and worries about her 'family'. She is even more concerned when Hal brings a larger-than-life stranger to the house for a beer; but Pastor Moses B. Washbourne, founder of the Church of the Divine Conflagration, ex-sergeant of the US Army, soon becomes part of the family, with surprising and far-reaching consequences.
As the seasons pass, Sealie blossoms into young woman, the apple of Hal's eye while Zav, having spent his childhood quietly trying to win his father's lost attention, is conscripted for duty in Vietnam.
And all the while, the voices continue to murmur poisonous words to Hal who knows he must keep them hidden . . . until he is persuaded into the most tragic of acts.
Written with humour and compassion, The Memory Tree is a poignant and compelling story of love, loyalty, grief and forgiveness.
When Paulina dies mid-dance, she leaves 12-year-old Zav and 7-year-old Sealie with their loving but unstable father, Hal. The grieving family decides to plant a tree in her memory - a magnolia which, growing along with the children, offers a special place where secrets are whispered and feelings ...
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About the author
The Memory Tree is Tess Evans' second novel. Her first, the bestselling Book of Lost Threads, was published in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Indie Awards 2011 and longlisted for the 2012 International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award. Previous to her writing debut, Tess taught and counselled a wide range of people: youth at risk, migrants, Indigenous trainees, apprentices, sole parents and unemployed workers of all ages and professions. Her experience with people is clearly visible in her humane, compassionate writing.
The Memory Tree is Tess Evans' second novel. Her first, the bestselling Book of Lost Threads, was published in 2010 and was shortlisted for the Indie Awards 2011 and longlisted for the 2012 International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award. Previous to her writing debut, Tess taught and counselled a wide...
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