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GoodReads: Linda’s Review

GoodReads: Linda’s Review

 

 

Róisín Sorahan’s excellent modern day folk tale has more twists and turns than anything the Grimm brothers could have dreamed up. ‘Time and the Tree,’ has that perfect blend of whimsy and pure darkness that is present in so many of the classic fairy tales that we all know and love.

Reminiscent of ‘Alice and Wonderland,’ and ‘The Giving Tree,’ this story takes place in a dense forest, and portrays the friendship between a boy and a very wise, very old tree. The life of a tree may be something that we all secretly envy. Standing in one place, stoically holding our own against the bitterest winter winds, our roots warmed by the earth, but this story is about a tree whose peace is regularly shaken.

 

Not by the Boy, of course, but by the many wanderers who happen to come through the forest and present problems that the Boy and the Tree have to put their heads (metaphorical head for the tree, of course) together to solve.

 

Mostly, the peace is disturbed by the blustering of Time. Time is, of course, the concept of time as represented by a man who wears a brass cap and a waistcoat. Time is generally shadowed by Shadow, a creature that he calls his slave who worships and serves him.

 

Of course, things aren’t all that simple between the pair, but telling too much about that would spoil the book, and this is one that you should definitely read in your own time (see what I did there?)

 

Every aspect of this story positively drips with magic and wonder. Sorahan’s writing is beautiful and almost otherworldly in the way it transports the reader. Every sentence seems to sing across the page. This book is something special that has to be experienced to be believed.

Gracie’s Reviews

Gracie’s Reviews

“She caught the child’s horrified gaze, cradled the fear and stroked the loathing. Then counseled herself towards stealth and guile. All the while dripping words that were carried on the wind and lodged, unwanted, in the minds of innocent listeners. Her wintery smile stretched wide.” – ‘Time and the Tree,’ by Róisín Sorahan.


The story of a boy, a tree and the magical adventures that they go on together. Or, should I say, the magical adventures that happen to wander toward them. This is a book that brings the reader along on a journey that has elements of fairy tales, with that little bit of darkness that all good tales have to include.


The boy, as he’s called in the book, is great friends with a tree and they live in the forest together, weathering the cold and the heat and enjoying the Spring and the beautiful Autumns. Every so often, however, a traveler wanders by to throw their world into chaos and change things around for better or worse.


This is a story told in four sections, each labeled with a different season. Each section contains a different problem that the boy and the tree must overcome together, and each section has a different new person to meet. One of the common reoccurring characters is Time, who is the physical embodiment of the passage of time. A crabby man, who is constantly being followed around by a slave that he calls, ‘The Shadow,’ Time is portrayed just as those of us who have been annoyed by him all of our lives would expect.


This book is captivating in the best way. Just as the Tree says midway through, “A good story, well told, will keep the listener fixed on the dancing shadows, oblivious to the real drama unfolding behind their back.” I highly recommend it!


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4561642415?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1&fbclid=IwAR0-Av-VT308Epn5P_D1B92Jm6odNb8ZIHz_3UkDhTPlJgeC6ibtoTrEmcg