The Memory Tree
This was released in March 2012.
When Paulina dies mid-dance, she leaves 12-year-old Zav and 7 year-old Sealie with Hal, their loving but unstable father. The family decides to plant a tree in her memory, choosing 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, the grieving Hal, 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, the 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 strange visitor to the house for a beer; but Pastor Moses B. Washbourne of the Church of the Divine Conflagration, ex-sergeant of the US Army, soon becomes part of the family, with surprising and long-reaching consequences.
As the seasons pass, Sealie blossoms into young woman, the apple of Hal's eye; Zav, having spent his childhood quietly trying to win his father's lost attention, marries young and has a daughter, born while he is on his first tour of duty in Vietnam.
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.
For more see Allen and Unwin website and follow the author links. www.allenandunwin.com Click here for link.
Some reviews
Herald-Sun
Set in suburban Melbourne from 1960's to modern day, The Memory Tree...is a tender, original, compassionate family saga shaped by two tragic events...Highly recommended.
Write-note reviews
The Memory Tree has just the right amout of tension to keep things moving: it's poignant, emotive and insightful. Highly recommended.
Newcastle Herald
This is a work of fiction but it deals with some difficult and disturbing questions about state of mind. Its strength lies in exploring whether one should stand by one's family, no matter their actions.
Bendigo Weekly Book Club Pick of the Week
Evans is a writer who takes an omniscient role, speaking through and for all of her characters, selecting for her readers moments in history that create portraits that are intimate and dense.
Book'd Out
Wonderfully written, there is much to admire about this literary family drama. The Memory Tree is an insightful novel that examines the strength and fragility of familial relationships, the devastation of mental illness and the grace of forgiveness.
Ballarat Courier Book of the Week
There is much to contemplate and much to discuss as the tale unfolds in the competent hands of its very human author, Tess Evans.
Toowoomba Chronicle
The Memory Tree is a subtly mesmerising narrative that will charm and captivate the reader.
This was released in March 2012.
When Paulina dies mid-dance, she leaves 12-year-old Zav and 7 year-old Sealie with Hal, their loving but unstable father. The family decides to plant a tree in her memory, choosing 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, the grieving Hal, 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, the 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 strange visitor to the house for a beer; but Pastor Moses B. Washbourne of the Church of the Divine Conflagration, ex-sergeant of the US Army, soon becomes part of the family, with surprising and long-reaching consequences.
As the seasons pass, Sealie blossoms into young woman, the apple of Hal's eye; Zav, having spent his childhood quietly trying to win his father's lost attention, marries young and has a daughter, born while he is on his first tour of duty in Vietnam.
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.
For more see Allen and Unwin website and follow the author links. www.allenandunwin.com Click here for link.
Some reviews
Herald-Sun
Set in suburban Melbourne from 1960's to modern day, The Memory Tree...is a tender, original, compassionate family saga shaped by two tragic events...Highly recommended.
Write-note reviews
The Memory Tree has just the right amout of tension to keep things moving: it's poignant, emotive and insightful. Highly recommended.
Newcastle Herald
This is a work of fiction but it deals with some difficult and disturbing questions about state of mind. Its strength lies in exploring whether one should stand by one's family, no matter their actions.
Bendigo Weekly Book Club Pick of the Week
Evans is a writer who takes an omniscient role, speaking through and for all of her characters, selecting for her readers moments in history that create portraits that are intimate and dense.
Book'd Out
Wonderfully written, there is much to admire about this literary family drama. The Memory Tree is an insightful novel that examines the strength and fragility of familial relationships, the devastation of mental illness and the grace of forgiveness.
Ballarat Courier Book of the Week
There is much to contemplate and much to discuss as the tale unfolds in the competent hands of its very human author, Tess Evans.
Toowoomba Chronicle
The Memory Tree is a subtly mesmerising narrative that will charm and captivate the reader.
