Review - Watching the Tree Limbs by Mary DeMuth
Wow. If you have not read Watching the Tree Limbs by Mary DeMuth, get thee to a bookstore! This book portrays the emotional pain and spiritual journey of an unwanted nine year old orphan. Unwanted, that is, except for a teenage boy. Mara watches the tree limbs as this teenage boy rapes her numerous times, threatening her life and the lives of those she loves. Spurred by the death of Aunt Elma, Mara’s caretaker, Mara searches for her family and for a place to belong. The language and colloquialisms employed by the author drew me in to the East Texas childhood of Mara, to her painful experiences, her friendship with Camilla, and her only child compensations and attic adventures. The characters are a mix of hope, victims of darkness, and old fashioned selfishness, creating an ensemble of empathetic, flawed, yet lovable East Texas folks. Through the evil of the book, Mary DeMuth weaves healing and redemption. I look forward to getting my hands on her next book in the series, Wishing on Dandelions, coming out in September.
6 comments:
What'd you make of Aunt Elma's kitchen drawer full of moldy can lids?
That was just weird. I can understand her piles, and I could understand a junk drawer of odds and ends, but moldy can lids?
The other weird thing was her death. She had a tumor, but died in her house kind of suddenly without being sick or hospitalized. Sounds more like a heart attack.
Holy Shit!! You find this stuff entertaining? Can't wait for the next one, that's where Mara's legs fall off.
You are my book something (muse or secret twin maybe). . . . I am almost finished with this book right now. I have read her nonfiction, so I had super high expectations. I don't know if I got all I expected (but I'm not finished yet), but I do think it's been a great read so far.
I thought the drawer was such an interesting detail it made it seem real. I don't want people uncovering my weirdness.
And the other book thing--the U2 Spiritual journey that I bought for my bil after reading about it here--he is loving it!
Yikes! My word verification speaks to the atrocities described: shxmzapb!
Beyond words--Good question. I think it does not have to be "entertaining" to be moving or engaging. I think of the movie the Passion--It wasn't a raisinets and popcorn kind of movie, but I knew it was something I wanted to experience.
By the way, I reviewed this book on Saturday at my blog.
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