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John Fowles (1926–2005) is widely regarded as one of the preeminent English novelists of the twentieth century—his books have sold millions of copies worldwide, been turned into beloved films, and been popularly voted among the 100 greatestnovels of the century.
To a smaller yet no less passionate audience, Fowles is also known for having written The Tree, one of his few works of nonfiction. First published a generation ago, it is a provocative meditation on the connection between the natural world and human creativity, and a powerful argument against taming the wild. In it, Fowles recounts his own childhood in England and describes how he rebelled against his Edwardian father's obsession with the "quantifiable yield" of well-pruned fruit trees and came to prize instead the messy, purposeless beauty of nature left to its wildest.
The Tree is an inspiring, even life-changing book, like Lewis Hyde's The Gift, one that reaffirms our connection to nature and reminds us of the pleasure of getting lost, the merits of having no plan, and the wisdom of following one's nose wherever it may lead—in life as much as in art.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Vernon Labauve
reviewed The Tree on April 02, 2018
The Tree
Most of us familiar with John Fowles know Fowles the novelist, not Fowles the naturalist. Fowles got a lot of his impetus from his father and this extended essay shows how he absorbed and reacted to that early education.
I am one of those who believes we are the stewards of (and on) this planet. This view is very compatible with what Fowles is writing. I, too, may be waiting for a new melding of science and nature that doesn't bend other species to our whims and desires but helps us understand an individual ecosystem and its value for the whole.
Fowles notes his father's reaction to his vision. "…I do not cultivate trees in any sense that my father would recognize or approve. I think I truly horrified him only once in my life, which was when, soon after coming into possession, I first took him around my present exceedingly unkempt, unmanaged, and unmanageable garden…That his chaos happens to be my order is not, I think, very important."
My edition contains the hauntingly artistic photographs of Frank Horvat that are not often meant to illustrate a particular point Fowles is making, yet reinforce the text. Like a big train leaving a station, this book takes a while to build its momentum. I hope that you find that staying with it is worth the journey.
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