≫ PDF Free The Tree of Man Modern Classics Patrick White 9780140016574 Books

The Tree of Man Modern Classics Patrick White 9780140016574 Books

Download As PDF : The Tree of Man Modern Classics Patrick White 9780140016574 Books

The Tree of Man Modern Classics Patrick White 9780140016574 Books

This is a frightfully beautiful and powerful book. It is the fourth of P.W. novels, the second of his "canonical" books and the one that achieved his critical break through as an important writer when it was first published in 1955 in the U.S. and England (Australia, whose only Nobel Prize winner in literature he was to become 18 years later, never seems to have warmed up to it.) The title of the novel is taken from one of A. E. Houseman's poems that deals with the fleetingness and at the same time the resilience of human life. Here it is the life of an Australian farming couple in the early 20th century. The story begins with the homesteading of the young couple, and at first one has the feeling of being faced with another pioneering venture in the wilds (Willa Cather's "My Antonia" might come to mind). But after a while one senses a very different trajectory. Stan and Amy Parker are a loving, hard working, robust, and reliable couple--and yet, the more we get to know them, the more we sense the unavoidable loneliness and lack of understanding that surrounds and separates them from each other, from the reality around them, and from a longed-for sense of what their life might actually be about. This loneliness also seems to be the fate of their children (the prim and prissy Thelma and the good-for-nothing Ray) and all of the other characters that transcend the shallowness of middle class Australia, usually the poor, the disadvantaged, and often the mentally retarded. Stan, the true hero of the novel, is the character most directly in search of that meaning, that answer to the mystery of life and reality. His search is one of simplicity, stillness, and humility, a groping, not an intellectual endeavor. Neither marriage, nor family life, nor moderate farming success, nor old age seem to get him closer to this ever elusive goal. One of my favorite passages late in the novel arises from his sudden desire to go to Sunday church service, accompanied by his wife and grown-up daughter, who are shamed into it. The description of how these three so very different human beings use this church service to search for any sort of grace, belief, deeper meaning, resolution, or at least a momentary fulfillment of sorts is both deeply moving and tragicomic. In the end, none of the searchers--and there are several others of very different caliber and determination--is given the secret code by which to read the meanings of their fates, families, friends, or neighbors. And yet, this is not a gloomy, existentialist novel because the intensely felt lack of ultimate understanding is at the same time experienced as the recognition of such a meaning's necessary existence, just as some desires are so intense that they foreshadow, vouchsafe their fulfillment. It might be worthwhile noting, that White, whose own excursions into established religions proved futile for him, describes in Stan Parker at least part of the religious quest that he himself pursued all his life without assuming any assurance of success.


Tags : The Tree of Man (Modern Classics) [Patrick White] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Stan Parker, with only a horse and a dog for company journeys to a remote patch of land he has inherited in the Australian hills. Once the land is cleared and a rudimentary house built,Patrick White,The Tree of Man (Modern Classics),Penguin Books,0140016570,Fiction - General,Fiction General,General,Modern fiction

The Tree of Man Modern Classics Patrick White 9780140016574 Books Reviews

Arguably this novel is the best introduction to the White oeuvre. Stan Parker inherits a piece of land in the bush west of Sydney, and together with his wife Amy, they establish a dairy farm and a family. White explores the inner beings of Stan and Amy, their children and grandson with his characteristic perception, exploring the fundamental questions of human existence through his characters as the bush becomes the outskirts of post-war Sydney. Flood and fire add to the novel's feeling as myth of creation - a creation that is later sullied by the events of the other Sarsaparilla novels.

If you haven't discovered the greatest 20th Century novelist, The Tree of Man is a good place to start
Patrick White is one of those rare writers - Well, the only other one that comes to mind is Halldor Laxness - who is able to create great literature out of the seemingly mundane. How he accomplishes this feat is not a simple matter to explain in a review, but it has, in part, to do with what White describes here as the "mysticism of objects, of which some people are initiates." I could say that this is primarily a book about an uneducated fellow in the Australian Outback who clears some land, raises a family and then dies. I would be quite correct, just as correct as I would be in reviewing Laxness' book, Independent People, as a story about sheep. But I would be leaving out, well, thunderbolts like this

"Iron lace hung from dark pubs, and the heavy smells of spilled beer. Dreams broke from windows. And cats lifted the lid off all politeness." P.22 (in my edition).

But, more importantly, I would be omitting what perhaps can't be included, the deep sense of wonder imbued in the sinews of the work. It makes all modern novels with blurbs such as "ends by exposing the dark forces at play within the heart of man" and such like ring hollow and trite. All forces of the heart, dark and light, are at play throughout the book, from first page to last, but the reader has to let these forces slowly seep into his or her own heart and mind. They aren't emblazoned on a marquee. They aren't easily accessed. But, for that, they are the more dearly prized once they begin to stir one.

It's no great surprise that there are so few reviews here of this quiet, deep work of art. To the average reader, it must come across as ineffably boring, but, for lovers of literature and art, it is moving beyond my ability to convey, moving "with all the appearance of aimlessness, which is the impression that spiritual activity frequently gives." P.397
Took a chance on this novel when, over the course of a week, I came across repeated comments here and there regarding its excellence, beauty, and brilliant invention. Started reading, got bored quickly, stuck it out until the babies started arriving in part two, and let it go. There was one emotional highlight in part one, when a cow died. Intense and painful. But then it quickly returned to the reading equivalent of watching paint dry. The characters all seem very pale, and they don't remind me of any human experience or emotion I've come across after several decades in this world. They are complete ciphers. The supporting cast melt into one shady mess very quickly. Some of them seem mildly interesting until you figure out they are firmly cast and don't expand their narrow repertoire over repeated appearances. - The author's writing style can be lovely and inspired, and that's why I'm giving this two stars instead of one. Some word choices and combinations are truly awesome. However, to make up for that, some annoying, distracting mannerisms in the construction of sentences and emphatic repetitions almost immediately after something has been stated or described, take the breath out of the reader's attention. Some of passages I somewhat enjoyed reminded me a little of Shirley Hazzard's writing, but she was far superior even on a bad day.
This one goes into the free neighborhood library. Maybe some else will love it.
This is a frightfully beautiful and powerful book. It is the fourth of P.W. novels, the second of his "canonical" books and the one that achieved his critical break through as an important writer when it was first published in 1955 in the U.S. and England (Australia, whose only Nobel Prize winner in literature he was to become 18 years later, never seems to have warmed up to it.) The title of the novel is taken from one of A. E. Houseman's poems that deals with the fleetingness and at the same time the resilience of human life. Here it is the life of an Australian farming couple in the early 20th century. The story begins with the homesteading of the young couple, and at first one has the feeling of being faced with another pioneering venture in the wilds (Willa Cather's "My Antonia" might come to mind). But after a while one senses a very different trajectory. Stan and Amy Parker are a loving, hard working, robust, and reliable couple--and yet, the more we get to know them, the more we sense the unavoidable loneliness and lack of understanding that surrounds and separates them from each other, from the reality around them, and from a longed-for sense of what their life might actually be about. This loneliness also seems to be the fate of their children (the prim and prissy Thelma and the good-for-nothing Ray) and all of the other characters that transcend the shallowness of middle class Australia, usually the poor, the disadvantaged, and often the mentally retarded. Stan, the true hero of the novel, is the character most directly in search of that meaning, that answer to the mystery of life and reality. His search is one of simplicity, stillness, and humility, a groping, not an intellectual endeavor. Neither marriage, nor family life, nor moderate farming success, nor old age seem to get him closer to this ever elusive goal. One of my favorite passages late in the novel arises from his sudden desire to go to Sunday church service, accompanied by his wife and grown-up daughter, who are shamed into it. The description of how these three so very different human beings use this church service to search for any sort of grace, belief, deeper meaning, resolution, or at least a momentary fulfillment of sorts is both deeply moving and tragicomic. In the end, none of the searchers--and there are several others of very different caliber and determination--is given the secret code by which to read the meanings of their fates, families, friends, or neighbors. And yet, this is not a gloomy, existentialist novel because the intensely felt lack of ultimate understanding is at the same time experienced as the recognition of such a meaning's necessary existence, just as some desires are so intense that they foreshadow, vouchsafe their fulfillment. It might be worthwhile noting, that White, whose own excursions into established religions proved futile for him, describes in Stan Parker at least part of the religious quest that he himself pursued all his life without assuming any assurance of success.