Review: The Language of Trees by Ilie Ruby

The Language of Trees by Ilie Ruby
Publisher: Avon A
Genre: Fiction
Paperback,  368 pages
Book Source: TLC Book Tours
My Rating: 95/100

About the book:

Devastated over the breakup of his marriage, Grant Shongo returns to his hometown of Canandaigua Lake, a little community where everyone knows everyone’s business, though they may pretend not to. Living in isolation at his family’s old cabin, Grant begins to wonder if he isn’t being haunted by the spirit of Luke Ellis, a young boy who mysteriously drowned one night in the lake. Grant is drawn back into the world when a young man, Lion, pleas for help to find his missing wife, Melanie. Theories abound about her disappearance — has she skipped town like she used to on a drug-induced relapse, or could something far more sinister be at play? Is her abduction in any way related to her brother’s death all those years ago?



Sparks fly when Grant’s first love Echo returns to town, and with the chance at enjoying life again, the pair becomes hopeful about nursing old wounds together. But will uncovering the truth about Melanie’s disappearance threaten their blooming happiness? As the past inexorably draws Grant and Echo in, long-buried secrets will surface that will affect everyone involved in the rescue effort for the rest of their lives.

My Thoughts:

This summary only hints at what this book is about.  This story is so much more.  Yes, there is the mystery of how a little boy drowned in the lake, but in order to solve it each character in the story must reconcile their pasts with the person they have become.

The chapters are character oriented, and each and every character is complex.  Although the story takes place in the present, as the events unfold, the characters relive or remember the events of the past.  You learn about each character with these past events.  These passages make you feel as though you are a bystander in the memory of the person who is relieving the moment.  These moments are what made them, who and what they are today, in the present.  Each character must forgive themselves for their past.  Let it go.  Accept what they are or have become and move forward.  Otherwise, you are not living life as you should. 

With respect to the mysterious past drowning and current disappearance, there are events in this book that I did not expect.  I actually gasped out loud at times.

I hope this review does justice to this book.  It was so not what I expected, and yet I enjoyed it so very much.  Ruby's writing enthralled me.  Between the plot, the characters, and the air of spiritualism lent by the Seneca Indian elements, Ruby grabbed me and never let me go.  This book is not my normal genre, and I am so happy I took a chance and read it.

I read and reviewed this book as part of the book tour by TLC Book Tours.  Please visit the home page to see other blogs that are part of the tour.

[Edit after posting]
oops!  Here's the link to a trailer for the book: trailer link

A big thanks to Trish for asking me to join the tour.

2010 Challenges Met: 100+

 
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