The Memory of Trees

“He slept soundly but rose just after six-thirty, fully alert, rested enough but strangely eager to see how the tree he had planted had fared through its first night on this remote and secretive domain”

“His sense of direction had always been excellent and the fog had thrown him off only a few degrees so that he came first upon the dim green cluster of pebbles that was the cairn, before looking to his left and seeing the green cone of the tree, anaemic and still in its solitary spot on the cliff top.”

Look above. Did you notice that the second quote is a single sentence? That is a sample of the writing style used in The Memory of Trees. Each sentence is packed pull of descriptive terms and never ending words. Instead of letting the dread and forbidding build, the author shoves the emotions down your throat. “solitary” “haunting”. There was no room to breathe.

I've read a number of books on old folk tales, haunted places, ancient places, mysteries, etc. The description for this book was right up my alley. I was beyond excited to find a new book to add to my collection and that is why I'm so disappointed in it. This felt like a bad hollywood remake of a classic story. Too many fancy words (CGI), underwhelming and unrelatable characters. There was a good story underneath. That is why I give it 2 stars. How it has received higher ratings is incomprehensible to me.