Heather Marshall’s The Thorn Tree is a complex book, a family chronicle with a strong narrative cord woven from three separate filaments. It is, among other things, a novel that deals with addiction in its various forms while addressing the questions of when to move on, when to stay, and when to journey backwards to reconnect the past’s frayed loose ends. Throughout this mesmerizing juggling act, Marshall displays her devotion to her heritage through beautiful descriptions of the rugged coastline of Arran, an island off the western coast of Scotland.
The story unfolds through the vastly differing perspectives of three generations of women—great aunt, mother, and daughter. A revolving narrative voice is used with alternating chapters committed to and named for each of the women.
I use the term women loosely, as Hope is a girl just entering her teen years. She is a complex character—strong-willed, athletic, and cynical. She misses her dad and blames her mom for his disappearance. An “alternative” skater type, she’s a lovable, tough little mess. Marshall does an excellent job of showing adult readers what it feels like to be thirteen, angry, and confused. Her mannerisms, clothes, speech patterns, and irrational mental leaps are spot on.
The other principals are equally well drawn. Margaret, Hope’s mother, is caught in the middle, torn between her love for and loyalty to a man bent on destruction, her need to protect her daughter, and her own personal needs.
Agatha, Hope’s great aunt, is and has always been the anchor for the family. Even injured and infirm, they need her more than she needs them. It’s the discovery of their mutual need that provides the pathway for love, healing, and a hopeful future.
In reaching this conclusion the story takes many twists and turns, but the threads are deftly woven together. Agatha’s story unfolds to naturally include the others. We are with her as a child when the sea claims the life of her father, and later as she struggles like a pack mule to provide for her family during the war. Donagh, an uncle, takes them in but is called away to France to join in the fight. Marshall uses astonishing skill to convey action in an understated way that is all the more intense because the emotional consequences, as well as the physical, are implied. This is the account of Donagh’s being wounded, a twist of fate that brings him back to the struggling family’s apartment in Glasgow:
He imagined the sounds around him as a kind of pipe band, playing his last tune: the guns like the grace notes on a fast jig all around him and the growl of the ship engines, the drones and the splash of the men coming in droves behind him like snare drums. The soft thump of other men’s bodies meeting land, limp before they fully made France, the bass drum under it all.
Heather Marshall’s impressive storytelling skills remain subordinate to and in the service of this sweeping tale she was born to write. She has provided us with a rare glimpse across continents into the angst-ridden emotional landscape of different life stages and how three generations of women, in dealing with their various anxieties, discover the connections that bind them, the importance of family, history, and place. If you care about any of these things, this book will provide you with satisfying hours and much to ponder
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Top reviews from other countries
kenneth naismith
A really great read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2014Ann Hawkins
I loved reading this book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2014ANNABEL HAWKINS
This is a wonderful story. The characters really come to life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2014