{"id":1531,"date":"2017-08-01T11:41:57","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T15:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/?p=1531"},"modified":"2018-03-12T19:02:49","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T23:02:49","slug":"the-red-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-red-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"The Red Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caitli\u0301n R. Kiernan\u2019s\u00a0The Red Tree<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>is a dizzying weird gothic novel that chronicles the final months of a writer named Sarah Crowe as she grieves for her dead girlfriend, wrestles with writer’s block and tries to unravel the dark mysteries behind the legends surrounding an ancient oak tree growing near the farmhouse she\u2019s rented for the summer. While it evokes echoes of Robert Chambers and H.P. Lovecraft in its theme of madness-inducing manuscripts and in elements of the prose style, the psychological horror in it reminds me of\u00a0The Yellow Wallpaper<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Turn of the Screw<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in the best possible way.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot I really admire about this novel. For instance, some of the descriptions are amazing: \u201cAnd she just sat there, smoking and watching me with those fucking gray-green eyes of hers, eyes like lichen clinging to boulders on Rocky Mountain tundra or alpine meadows, like something unpleasant growing in the back of the fridge, eyes that were cold and hard, but very much alive.\u201d (Kiernan 28)<\/p>\n

But the thing that struck me most about the novel was its narrative bones. While on the surface it seems to\u00a0have a winding, random story\u00a0like a mass of ivy or tangle of deadfall branches, it\u2019s actually got a really interesting nested epistolary structure, like a set of nightmarishly-painted Matryoshka dolls.<\/p>\n

(Spoilers follow!)<\/em><\/p>\n

The whole novel is framed by a first-person preface by Sharon D. Halpern, the main character\u2019s fictional editor. She tells the reader that after she took on the job of editing the memoir Sarah wrote before her death, she visited the farm for herself to see the red oak and insists that the story is not hers to tell. (A reader who\u2019s finished the novel and re-reads the preface can pretty safely assume that Halpern will not escape unscathed from her visit to the tree, because a sensible person would have stayed far away from it, and so Halpern has likely been caught in its snare simply by reading Sarah\u2019s manuscript.)<\/p>\n

The second narrative layer is offered by the fictional journal entries of Sarah herself as she writes the bulk of the narrative. However, we soon get a third layer in the form of Sarah\u2019s excerpts from a manuscript she finds in a box in the basement of the house: a rambling, unfinished nonfiction book about the legends of the Red Oak written by Dr. Charles Harvey, a professor who also rented the farmhouse and who committed suicide there a few years before Sarah\u2019s arrival. And through Harvey\u2019s manuscript, we get a fourth layer in the form of the stories and eyewitness accounts that the professor has transcribed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a clever and complicated framework; it\u2019s a challenge\u00a0to map all the stories-within-stories, even though it all feels completely organic on the page. I\u2019ve written only one epistolary story but the structure I employed was an uncomplicated, linear set of emails. I enjoyed writing that and want to try another epistolary narrative sometime. If I decide to try for a more ambitious story construction, I\u2019m going to keep\u00a0The Red Tree<\/em>\u00a0on hand for inspiration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kiernan, Caitli\u0301n R.\u00a0The Red Tree.<\/em>\u00a0New York: Roc, 2009. Print.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caitli\u0301n R. Kiernan\u2019s\u00a0The Red Tree\u00a0is a dizzying weird gothic novel that chronicles the final months of a writer named Sarah Crowe as she grieves for […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65,35],"tags":[9,107,99,97],"class_list":["post-1531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dark-fantasy","category-horror","tag-horror","tag-kiernan","tag-lovecraft","tag-novels"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/redtree.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8qT6f-oH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1870,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-call-of-cthulhu\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":0},"title":"The Call of Cthulhu","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"April 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe Call of Cthulhu\u201d is probably\u00a0H.P. Lovecraft's most enduring and influential\u00a0story. It\u2019s been reprinted and borrowed from and adapted in thousands of ways since its publication in\u00a0Weird Tales\u00a0in 1928. Lovecraft, a\u00a0movie\u00a0fan, would probably approve of the faithfully retro black-and-white film of his tale released by\u00a0H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society\u00a0in 2005;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/call_of_cthulu_logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/call_of_cthulu_logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/call_of_cthulu_logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/call_of_cthulu_logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1428,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/science-fiction-and-horror\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":1},"title":"The Intersection of Science Fiction and Horror","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"July 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Science fiction and horror share many of the same genre roots; science fictional motifs wind through horror like strands of DNA, and horror\u2019s tentacles have slithered into many works that are otherwise squarely science fiction. If science fiction is the literature of ideas, and horror is the literature of fear,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "horror"","block_context":{"text":"horror","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/horror\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/alien-covenant-movie-images-cast.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/alien-covenant-movie-images-cast.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/alien-covenant-movie-images-cast.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/alien-covenant-movie-images-cast.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/alien-covenant-movie-images-cast.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/alien-covenant-movie-images-cast.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1827,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/on-being-nineteen\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":2},"title":"On Being Nineteen","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"March 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"When I started reading Stephen King\u2019s\u00a0Dark Tower\u00a0novels, one of the things that resonated with me is his introduction, \u201cOn Being Nineteen\u201d, which is included in each book in the series (at least the editions I\u2019ve been reading). In his essay, King covers his motivations for starting\u00a0The Gunslinger\u00a0way back when he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "dark fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"dark fantasy","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/dark-fantasy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Stephen_King_-_2011-e1521558863827.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1978,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-horror-at-red-hook\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":3},"title":"The Horror at Red Hook","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"June 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe Horror at Red Hook\u201d is a short story by\u00a0H.P. Lovecraft\u00a0that first appeared in the January 1927 issue of\u00a0Weird Tales. The\u00a0protagonist\u00a0of the story is Detective Malone, who investigates a series of kidnappings linked to a mysterious recluse named Suydam. The recluse has been involved in shadowy dealings with gangsters and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/H._P._Lovecraft_June_1934-e1528320012630.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1982,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/the-ballad-of-black-tom\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":4},"title":"The Ballad of Black Tom","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"June 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"As a person who\u2019s attempting to write thoughtful, modern weird fiction, I found\u00a0The Ballad of Black Tom\u00a0by Victor LaValle to be a pure delight. Go read this one, folks! It\u2019s a fabulous novella. The narrative is very much in a dialog with (and functions as a razor-sharp rebuttal to) H.P.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ballad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ballad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ballad.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1912,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/welcome-to-lovecraft\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":5},"title":"Welcome to Lovecraft","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"April 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to Lovecraft, the first volume in Joe Hill\u2019s\u00a0Locke & Key\u00a0graphic novel series, focuses on siblings Bode, Tyler, and Kinsey Locke relocating from California to the Keyhouse on the fictional island of Lovecraft, Massachusetts after Tyler\u2019s classmate Sam Lesser murders their father. The murdered Mr. Locke was a high school\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "book review"","block_context":{"text":"book review","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/book-review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/locke-key-1-FI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/locke-key-1-FI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/locke-key-1-FI.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/locke-key-1-FI.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1531"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1813,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531\/revisions\/1813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}