The Banyan Tree: A Novel

I stumbled onto this novel by accident one day surfing around the Amazon site and I am so happy I picked this book up. It's an amazing story told by a man with an equally amazing story. I only hope we don't have to wait another 12 years for Nolan's next novel. The Banyon Tree pulls you in immediately and keeps you reading until the last page with prose that will take your breath away. Nolan's characters, especially Minnie, the 80-something protagonist are so real. They are normal people but Nolan tells his tale in such a way that they become extraordinary. Minnie has three children, and waits patiently for 40 years for the youngest, the one who left one day at age 18 to return to the family's Irish farm. She keeps the farm for him, living simply, thinking every day he will come back. She, and we, don't know his fate until almost the end of the book. This is a story of family, of love, of truth, of denial. There is something magical in Nolan's storytelling, something that hints at the stories untold that circle around the story we are reading. I highly, highly recommend this book. It's a treasure.

Not to sound hard, but a novel should stand on its own merits despite the afflictions ot the author. There is a wonderful story hidden in the purple prose. These characters could have been so incredibly moving if only Christopher Nolan had not been in love with words--and often the wrong ones. When he gets more deeply into the story, his style becomes more lilting and descriptive--the rest of the time, the language gets in the way of the story and real communication. At times, I moaned aloud at the ridiculous overuse of words just to use words, and yet, I did love Minnie and her love for her land. I would have liked to have heard more from her--the earthy, honest woman--and less from the author.

item received in excellent condition. This author is a bit difficult to understand (for me) or maybe I wasn't ready to read this book. I am happy with purchase and delivery of item. Thank you.

Oh my gosh I heard this was a good book so I kept trying to get to the part where I would really love and enjoy it. After 27 chapters I still wasn’t convinced and finally decided to put it down.

Can't remember ever disliking a book as much. Sorry, author.Very difficult to read and follow. Better luck with your next book.

Love Mr. Nolan's unique writing and the setting in Ireland. I wish he had lived longer and written more.

This is a truly special literary work, a gift from the author who spent 12 years creating it.If you enjoy any of the great authors of fiction from the 19th and early 20th century you will love the book.Mr. Nolan won The Whitbread Award in 1987, for the work he penned prior to this one, "Under The Eye Of The Clock".If you enjoy rich enveloping detail that never is tedious, the book is for you. If you enjoy the scope of a work that takes the needed time, that brings to mind the word "epic", and the phrase "sure to be a classic", get this book.If you are new to his work as am I, you are probably the rule rather than the exception. The last work published by Mr. Nolan was in 1987, and this new work took 12 years. And this leads to the title of this review.Mr. Nolan is paralyzed and he is mute. He cannot read aloud what he has crafted so as to hear his prose as he means it to be heard. Mr. Nolan has what is called his "Unicorn Stick", attached to his forehead and with the assistance of a helper; he types his works one letter at a time."The Banyan Tree" required 500,000 taps on his typewriter over a 12-year period. The book is a remarkable work by any standard, and is made more astonishing by the method he uses to communicate this tale of a Family's History.The book deserves your full attention, and a bit more time to read. Rushing through the story would lessen the impact of it, and fail to acknowledge the extraordinary effort it took to create.

Mama, I don't think that you fully understood the concepts in the novel otherwise I believe you would've been able to follow the novel. As for it being confusing maybe you should more than once rather than ust reading and reviewing. In my own opinion I believe this novel if not perceived in the right sense may be seen as shallow but actually has a fathomless depth to it. So hats off to the author, Christopher Nolan, who is also known for his incredible movies.