First of all, many thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media who gave me the opportunity to read this novel recently. To be perfectly honest, when I first started it, I wasn't sure if I was going to continue but I was determined to give it a fair shot, and I'm really glad I did, as by about 40 percent through (kindle-speak), I was quite hooked and intrigued to know how the story would continue. In a nutshell, this is a contemporary work of fiction about a young black boy called Bobby who lives quite an impoverished life in the Bronx, sharing an apartment with his many younger siblings, his mother, (no sign of a father figure anywhere), and some rats, who used to terrify him when he was younger but sadly as he has got used to them, they have become part of the furniture. There is a ray of light in Bobby's life however, his Hispanic girlfriend Maria whom he adores, until one dreadful day, when a gang of Hispanic boys don't take too kindly to the fact that someone of their race is with a black boyfriend, and beat Bobby to a pulp, while others throw acid into the face of his girlfriend, burning and disfiguring her permanently.Bobby's battered body is found by an old gentleman called Moishe, who is a concentration camp survivor, and takes Bobby back to his apartment, nursing him back to health. As Bobby slowly recovers under the kindness of Moishe, he is told the extent of what has happened to Maria (and it's worse than you think) and becomes hell-bent on revenge. Moishe desperately wants to help Bobby, and dissuade him from retaliating with violence so tells him his own sad story, which is horrific, but shows a different way of dealing with pent-up emotions when they threaten to overwhelm you.This is the first book that I've read by Hubert Selby Jr. although I'm familiar with his other works, Requiem For A Dream and Last Exit To Brooklyn. As I mentioned before, I really wasn't sure about the style of writing at the start of this book, but somehow the author managed to win me over! There are no speech marks used, so the whole thing reads almost like a stream of consciousness, which I didn't like at the start, but gradually got used to. I think the author evokes the setting and the voices of the characters beautifully, and I did find myself eager to know how the story would end. He paints quite a bleak view of life in general, and the utter hopelessness and futility of day to day living, scratching out an existence, paralleling with the author's own early life experiences. It's dark, it's dramatic, and I will definitely be picking up another book by Hubert Selby Jr. Just be prepared, it's not an easy ride!Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
It's obvious that Selby hasn't travelled far from his run-on-sentence and street-talk method of writing, and continues to use the same formulas he has used since his debut, the masterpiece that is Last Exit to Brooklyn. Before I give my thoughts on The Willow Tree, I will point out that this book is a very good book. You might ask why then I give it only 3 stars. Ok. Hang in here.The Willow Tree involves a young black boy named Bobby, who's beloved girlfriend named Maria dies after having lye thrown in her face by a group of hispanic hoodlums. Bobby is beaten with a chain, and seeks help, when he is taken in by a man named Moishe, whom, needless to say, changes his life permanently. Moishe happens to have some dark secrets from his past, and though he has an extremely hard time keeping his personal demons at bay, he has learned to accept what has happened to him and stop hating (sounds confusing, I refuse to spoil anything). Yet Bobby is determined to take revenge on the hispanic gang who cost his girlfriend her life and can't seem to get his hatred under control. And here we have our main storyline. Despite what you may think, this is one of Selby's most "positive" books, and has a beautiful concept about forgiveness and personal trauma. It is truly a great novel, and my favourite part about it is the juggling of both Bobby's personal hell and Moishe's, and how both their experiences have affected them in different yet very similar ways.I only give it three stars due to the writing style, not that it's bad in any way. It is only because it has no difference from every other Selby novel, and here it doesn't seem to work as well. Maybe, just maybe, if this was the only Selby novel I had ever read, I might think of it more positively. But after reading three of his books, this time it just seems tiring. And, as a side note (though I hate to say this), it feels oddly pretentious and sometimes very cloying. We dwell so much on how depressed Moishe has become and how the sadness engulfs him and after awhile it seems forced, overdone, and tiring. The effect has completely worn off and this personal hell that is present in all his other novels is ineffective, and believe me, as a personal fan of Selby, that hurts to say so.Needless to say, by itself it is a very good, emotional book, yet if the typical Selby cliches and the over dramatic, repetitive sorrow was toned down just a touch, it might have been better.
What do You think about The Willow Tree (1999)?
The first half of The Willow Tree is as devastating as modern literature can get. Unlike Selby's other novels, however, the despair, pain and burning hate are progressively balanced by a sense of human fellowship and the possiblity of redemption. This is not a realistic tale, but a powerful parable of revenge and forgiveness that far transcends its immediate historical and geographical setting. Required reading for all who have been moved by such Selby classics as Last Exit to Brooklyn, Requiem for a Dream and The Demon.
—Kasper
Redelijk briljant boek. De manier waarop de auteur hier met taal speelt, is fantastisch. Hij geeft elk personage zijn eigen stem, door het gebruik van verschillende dialecten, slang, cultureel-etnische scheldwoorden. Je hoort een moeder smeken voor het leven van haar kind, een jongen zweren dat hij wraak zal nemen op zijn vijanden, en een oude man stilletjes hopen dat hij gewoon gelukkig mag zijn. Moishe is een memorabel personage, en voor mij de verpersoonlijking van het simpelweg mens-zijn. Als het leven je al zo veel slaag heeft gegeven, ligt het ultieme gelukkig zijn in kleine dingen. Gewoon onder een wilg zitten in Prospect Park bijvoorbeeld... Ik ben het met hem eens."I sit, I read, I listen to music, I go or a walk, I ride to Prospect Park and sit under the Willow Tree, I remember, I forget, I look at pictures, I do, I do, I do... or I don't, but its peaceful... only me... no worries."
—Natasja
Première lecture découverte de cet auteur pour moi, premier roman où lui évoque l'espoir dans la noirceur, bien loin de ses habitudes.Une bien belle claque, passée la première adaptation nécessaire à son style incisif, duquel la ponctuation, fantaisiste, personnelle, est quasi inexistante, nous plongeant directement dans l'action ou dans l'esprit d'un personnage. On m'avait vendu Selby Jr comme un auteur fabuleusement sombre, j'ai, par hasard, ouvert son roman le plus lumineux, où la lueur arrive presque toujours à percer les ténèbres et vient nous prendre aux tripes.Une amitié, un amour même, qui transperce, qui donne envie d'aller soi-même vivre des instants heureux et forts auprès de nos êtres aimés, de construire des souvenirs, pour oublier un peu la misère écrasante dans lequel ce monde s'acharne si souvent à nous plonger.
—Lutine Bonnemaison
