"At the base level it’s fear. It’s all about fear. People ask, ‘What are you afraid of?’ and that is not an answerable question. Any time I name a source for my fear I feel it as a deflection. I mean, sure, I can get close. You know, as in: I’m afraid of people because someone I trusted fucked with me when I was a child. I was traumatized, yes, and the fear probably began there, I guess. But I don’t really know because it seems, now, somehow elemental. It embodies some ancient, sleeping doom, and the only escape is self-destruction. You know? Like, if I become my own doom I’ve taken that power away from anything else. It’s preemptive. At least there’s agency in it.”
She felt the laughter spill out of her in a rush. Its piercing volume was at odds with the moment and the release it brought. Leo looked at her dumbfounded.
“Get the fuck out of my head, man,” Celia said."
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"He had merely done what men had been doing since the primeval birth of jealousy. Just a spoon of love from my forty-five, save you from another man. Howlin’ Wolf was just singing about what thousands had wished they could do, and probably had done, before there were cops and laws and all the rest of the arbitrary bullshit. And it had felt good, hadn’t it?"

Daniel is 68, living a quiet life in a Hollywood Hills guest house when a visitor repeatedly appears. Dean is six years old and clearly in need of companionship. He lives with his grandfather, Jack, on the larger house on the property. Jack is not always particularly attentive. And Mom, Celia, is a rising young actress who is often away on prolonged shoots. Daniel is happy for the company.

The novel braids the stories of Jack, Daniel and Celia, mostly Jack and Daniel. The story takes place in multiple times, today being 2017, and the backstory stepping up from 1968 to the seventies, to 1980, and 1988. Celia is not a part of the earlier events.

The sixties events cast a light on a turbulent time, touching on many of the aspects one might expect, young love, drug-dealing, acid trips, communes, San Francisco, wth a very dodgy cult among them. But despite the surface level, there is also consideration of the sort of existential, philosophical searching that was, for many, an important part of those times.

Young Daniel (1960s) makes a youthful mistake and suffers a grievous wrong, which follows him all his life. In the 1970s he finds solace in the desert, constructing a significant work of art, the Thorn Tree of the title. It gets him some notice, gives him a way to express what is inside him, and leads to some stability in his life.

"Celia did an image search for the sculpture, and there it was, standing next to the modern art museum, taller than the building itself. It was huge, with thick, meandering branches and bristling snakelike twigs. Most of the branches, while not attempting verisimilitude, were formed with inherently natural shapes and gnarled twists, but here and there some were deliberately hewn into shapes that could never have occurred in nature: curving double on themselves and then back again to form tight willowy S-shapes, or turning straight downward at acute angles for a foot or two before continuing up and outward, as if infused genetically with lightning."

Jack is a very different sort. A predator, a sociopath or something like it, Jack wants what he wants and is not much concerned about who he damages to get it. He is routinely unkind, and worse, but he is also a seeker of truth, becoming connected with a cult and seriously mulling the writings on which the cult bases its outlook, even if the tenets of that group serve to bolster his own self-justification.

Daniel and Jack are linked through these years, the source of that link being one of the mysteries of the book. Jack is definitely a dark force. Daniel exists on a brighter side, despite having made some bad choices. He is a character who grows. But while Jack grows in a way, his widened view of reality is ultimately redirected to his narcissism. Not much is really done with Celia.

There is some lyrical writing which gives the story texture, depth to the two main characters, which makes it engaging, and a look at the times, both 60s and 70s, which gives it some substance. In addition it considers repercussions throughout one’s lives of actions taken in our youth.

"Daniel stood for a moment at the threshold of the branches and looked up. The wind was made louder here in contact with the tree. The gravel path went around the south side, and he followed it to where it ended at an overlook. There was a plaque on a post, but he didn’t read it. Instead of standing at the overlook and staring out to sea, as the landscape designer had intended, he turned and went in under the branches, and immediately the world of the tree took over. He was surprised—he’d thought his memory of it was hopelessly colored by LSD and shock and time, that he had probably falsely mythologized every aspect of it and it would be just a place, with soil and roots and air but not the indwelling spirit he’d imbued it with in his mind. But it was as it had been—the wind quieting and the light clarifying, damping the sun into deep greenness—inhabited by a sense of protection and safety unchanged by the years of foot traffic and human attention."

There are many more of this sort. The voice is omniscient narrator, which presents way too many opportunities to tell rather than show. But I doubt this will bother most readers. Some characters come and go, seeming to be throw-aways. It is one of the things that make the book feel over-long. I kept hoping that some of these might be given a deeper look, with Jack getting less.

The alternating timelines, a fairly typical literary device, made sense to me. The Grateful Dead offer a link between now and then. There seemed some interest in other literary devices. For example, a boy appears to have a magical relationship with birds, but the image drops after partial usage.

Thorn Tree is an interesting read, offering some substance, interesting characters, and a strong core mystery. But for a book that is not overlong, at about four hundred pages, it felt like a much longer read because of the excess attention paid to Jack, and some tangential tales. The descriptive writing (I am a sucker for that) gives one a reason to push through, however prickly the passage.

Review posted - 11/01/24

Publication date – 4/15/24


I received an ARE of Thorn Tree from St. Martin’s Press in return for a fair review. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.

Thorn Tree by Max Ludington is a poignant exploration of the lingering echoes of the 1960s counterculture. The novel follows Daniel, a disillusioned artist haunted by the past, as he grapples with grief, addiction, and the search for meaning.

Ludington's prose is both lyrical and raw, capturing the intensity of the 60s era and its enduring impact. The characters are complex and well-developed, particularly the enigmatic figure of Daniel's grandfather, Jack.

While the pacing can be deliberate at times, it allows for a nuanced exploration of the characters' inner turmoil. The novel delves deep into themes of loss, guilt, and the redemptive power of art.

Thorn Tree is a thought-provoking read that will resonate with readers who appreciate character-driven stories and the enduring power of the human spirit.

DNF- I tried with this one, I really did. I first picked it up back in April and after two weeks of being stuck in the same chapter only 10% of the way in, I put it down. I picked it up again last week and started over. This time I made it to 35% before I decided this just wasn’t for me. The chapters are very long and there are way too many components to this. There are two completely different stories going on and while I’m sure they will come together by the end, I can’t make myself care enough to stick around for it. Should it ever be an audiobook I’ll try listening and perhaps my opinion will change, but for now this is it.
That being said, if you like literary fiction, you’ll probably greatly appreciate this one. Just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean it’s unlikable.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it. Thorn Tree hit the shelves on April 16th.

A beautifully wrought novel on the aftershocks of the heady but dangerous late 1960s and the relationship between trauma and the creative impulse.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for sending me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I decided to DNF this book after reading 62 pages. I couldn’t get into this book. The chapters are too long. This book spends a lot of time describing the setting and it gives a lot of details about the characters that are in this story. All of this goes on for pages and pages and I didn’t care. I would rather learn details about the characters as the story goes on because I’m not going to remember the details about all of the characters if I’m being given details at the very beginning. As I was reading about the characters, I was thinking to myself,”Good grief. Do I need to get out a pen and paper and start taking notes about all of these characters?” Also, I don’t mind authors spending a lot of pages describing the setting if I’m reading a fantasy book but if it’s just going on in a regular book, I find it boring.

This was a thrilling ride. It took me a little bit to get used to it-there were multiple perspectives and I couldn't quite figure how they were connected. The 50% mark showed a connection, and I wanted to throw my Kindle against the wall. But I kept reading to find out more. I really liked the characters of Daniel and Celia. I would have liked even more from Celia's story. The ending however, was not a good ending for me. Too many cliffhangers, and I swear, if what I think happened to one of the characters actually happened, I would be very mad. I'm wondering if this is going to be a sequel...4 stars for the story bumped down to 3 stars for the ending.

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. She writes about important topics that people don't always talk about. Her books help start conversations and make us think in new ways.

I love her characters and the stories she tells. They always make me think and feel something. In her book By Any Other Name, she tells a story about a woman who finds her voice and breaks tradition. It's a great book for fans of love stories and strong characters.

This book is for fans who enjoy stories that jump back and forth between the past and the present. If you love learning about history and appreciate a really great plot, this book is for you. I highly recommend.

Evocative trip back to the 1960s. Leaves no stories untold about the 60s.. Crime, drugs, cults. You name it. A page turner with stories not to be forgotten.

THORN TREE
Max Ludington

This may at first seem like a character study, but it is, however, a love story. A story about a tree, a story about a man.

THORN TREE revolves around four people. Daniel, Celia, Dean, and Jack. Celia, who is the connecting piece, is Dean’s mother. Jack is her father and Daniel is a neighbor and friend.

Celia is an actress with a complicated history and her career is in a perilous state. She often leaves Dean with Jack when she is working. Sometimes for extended periods.

One of those times Dean makes it over to Daniel’s house and the two form a connection. It’s evident right away that Dean is not well looked after and that bothers Daniel. His story and his relationship with the THORN TREE explain why.


THORN TREE is about the differences between generations, not knowing what you don’t know until you do, and being forgiven for all that you don’t see yet. Permission to change your mind, to evolve, to move beyond, morph and transcend.

I love the duality of Ludington’s writing. There is a surface level to things and then there is an underlying understanding running underneath, just below the surface. It makes understanding characters’ motives and behavior even easier than a book already does.

This was my first experience with Ludington, and I was impressed.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!

THORN TREE…⭐⭐⭐

This is a complex story with 3 main characters and many side characters. The novel also jumps between the 60’s and now.

Unfortunately between the dual timelines and different characters and settings, I had a really difficult time getting into this book.

The characters all seemed to talk alike in long, thoughtful paragraphs. Lots of deep thinking. Places and events are described in great, thoughtful detail, just like the characters talk. I spent a lot of time looking up words on the Kindle.

I can see how this novel would appeal to a lot of people. I think that I just didn’t have the focus and brain power to give it what it needed.

I have struggled with how to rate Thorn Tree. Overall I felt like it was an engaging read, but there was a lot going on, especially towards the end and the ending felt abrupt to me. That being said, there are some interesting vignettes about life in the film industry and most of the main characters are interesting and sympathetic.

(Thanks to @stmartinspress #gifted.) 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘 by Max Ludington is the story of three neighbors living in the Hollywood hills. Daniel is a sort of one hit wonder artist, turned teacher, now retired. His backstory is complex and drives much of the story. Celia, a young actress and mother, is working on a film which could turn around a career that has been marked with scandal and stints in rehab. She lives in the much larger house adjacent to Daniel’s. His home was at one time the caretaker cottage for the property where she and her son Dean now live. Rounding out the story is Jack, Celia’s father and frequent caretaker of Dean. Jack has secrets that drive the story in unexpected ways.⁣
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This book had so many elements I like in a story. It used a dual timeline, with one being the present and the other starting in the late 60’s, then stair stepping forward. The earlier timeline especially worked for me because I love that era of free love, sex, drugs and rock & roll. Ludington used it in a way different from most which had me loving those parts of his story. The main characters were richly developed, while still leaving some mystery to be uncovered. There were those to root for and others to loathe. Woven throughout the story was a level of suspense and unease that was compelling.⁣
⁣
Unfortunately, certain elements around some characters didn’t work as well for me. I’d have liked to know Celia better and for her to have had a more prominent role in the story. She seemed a little marginalized to me. On the flip side, I’d have liked a lot less of Jack. His story was important to the overall plot, but his parts just seemed to drag. I thought there was more backstory about him than needed. (Or, more than I needed!) Sadly, the large amount of space that his character occupied had a big impact on my enjoyment, making 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 just so-so for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was a great book until the end. The main characters were complex and well written. The tension and sense of something about to happen permeating the story was well done. The Sixties drug scene and back story of the two main characters, Daniel and Jack, was an excellent story, until it came time to bring it to the current time frame. Unfortunately, the story got unnecessarily complicated with extraneous characters, and I did not feel it all came together at the end but ended rather abruptly. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

"Thorn Tree" by Max Ludington is an exceptional work of literary fiction. The multilayered plot kept me completely engaged from the first page to the last and the characters were richly and fully developed. I was absolutely riveted and had a difficult time putting this novel down; it's the kind of book that makes me want to skip work and read straight through because, while reading, the real world ceases to exist. The author's words paint such a vivid picture that reading it felt like watching a movie in my mind. This is a finely crafted, cerebral novel and I highly recommend it to readers that enjoy "highbrow" literature. Fans of John Irving will definitely enjoy this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this dazzling book. Five stars!

There is a lot going on in this story and a lot of characters. I would consider Daniel the center character with the rest being related to him. The story starts in the 1960's when he falls in love with Rachel. On a trip to LA to make a drug deal for his boss they become acquainted with a cult that lives in the desert. On their way home Rachel and Daniel stop to rest and come down from an acid trip when Rachel wanders off and falls off a cliff. That's all I'm going to say.

I liked Daniel. He did some sketchy things but turned his life around and became a teacher and now still tutors underprivileged kids. Jack I despised from the start. Celia was trying to be a good mom to her son, Dean, but she had a crappy upbringing and was also in recovery. The chapters were long and there were some characters that were brought in like Gerald, Hunter and Chris, that just added to the muddle and didn't seem to move the story along. The author likes to use big words when a regular word would work better. Then there is the ending. It all came together pretty fast and I thought left a lot of things hanging and not in the read my next book to find out what happens next but more like the author was just done with it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading Thorn Tree. From the blurb, I was expecting some insight into 1960s drug culture, and well, I don’t know what I was expecting after that. So, I went into reading Thorn Tree with an open mind. I mainly felt neutral toward the book.

The main storyline of Thorn Tree focuses on Daniel, Jack, and Celia. The storylines were well-written but flat. I also had the same feeling with the secondary storylines. They were flat and didn’t add much to the main storyline. Also, in certain parts of the storyline, the storyline is almost fever-dream-like. I also was not a fan of how the author would switch from 2017 to the past without giving a heads-up. It made for a lot of backtracking, which I prefer to avoid.

Out of the four characters, Daniel was the most relatable. Yes, he had some pretty crappy things happen to him. And yes, Daniel did some pretty crappy things, too, but he had turned his life around. He became an educator who valued his students. He was trying to mend fences with his son and reconnect with his ex while helping out her seventeen-year-old son. He was just a good guy overall.

Jack, on the other hand, I detested. From the minute he was introduced in the book, I felt that he was off in a way. And, oh boy, was he. I felt dirty after reading his chapters as if I needed a shower. Like Daniel, he had some crappy things happen to him. But, he took the trauma of those things and let them control him. He did love Dean in his way, and I didn’t doubt that. But, the events in the second half of the book disgusted me.

I did like Celia, but I felt terrible for who she had as a father and what she was being forced to do on set. Unlike Jack, who tried to hide who he was, Celia knew precisely what type of person she was and what kind of person she wanted to be. I wasn’t a big fan of how her relationship with Leo started. But, the conversations that she and Leo had were thought-provoking and soul-searching. I also never doubted her feelings for Dean. She loved her son, and everything she endured on that set was to give him a good life.

I also liked Dean. However, as the book went on and Jack became more interested in his ex-cult (I will explain below), Dean became more damaged. He went from an outgoing, vibrant child to one who shut down to everyone except for Jack, Celia, and Daniel. Jack was sucking the childhood right out of him, and it was painful to watch.

The storyline with Daniel broke my heart. It was interesting to see Daniel evolve into the man he was in 2017. I liked that the author had him trying to rectify past mistakes and express regrets over things he did in the past (the blowing up of his tree, though, was not a regret of his). I was not expecting his storyline to end as it did, and I was a little grumpy about that.

The storyline with Jack was interesting, even though I didn’t like him. The author didn’t even pretend he was a good guy; I liked that he did that. I wish the author had spent more time on Jack’s time in the death cult. It would have explained why he was so fixated on it in 2017 and why he put his grandson through the events that he did.

The storyline with Celia and the one with Dean (up to almost the end of the book, where his storyline became the only one) were fascinating. But they didn’t hold my interest (it was more about Daniel and Jack). That is until the last half of the book. Then Dean’s storyline became very interesting. I am going to repeat what I said above; Jack was sucking away Dean’s childhood. It was so evident by the last chapter, which I can’t go into.

There was a secondary storyline that involved two teenagers (Chris and Hunter) and a pamphlet that contained the works of Jack’s long-dead cult leader. While I didn’t feel that it added any depth to the main or Jack’s storyline, I did find it fascinating to see how Chris got swept up in the whole cult idea. I also found it fascinating that Jack seemingly got swept up, too.

I liked that the author went a little in-depth into the counterculture of the late ’60s. I found those chapters fascinating and wished that the author had spent a little more time there.

The end of Thorn Tree was a bit bland. The author did bring everything together, but I wasn’t happy with any of the outcomes. Jack’s confession to Daniel, while needed, did not need to turn into what it did. Also, I wouldn’t say I liked how the whole Dean storyline ended. I was shaking my head in disbelief and dsiappointment.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Max Ludington for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Thorn Tree. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Characters who reached their peak achievements while young must now live the quiet days being the artist who....or the actress who...
They live their almost conventional lives on the edge of the celebrities who no longer recognize the 15 minutes of fame they had. A deep dive story into how these characters face the rest of their stories with the decline of their fame. Then Max Ludington mixes a complicated character into the everyday routine and builds tension throughout the rest of the story. Knowing they must leave the safety of the lives they have built in order to insure the safety of a young boy will take every ounce of courage they never knew they had.

Promoted as fiction, this book has more drama and thrills mixed in the story than you'd expect. I loved the characters interactions and how Luddington mixes the story slowly until you realize you're not quite sure how you got to the middle of the drama.

Thorn Tree by Max Ludington is a very evocative novel. We see an art piece, hate it, or like it or love it. But how much of the back story do we know about the artist or what compelled them to create that art?

Thorn Tree is two stories combined in one. Daniel, now a school teacher, was an artist first. Dean, a seven year old boy, lives with his mom, Celia, an actress and Jack, his grandfather. One day, Dean visits Daniel, who is his neighbor. The story then picks from there with the back story of Daniel in almost alternative stories.

The book almost begins in the 1960s, and there's a lot of drugs and cult like atmosphere throughout this book. It's not exactly mystery, but there's an element of mystery for sure. I am still contemplating what I think of this book. Definitely needs content warnings, though.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press @stmartinspress and Netgalley @netgalley for this book.

CW: Drug use, infidelity, child kidnapping, hostage, cult, prison

Being an LA resident I always like to see how writers present LA and it's environs. Thorn Tree is a novel that deals with Hollywood, cults, revenge and how a tragic incident in ones life can truly set you a path you never expected or planned to be on. The main characters are Daniel and Celia. Daniel is guy living in the Hollywood Hills and after an incident with his girlfriend decides to create a piece of art he call Thorn Tree. People come from near far to see it.

Celia is an actress and has a son named Dean. Jack her father watches the child and meets up with Daniel and from that points the story grips you and doesn't let up. You know soemthing is going to happen. The author then goes back and forth and shows what made Daniel the man he and discusses topics of peace and solitude. I don't want to say much more than that except says you see the world of cults and what attracts them to people.

While reading it reminded me of recent novels of the 60's and 70's. The author has a more literary spin on things though. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I want to tahnk Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the read. Would be a fun book club pick too!

Unfortunately I never quite got into this book. It felt forced throughout and I struggled deeply with feeling like the characters were real individuals. The dialogue felt offputting.

While I really dug the symbolism of the Thorn Tree and really hoped that all the intertwining characters would eventually pan out and connect they never quite did.

I ended up nearly DNFing but pushed through at the last minute. Fleshing out the characters more when we have to spend a lot of time with them would be good.

Thorn Tree by Max Ludington is a convoluted story of two men and their offspring and extended families. The timeline jumps around to tell the story in real time. The men are called Daniel and Jack. Daniel is a fabulous character who tried LSD once and it changed his life. Turns out he had a jar of it in his trunk and he went to prison. He had been with a girl who was found dead, but they couldn’t prove he killed it. When he got out of jail he was seriously depressed and walked into the desert, ready to die. He was found by an old guy named Ben, who brought him around and kept him for a while. Ben had a junk yard, now defunct, and Daniel helped him get the remaining stuff to town to sell. Then he began to eye what was left. From it he built a tree, a big tree. He gained a lot of recognition and so he built a couple more. Daniel was so unhappy about the commerciality of it all that he blew two of them up. He went to jail, again, terrorism. Now he was out and he was old. He lived in a cottage and led a peaceful life until a little boy named Dean entered it and brought with him his mother and his grandfather.

This is a beautifully written book, with plenty of well-written descriptions, as well as the lives of several people entwined in it. Took me back. The plot was interesting, reminiscent of the lives of many aging “hippies.” Drugs had been manifest, reaching for a new reality. It was fairly easy to convince a bunch of druggies that one could open their hearts and minds to a new reality. They would follow him anywhere. It was an intricate plot, totally character-driven and what wonderful characters they were, caricatures, maybe, but maybe real. It is a long book, but well worth the time and effort. Touching, heart-breaking, and so much more. Thanks, Max Ludington, for this effort.

I was invited to read Thorn Tree by St. Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #MaxLudington #ThornTree