A non-linear narrative that traces the story of a man who was once briefly famous for a scrap metal sculpture call Thorn Tree. The story tracks how he got the inspiration for the sculpture in a LSD haze to the present where we learn he is a retired school teacher. The story revolves around a person from his past and what may have happened to her.

This was a unique and thought provoking story that ultimately left me feeling more anxious than anything else. I’ve seen others describe the unfolding of this story as impending doom and I have to agree. Maybe I wasn’t the intended audience for this story but it wasn’t quite the enjoyable experience I was hoping for. Also would have liked more answers in the end.

This novel moved slowly for me. It got more interesting as it went along, but there is a distance between the story and the reader—even though significant things happened, I never felt emotionally pulled into any of it. It was like these major things that happened are being reported on by a distant outsider.

Part of the story happens today. Daniel lives in the guest house of a property. He was a big-deal artist for a while in the seventies, and part of the story is about the events of the late sixties and the seventies that turned Daniel into the retired schoolteacher he is today.

In the main house is an actress who is away shooting a lot of the time. She leaves her young son with her father and part-time nanny.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 16, 2024.

Rounded up from 2.5 stars.

Why did "Thorn Tree" disappoint and even anger me so?

1) The descriptions of the characters' thoughts reminded me of technical writing: every detail spelled out, in language much more elevated than it needed to be. This is a book that uses "gravid" instead of "pregnant." Characters of very different backgrounds and education levels have their thoughts and feelings parsed in the same manner, with the exception of the seven-year-old boy.
2) Nobody speaks the way these characters do. So many philosophical debates. So much naval-gazing.
3) The female character who is at the heart of the characters' motivation is not just a tabula rasa but also an impossible creation, a paragon of femaleness that every man who gazes upon her cannot help but treasure.
4) Characters are introduced with abandon, for what seems to be little reason.

Some of the writing was lovely and evocative, and the depiction of the young boy spot-on. But overall, finishing this was a chore. Maybe I'm just not the book's target audience.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A thriller from start to finish, Thorn Tree starts with foreboding and the tension builds to an unresolved ending. Baby boomers will appreciate and identify with many of the musical and cultural references in the 60's time period. I was engrossed throughout the story but felt betrayed by the cliff hanging conclusion for many of the characters. I turned the page of the last chapter expecting an epilogue that would tie up loose ends.. I exclaimed out loud "What??!!?". Is there a sequel? This would be a five star read for me except for the ending.

Thorn Tree is a very well done novel. The author expertly navigates between different time periods and character perspectives, the enduring impact of trauma, and the creativity that drives artists. I would highly recommend this to readers who enjoy delving into the past in order to understand the present, and who can appreciate how and why people make both good and bad choices. The plot kept me interested, wondering what had happened, what was going to happen, and how the characters respond to each other. I enjoyed this book. Growing up in the 60’s, it brought back a lot of memories. My thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A sculpture is admired by the top art critics. It’s a thorn tree made from scrap pieces of metal with wild limbs in all directions. It has taken on a new meaning with this intriguing plot – one that you may find exciting and unusual.

The grandiose tree takes on a path of its own from the creator, Daniel, who remembered the love he had with his girlfriend, Rachel. This was the last place they were sitting together peacefully just south of Santa Cruz on one of the cliffs above the ocean. Rachel left to take a walk and when he woke up from a deep sleep, everything changed.

Life events can be unpredictable and this book is a prime example of how it can unravel when you think you have complete control of what’s ahead. We may meet someone who seems so familiar as described in the book -- like a reincarnated soul – and we try to make sense of it.

Max Ludington takes us into the drug scene of the late 60s with hippies living together at a mystical commune in California. For those living during this time, it could bring back some memories of this movement of free-spirited new-age love. I guess you can call this historical fiction for those that have to ask their parents or grandparents what this was all about.

The writing is engaging with a suspenseful plot and yet, the chapters are long without good breaking points. There are two stories that eventually merge into one and everything makes sense but can be confusing at first. Every character is well-thought out with vivid images to like or scorn with disgust. It’s a book like no other and I have a feeling that this story will linger in my head for a long time.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of April 16, 2024.

This was just not a book for me. I’m not sure if I like the writing style or not because the story was so offensive to me personally. I will not be recommending this.

Sorry, this book wasn’t for me. Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for providing an ARC to read and review.

This one wasn't hooking me into the story. I did like the writing style, but I realized I didn't get hooked on the characters. I am sure there will be readers who like this, as historical fiction is a popular genre. I would consider checking out other books by this author or future releases though.

Cinematic and immersive, and so spellbinding that I found myself forgetting to breathe. Whoa, Thorn Tree is soooo good.

The characters in Thorn Tree came of age in the Sixties with its drugs, sex, and rock and roll–and cults.

There is Daniel, who lost the woman he loved, accused of her murder but only found guilty and jailed for drug possession. After his release, he wandered into the desert and finds a place with an older man. Using junk metal, Daniel constructed a giant tree, the tree he was sitting under when his girlfriend took a walk and never returned. After selling the work, he destroys it, landing again in prison. Now in his sixties, he has a cottage next to a large estate owned by Hollywood star, Celia, who has a son, Dean.

And then there is Jack, who turned up late in his daughter’s life, taking on the role of caregiver grandfather to Dean while Celia is away filming the movie that could propel her career. When Jack is drunk, Dean wanders down to visit Daniel. Daniel is unaware that he has encountered Jack before.

When Jack returns to the philosophy he embraced at a commune in the Sixties, he indoctrinates Dean,an d the tension mounts.

There is murder and sexual abuse, drug use and alcoholism. The dark side of the Sixties leaves its impact on the characters.

Daniel’s creation of the Thorn Tree is beautifully presented. It is my favorite part of the story with its insight into the creative motivation and therapeutic healing behind art. I also enjoyed the character of Dean, who in the end is pivotal.

But the book is dominated by Jack in the later parts, which left me unsure. In the end, the story felt to be more about the impact of the cult on mentally unstable and unhealthy people than about art.

Readers who enjoy books about the Sixties will like this novel. The music of the Grateful Dead plays a part. Celia’s story takes readers into Hollywood and uncomfortable sexual exploitation.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book

This book is based on Daniel who captures grief at the height.

I loved the cult feel of this book and loved the hippie vibes. I like that it started in the 60s and goes to present day. That made it interesting to want to keep reading.

I found it compelling but longer than needed to be. The detail that it talks about with the LSD and other drug abuse def will be a trigger warning for some. The book contains murder and infidelity.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

“I met one man who was wounded in love,
I met another man who was wounded in hatred”.
—Bob Dylan, A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall

Where’s Waldo? 🕶️
Or….. in “Thorn Tree”, who’s Hugo? 🥺
Ha….you’ll have to read the book to find out who and where Hugo is.
[NOTE: …. hint: not a main character—but he leaves a mark] > he did with me.
Okay … got your attention yet?
—First - and foremost, I enjoyed this novel!!! Does it have some awkward quirks? A few thorns? The occasional- ‘PAUSE-to re-read’ unusual words in sentences? It did for me …. but…. I kinda liked all the varied messy shenanigans happening in this story, anyway. I took my time with this novel.
Max Ludington is a new author for me (I’ll read him again….and I’ve already purchased “Tiger in a Trance”).

Expect pages of detail descriptions ….plots and subplots, complex interesting characters and the relationships between them.

THERE IS A LOT GOING ON IN THIS NOVEL….chock-filled with interesting insights, authenticity, scars from traumas, and overall wonderful storytelling.
…..Sub stories with many supporting characters….
…..Suspense, tension, contemplating dialogue, bereavement, love, grief, hope, trauma, hopelessness, love, loss, death, murder, abuse, drugs, acid trips, a prison story, rock ‘n’ roll, musicians, hippies, cults, outstanding creative authentic art-in-the-making, family, friendships, surfers, house sharing, roommates, casual, hookups, romantic, love, infidelity, Los Angeles in the 60’s, and 70’s, The Mojave desert, San Francisco, Berkeley…..
……bohemian breeze, and dazzling historical counterculture nostalgic personality throughout.

There is much to love, adore, and appreciate in ‘Thorn Tree’…..

The blurb for ‘Thorn Tree’ is perfect….[readers will know instantly - from it - if this is a story one wants to read].
As a 71 year old female who grew up in California during the late 60’s (with family in both Southern Calif. and Northern Calif.)….and a student at UC Berkeley during the civil rights movement, the days of the Vietnam war anti-protests, countercultural movements, sit-ins, emerging generation gaps, Free love, flower power, hippies, groovy fads, Beatlemania, psychedelic drugs, and political mayhem, I knew I was a good fit…..(but all generations can easily enjoy this historical period).

I finished this novel weeks ago — could write a book — haha — about many aspects — its long — with philosophical complexities….and sometimes mind-expanding experiences……
Much to discuss about …
…..The quiet, reserved, likable artist/retired school teacher/tutor at a community center in Inglewood, Ca. —*Daniel Tunison* - (his journey alone is worth the price of this novel)… His famous metal sculpture ‘Thorn Tree’….
Or….
The actress: Celia Dressler….(single mom to six year old Dean)….and ‘her’ naughty-fragile-(fresh out of rehab for the second go-around-journey …..
Or….
The mysterious character: Jack Dressler (grandfather, caretaker to little grandson, Dean)….
Or….
The provocative, poignant, and substantial themes….choices made, secrets, history, etc. — etc. etc. (this novel is fully worthy of being read by a wide range of readers)….and Max Ludington is clearly an author who loves language. I enjoy words he selected ….
Enjoyed his storytelling…..
So…..
…..(even with a few quibbles) — Max Ludington’s novel is an enjoyable achievement …..
…..with delightful affecting passionate-indelible-main-and supporting characters.
[Daniel, Celia, Jack, Dean, Ben, Leo, Miles, Roland, Amelia Stander, (Daniel’s ex-wife), Forest, (Daniel’s adult son), Raymond, Rashid, Driscoll Travis, Tanya, Gerald, Darren, Memory-of-Cameron Cooper, Matty Jones, Rachel Cullen, Charles Foreman, Ron Ron, Tall Man, Win, Fritz & Sarah, Cyrus Foley, Diana, Billy, writer for the L.A. Weekly), Gretchen/Miranda, etc.]

Here are a few sample excerpts:
Note: (these first few excerpts take place in Arizona where Celia was playing the lead role in a surrealist sci-fi Anna Karenina reboot.
….Celia felt fear ….self doubt …. about her acting abilities….
Her core fear:
“It’s unfathamed mass rode inside her always, weighing her down, like a gigantic, immovably dense meteor lying deep in its on prehistoric crater behind the display glass shade she’d constructed around it. It was so heavy that she sometimes was surprised when her body actually moved in immediate response to signals from her brain”.

“A gout of anger filled her lungs. She rose, walked to the sofa, and began to pound one of the cushions with her right fist, as hard as she could, gritting her teeth and throwing her weight around it, grunting with the effort”.
MY QUESTION….
Why just her ‘right’ fist? Seems to me if I was really angry I’d be using both arms. LOL

“The landscape transcended its stark, hostile emptiness, and took on an astonishing beauty. If she stood outside the main building at sunset, looking in the direction of the outbuildings, it was easy for Celia to feel that she really was on another planet”.
Definitely “surrealist” —
Didn’t sound like any Anna Karenina book I have ever read.
Perhaps Leo Tolstoy was laughing from his grave.😉

Right away, early in the book, it was easy to sense that Celia was angry, or maybe deeply hurt . . . [I didn’t know why yet] —
but she had a rage in her that I felt (even identified with)….but her director, Miles wanted that organic raging energy she had ‘on screen’. (not withheld for herself behind closed doors).

Celia’s relationship with Leo …..was kinda spicy-risqué fun to read ….
As were other tidbit stories, dialogues, and descriptions.

Max Ludington is an author who loves language, (seems to me he must enjoy playing with words).
He certainly has a great understanding of the complexities of being human, and he is a delicious storytelling.
I really enjoyed this book becoming one ‘with’ the characters.

Other excepts: (just because I liked them)….

“And then with a breath he moved deeper, and felt the tree growing beyond itself, into the sky, into the distant reaches of the earth’s crust, until he understood he was experiencing not just the trees living body, but lush untroubled immensely of its consciousness, which was not subject to the vicissitudes and ephemerality native to human awareness. The tree had been growing here on this cliff for centuries, and it’s in her life was a majestic and fully articulated expansion of its corporeal form, an image of what it my achieve if were able to grow forever. In its soul, the tree’s branches were woven intricately into the stars, and its roots enfolded half the earth”.

“Just because you’re a hermit by nature doesn’t mean all artists are, even your own son. And just because you quit making art even though yours was selling, doesn’t mean there aren’t others who spend their lives preserving even if they sell nothing”.
“Daniel hung his head. Maybe that’s the difference. I was never an artist. Not really. I was just a lost young man who made one thing that suddenly everybody loved, and so for a while I convinced myself I was someone I wasn’t, and made a bunch of stupid copies of the first thing”.
“Forest gave an exasperated laugh. You spent years in the desert making a gigantic object of a great beauty without ever knowing or caring if anyone would see it. If that’s not an artist, I don’t know what it is. Even those stupid copies are f-ing gorgeous”.

Lots to contemplate … think about …. wonderful memories (Heck, I was at The Grateful Dead concert myself in S.F.)….
and my first experience at The Filmore while on a first date scared the F… out of me. I was still a very straight-arrow who liked to match my Kelly-green shoes with my purse. Lots of growing up memories….
LOTS TO ENJOY…period!


Thorn….
“Denoting sin, sorrow and hardship, the thorn is one of the most ancient symbols in the world; together with the ROSE, it represents pain and pleasure, and the thorn is an
emblem of Christ’s passion, as with the crown of thorns”.

4.5 stars….Rating UP….with pleasure 💃

Thorn Tree is a slow burn of a story about a guy named Daniel who was a famous artist back in the day, with his most famous piece being Thorn Tree a scrap metal sculpture he did back in the 70s. His neighbor is a movie star and she lives with her dad and son. Jack, the dad, is quite something and his story is important to Daniels in a roundabout way. The way it connects is really cool. I loved the '60s vibe in parts of the story as well as the characters. All were so well done, with Daniel being exceptional. While the ending left me a bit bummed out, overall I really enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Taut and authentic and beautifully written, with complex characters.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thorn Tree is a compelling tale of a very bereaved Daniel who creates in incredible work of art that captures the grief and despondency he's experiencing. It's the story of Jack's drug dealing and lifelong response to cult life in the 1960s. We learn about Jack's movie star daughter, Celia, and her very young son, Dean. Thorn Tree takes place in the hippie world of California in the 60s and also throughout the years and up to the present time.

This book is long and involved, but quite compelling. It goes into some detail about tripping on LSD, and other drug abuse. It contains all the popular sins - murder, infidelity, drug dealing and more. I was really ready for it to wrap up in the last chapters, but I was a little confused about the ending, and am left feeling uncomfortably sad.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Thorn Tree.

This is a smart story, well conceived. I like this author's style and I can see the talent. This story has a lot of drama, and I stayed engaged. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free copy for review!!

Daniel lives in quiet anonymity (just the way he likes it) in a converted guest cottage in the Hollywood Hills. A legendary artist, now in his late sixties, he’s known for one piece - Thorn Tree—a huge, welded, scrap metal sculpture that he built in the Mojave desert in the 1970’s. The work emerged from a tragedy in Daniel’s life but building it kept him alive. He was virtually a hermit and lived with the owner of the scrap yard, Ben who encouraged the ultimate completion of the piece. Soon, people came from all around to see his sculpture and without wanting to, he was pushed into the fame of the art world.
Daniel is neighbors with Celia: she lives in the big house, he in the gatehouse. Celia is an actress, hoping to reignite her career with an off-the-wall director. A single mom, she leaves her six year old son Dean for weeks at a time with her father, Jack while she’s on location. Jack and Daniel strike up a tentative friendship as Dean likes visiting Daniel’s cottage--but something about Jack raises questions in Daniels head. To him, Jack is not the harmless grandparent he pretends to be. 
The story takes place in three parts: the drug induced LSD 1960s, with Grateful Dead concerts and the Charles Manson cult; the glitter of Beverly Hills now and everything in between. Daniel and Jack have lived those years, similar but different. Jack always appeared shady to me and I wasn’t sure where that was going. Daniel had a difficult time in his early adult life but was trying to be the best he could be, struggling with his demons. Together the book revolves around them and their lives.

I enjoyed this book. Growing up in the 60’s, it brought back a lot of memories.
Not a deep read but enjoyable all the same.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity to read Thorn Tree!

"Thorn Tree" by Max Ludington is a beautifully written novel that weaves together the idealism and darkness of the late 1960s with the glossy surfaces of Los Angeles celebrity today, creating an evocative and thought-provoking story.

The story revolves around Daniel, a legendary artist known for his seminal work, Thorn Tree, a massive scrap metal sculpture created in the Mojave Desert in the 1970s. Daniel's life was marked by tragedy, and building the sculpture served as both a means of coping and a path to reluctant fame in the art world. Now in his late sixties, he lives a quiet and reclusive life in the Hollywood Hills.

Next door is Celia, a charismatic but fragile actress who experienced youthful fame in a popular television series but faced a downturn in her career due to a series of poor decisions. A new movie opportunity with a notorious director offers her a chance at a comeback. Celia, a single mother, leaves her young son Dean in the care of her father, Jack, while she works on location. This arrangement leads to a tentative friendship between Jack and Daniel, with Dean frequently visiting Daniel's cottage. However, it becomes apparent that there's more to Jack than meets the eye, as his behavior grows increasingly unsettling.

The novel expertly navigates between different time periods and character perspectives, offering glimpses into the complexities of human relationships, the enduring impact of trauma, and the creative impulse that drives artists. Ludington's writing is both lyrical and poignant, capturing the essence of each character's struggles and desires.

The juxtaposition of the late 1960s counterculture movement and contemporary Hollywood celebrity culture adds depth to the narrative, highlighting the enduring effects of past events on the present. Themes of secrecy, trauma, and the creative process are skillfully explored throughout the story, keeping readers engaged and eager to uncover the characters' hidden truths.

"Thorn Tree" is an utterly compelling novel that blends the past and present, darkness and light, creating a narrative that lingers in the reader's mind. It's a thought-provoking exploration of the human condition and the enduring impact of history on individual lives.