I'm not totally sure how to feel about this book. In 1950s Northern California, ten-year-old Lyla--at her father's request--hangs a rope around a huge tree on her grandmother's property. Shortly thereafter, Lyla's father commits suicide using that same rope. The book jumps back and forth in time, going as far back as Lyla's father's childhood and as far forward as almost 30 years after her father's death.

I think this book does an exceptional job of depicting the aftermath of suicide and how each member of Lyla's family blames themselves and each other; seeks answers and explanations; and grieves in unique and non-linear ways. I felt like I really understood Lyla's confusion about her father's death and how complicated it made her relationship with her mother. But this book was very, very slow going for me. It was really hard for me to get into, and the timelines jumping around didn't work for me. Being "in the mind of the tree" was also just odd to me, and I wanted more insight into more of the characters. Overall, this was a bit of a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Families are difficult, and life is trauma. That seems to be the overarching message here. The book centers on Lyla, and her relationships with her family. The book opens with Lyla being browbeaten/teased by her dad to climb the majestic old oak tree in the backyard of the family home, land owned by her grandmother, to hang a rope swing. Dad is a veteran with what we would now call PTSD. He drinks, he's reckless, and while Lyla idolizes him, I think she also sees him for the broken man he is.

His mother, the family matriarch, is another piece of work who can't let well enough alone and looks for ways to make people around her bend the knee. She is hard on everyone around her due to guilt over her role in past events. She softens up a bit toward Lyla in the end, which is kind of strange since the first part of the book is all about what a hard case she is to Lyla.

Her mother has had a litany of awful things befallen her. She has Been Through it, with zero empathy from her mother-in-law or, really, her daughter. S he takes it out on Lyla, but Lyla gives as good as she gets. That relationship is complex and complicated, for sure.

The book is split into three parts, generally centering on Lyla as she navigates her youth, her attempts to forge her way without her family, and then her return to the family bosom. There's trauma enough for everyone along the way.

I felt that there were gaps in the telling, unnecessary characters, and some plot devices that just don't work. Lyla seemed like she wouldn't see a red flag if you wrapped it around her head, so desperate she is to belong somewhere. The adults in this book were unlikable and while I generally like flawed characters, there's not much in the way of redemption here.

There is a LOT of generational trauma here, and getting through it was a slog. All in all, the book did not resonate with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the advance copy.

This starts off with a bang and so my expectations were high and then dashed. It's long and the pace is too slow as well. It's too much of a hard slog to be enjoyable which is such as shame as the premise is good.
Others may love this and I may not be the target audience.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.75 ☆s

This is primarily a book around suicide, trauma and grief and the aftershocks these things have on people.

‘Lyla hated how those clouds could suddenly take over the look in her father's eyes like that’.

We follow Lyla’s story after her dad dies by suicide; from what it’s like to experience something like that as a child, to how it impacts her development and adulthood, dispersed with flashbacks to their past. Alongside this are the experiences of Lyla’s mum and grandmother. Lyla feels like his death is her fault. Her mum is stuck in the past and not coping well; she seems to Lyla to harbour some blame too. Lyla’s grandmother appears very stern and rigid; stuck in her ways. Everyone suffers differently but rarely together.

‘Logic has always told her if this were true- that if she was everything to her father- he would still be here today’.

The story moves through time and appears disjointed which I think reflects the chaos of their lives.

‘For now, they are knee-deep in muck’

I loved hearing from Lyla’s childhood voice, which felt so pure and innocent. I enjoyed the raw reflections of pain and suffering, and also the moments of insight and working through everything (though the story was not overly focused on this). My favourite parts were the metaphors (a tree, roots and growth) and moments of lyrical, beautiful writing, especially at the end. I could have appreciated more of these and I think my rating would have been higher if there had been more moments like those at the end.

‘Yet no matter how hard she yanked and repeated the refrain, knots remained inside her.’

This isn’t a happy story and sometimes it’s hard to rate those. If you go in expecting a book that is linear, full of positivity or deep exploration then you may be disappointed. I do think this is great for those who want an emotional, raw story exploring themes of mental health, suicide and grief; just not necessarily a happy one.

‘I am falling, she thought. And now, maybe, just maybe, she was finally free.’

Trigger warnings for; suicide (hanging), domestic violence, PTSD (war veteran), and infant loss.

While the concept of The Pale Flesh of Wood seems to embody the multigenerational dysfunctional family narrative I typically enjoy, I struggled to engage with this novel. I made three attempts, but unfortunately, none were successful for me to fall in love. The unique writing style was somewhat disorienting to me, and from the start, I couldn't connect with the father and daughter or grandmother. I wish this book much success! Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

DNF - The beginning of this book failed to pull me in, as it felt pretty scattered and not very compelling. The writing was just so-so, and some of the plot elements felt forced and a bit gimmicky. Other reviews echoed my feelings, and I just felt it wasn’t worth my time, but thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Young Lyla Hawkins adores her father, even when his actions confuse and even frustrate her. When he chooses to leave, Lyla spends many years alternately trying to escape, accept, fight, or understand the reality of his decision and its effect on her and her relatives. Tucker aptly describes children’s emotions and confusion towards their parents and grandparents’ actions while at the same time loving and needing them, as well as the lack of explanation parents provide to their children. Lyla’s teenage rebellion towards her mother is palpable and intelligent, countered by her mother’s inability to control her own grief and dimwittedness. While the ending chapters seem to miss sections of Lyla’s life that might help readers to more fully understand how Lyla finally comes to terms with herself and how to find peace and acceptance, the writing is sublime — filled with tight metaphors, imagery and phrasing that keeps the reader wanting more. A lovely debut novel from a promising, gifted author.

Sadly this was mostly a boring read. Pages upon pages to share the installation of a tire swing or a reckless joy ride, only leads to aggravating the reader. This only continued with other points in the book--grandmother, "journey" to college... whatever might turn up. This reader was totally aggravated. If it hadn't have been about the commitment to read an ARC this would have been a DNR. Not worth the effort to read it through to the end. So sad that nothing was ever developed into a true story--not plot, not characters. Not even concept.

This was a very good book going into the management of guilt and trauma. This was a unique tale at that..I really liked it.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

generally good, but has weakness at both the start of the book not going in well and the end not coming out well. 3 stars. tysm for the arc.

An exploration of family guilt and trauma after the protagonist's father takes his own life.

Unfortunately, I had higher expectations for this. The quality of the writing was subpar at times, and I do not necessarily think all plot points were crafted well. I do believe this book could appeal to certain audiences! There's quite a bit of drama that just makes this a quick read as you keep wanting to turn the page.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This was altogether a wonderful book, explaining the history and culture of a family, and a bizarre one, told in twisty ways. I think the wonderful part wins out in the end, but I wasn’t quite sure until the very end. There was a ton of tragedy and familiarity in the story, it almost echoes the dysfunctions of my family. It was well written with vivid characters and great storytelling. Some parts were downright bizarre (the sweater scene in the attic, I’m looking at you!) but it didn’t necessarily take away from the plot.

The Pale Flesh of Wood by Elizabeth A. Tucker is an interesting and ambitious work of fiction. In 1953, Northern California, WW2 veteran Charles Hawkins works with his daughter Lyla to hang a tyre swing from the old oak in the garden of his childhood home. But, when one November night Lyla’s father hangs himself from the rope it is a cataclysmic event that shapes and haunts her and her families lives forever. The novel explores the impact of this event and across three generations, a formidable grandmother, a grief stricken mother and a devastated daughter looking for answers. The shifting of the narrative between each perspective enabled an interesting and complex dynamic within the story. I thought the writing was clear and lyrical but lacked the emotional depth and impact I expected. The dialogue was quite extensive and I felt certain scenes were too long and lost momentum in the story. I also wished the characters had interacted more in the final third of the story where Lyla becomes central in her exploration of acceptance, guilt and shame and would have enjoyed her reconnecting with her mother after certain events are revealed. Overall, a good and intriguing story that had a powerful, important narrative that unfortunately lacked depth 3.75 stars ✨.

The Pale Flesh of Wood by Elizabeth A. Tucker starts out strong with a father and his daughter, 7 year old Lyla in their backyard getting ready to put up a tire swing on the giant, old tree that dominates the landscape and, in some ways, their lives. Lyla is scared and Dad alternately cajoles and bullies her until she finally gets the courage to climb out on the limb and hang the rope.

Lyla is left proud of herself, adoring of her father but with some background resentment at his pushing her. This dynamic in many ways defines her life and future relationship.

The novel is a deep look at a dysfunctional family and the ways it comes together as well as the ways it falls apart. The writing is strong and Tucker is particularly strong in the childhood chapters. My reaction may at least in part be informed by my own bias--I am more interested in childhood traumas, and the strategies for coping that children develop. I found the story the most compelling in the first half of the book. There are some beautifully compelling scenes in the later chapters and a feeling of completion at the end of the story.

Thanks to She Writes Press, NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy of this book.

Not gonna lie, I was a bit disappointed by this one. My initial expectations were just too high for what was resented on the pages and at times this felt like a chore to read. The synopsis pulled me in but the book’s execution didn’t keep me in.

The cadence and timeline of the beginning felt hard to follow and didn’t flow well. While the ending felt sudden and like it came out of nowhere. And I think a lot of my feelings about the book overall came from the set up in the beginning being a bit all over the place.

I quite liked Lyla and really felt a kinship with her, but as expected and intended, the adults in her life were unlikable, irresponsible and downright rude. Again, this feels intended, so necessarily a negative. Lyla’s mother never fully comes to terms with her own grief, from the miscarriages all the way to Lyla’s father’s death and she places a lot of that on Lyla’s shoulders which makes for an interesting dynamic. Lyla’s father clearly had his own issues and while I didn’t enjoy how he treated Lyla, it laid groundwork for the rest of the book.

<b>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review! </b>

The Pale Flesh of Wood is centered around loss and unprocessed grief. The tragedy at the book's heart is given away even before the first page is turned. The description informs the reader that Charles Hawkins will end up hanging himself from the family's oak tree, using the rope his daughter tied to a branch for a tire swing.

The relationships between the characters truly spoke to how hard times can affect people. Lyla's father was clearly crazy about his daughter. Still, the demons he fought were evident in his lack of responsibility as a father, and ultimately in his decision to take his own life. The relationship with Lyla's mother was greatly impacted by her inability to face her grief, and the underlying blame she (perhaps subconsciously) placed on her daughter for the death of her husband. It was the same with her strict paternal grandmother who did what she could to help Lyla while being a woman very set in her ways.

The book takes place over six decades, with the focus primarily falling on Lyla, the daughter who felt responsible for her father's death. The timeline is a little tricky to follow and the cadence didn't allow the story to flow freely, especially in the beginning. This is supposed to be historical fiction, but very little about the book felt like it was meant to occur forty to ninety years back. Apart from knowing Charles is a WWII veteran, I kept forgetting the periods in which the story was based.

Tucker did an excellent job of creating characters you care about. I felt connected to Lyla as she navigated her teen years into adulthood and became a woman finding her place in the world. The major lesson here is that nothing you do will change the past, and the only way to overcome your trauma and grief is to face it and move through it.

I felt like the beginning of the book was difficult to get into, and the ending was rather abrupt. Had the author created a better rhythm with time periods and made it easier to follow in the beginning, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more. Overall, I think it's a good story centered around a very traumatic event and the way it can consume the rest of your life. 3.5 Stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC copy!

✰ 3 stars ✰

“Can you imagine what that tree has seen? What it’s lived through? Boy, if trees could talk, now that would be something.”

That would be something indeed.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ It is the likeliness to the very tree that played a part in ending her father's life that makes Lyla's story an absorbing and poignant one. One that begins with showing just exactly what kind of tenuous relationship she had with her father, one full of love and admiration, but also neglectful responsibility that made it difficult for her to truly let go of his memory. It is that challenge of not being able to move on - to lose the chance of saying goodbye that bemoans the Hawkins family - a family already rift with tension due to the controlling manners of Lyla's paternal grandmother, a matriarch that demanded absolute respect and tolerated no insolence, let alone indecency that could demoralize the family name.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ It is on those precedents that makes Lyla's coming-of-age laden with grief and insolence of her own making. One where despite how she tries to connect with her mother fails to do so; one where she seeks out some sort of place that she could feel like she could finally fit in - one where she could rid herself of her own guilt in somehow inadvertently blaming herself for her father's suicide. 'Lyla will wish it was the only kind of pain she’d have to endure—' A heartbreaking tragedy that no one was entirely prepared for how it would devastate the entire family.

“She is paralyzed by all she sees.
And all that she will never see again.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ While I did struggle a bit with the different stages of Lyla's life and the direction in which her character grew and her personality developed, I did find it believably portrayed. Her relationship with her father had been one of both love and adoration, but one also wary of his unreliable and irresponsible tendencies - afflictions that made her hesitant and doubtful of his actions. 'But what had he meant, exactly, when he talked in that strange way? About the cruelties of nature and erosion of time?' It is that neglectful nature that makes it easy for the audience to believe that he could be capable of taking his own life - until the point where it is revealed why he did - a plot point which I actually pretty much figured out right from the start, but still.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ It added a certain depth to her character, a sharp contrast to her mother's own insecure and flippant disregards and whims due to her own inability to move on entirely from her husband's death, let alone find it in herself to not hold her daughter responsible for taking him away. For through the memories and the moments that we experience, do we allow grief to shed its skin - for it to lose its ability to have such a hold on us, so that through the changes we face it is made possible for us to not look to the past and live in the present. 'She needs to search for clues hidden in her father’s eyes that she may have missed in all these years.' Much like a tree yearning to reach for the sky -spreading its limbs to embrace all that is within its reach, Lyla made mistakes and hasty decisions; but it was her way of growing up - her own form of rebellion to not let her father's death conquer her entirely.

“I just want to forget him. I almost have, you know. And if you all would just—” Lyla wiped her nose with her sleeve. “Just . . . just give it a rest, and maybe we could move on. We can just forget he ever existed, once and for all.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ While the story is a bit slow-paced, it does keep your attention. I questioned a few writing choices and dynamic shifts, and the plot reveal was not as much of a surprise as the author might think. It was quite obvious actually, not exactly a new idea. But, I do get what the author intended, especially when you once again compare Lyla to a tree - who it continues to grow from its humble roots, 'a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.' And the story does stay with me long after; despite the qualms I had with certain written parts, I was able to wade through it comfortably so; which is odd, considering the narrative also haphazardly jumped at times through time and perspective, but Lyla's narration was gripping enough that it was easy to slip right back into the plot after.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I did find the ending a bit abrupt; the time jumps were a bit inconsistent, but the ending, especially, needed a little work. But, I think it had to do with more of the fact that her challenge was finally drawing to a close - that the closure she was searching for she had finally found that made it not an explosive understanding, but a quiet one. It makes you understand how The Pale Flesh of Wood describes the innermost parts of herself - one that steadily grew alongside said tree that played such a cursed, if not fixated part of her life. It is in those final moments that she finally is able to part from that grip of loneliness and grief that had afflicted her for so long that makes her realize that just because one branch of her heart has been tragically lost, does not mean that she has to stop growing in the process. A life-altering shift that teaches her inner peace that perhaps what she may have lost may have always been with her all along.

*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.