The Private Lives of Trees

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Description

he story of a single night: a young professor of literature named Julin is reading to his step-daughter Daniela and nervously waiting for his wife Vernica to return from her art class. Each night, Julin has been improvising a story about trees to tell Daniela before she goes to sleep, and each Sunday he works on a novel about a man tending to his bonsai, but something about this night is different. As Julin becomes increasing concerned that Vernica won't return, he reflects on their life together in minute detail, and imagines what Daniela-at 20, at 25 will think.

Reviews

"It's rare to find a storymuch less such a short onethat offers this kind of pleasure and manages to linger in mind as an unsolved mystery ... as exciting as the best daydream you ever had."The Second Pass "Zambra's sentences string together like pearls, each of them perfect, fragile, and self-contained. Often, they are startlingly beautiful in their careful starkness, or hilariously deadpan ... Trees has a wry sense of remove. It washes over you, and it lingers."Rachel Sugar, New City Lit The Private Lives of Trees is a novel from Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra, masterfully translated by Megan McDowell ... Poignant and thought-provoking, The Private Lives of Trees is a fine piece of international fiction."The Midwest Book Review " Zambra writes peculiar books that work on many levelsthe kind to be read again and again because they become something different each time."Tottenville Review "Alejandro Zambra is certainly the most interesting Chilean writer to emerge since Bolano died in 2003 ... his biggest strengths [are] a lively attention to detail and an ability to plausibly, enjoyably break the binds of tradition..."Stephan Delbos, The Prague Post "The Private Lives of Trees confirms Alejandro Zambra as one of the most interesting writers of the younger generation."lvaro Enrigue "One of the greatest literary events of recent years."Alfonso Cortnez, Las ltimas Noticias

Author Bio

Alejandro Zambra was named as one of Granta's "Best Young Spanish-language Novelists." He is the author of three novels, including Bonsai, which was made into a film, and Ways of Going Home. Megan McDowell received her Master's Degree in Literary Translation from the University of Texas at Dallas. In addition to two books by Alejandro Zambra, she has translated Under This Terrible Sun by Carlos Busqued and La Vida Doble by Arturo Fontaine.