THE FORGETTING TREE by Tatjana Soli (fic)

Tatjana Soli's previous book, her first, called The Lotus Eaters was one of my favorite reads a few years ago.  It is about a female war photographer who becomes addicted to life on the edge in the war zone of Vietnam.  It is realistic and masterfully written.  While I didn't enjoy The Forgetting Tree as much as the Soli's first book, it is still a powerful and interesting story about how human lives become intertwined and interdependent.

The story takes place on a citrus ranch in Southern California where the arid landscape makes farming difficult and at times precarious with the threat of summer wildfires.  Soli does a wonderful job of appealing to our senses with her descriptions of the smell and taste of the earth.  One can feel the mist in the morning along the rows of trees, the vastness of the evening skies, the constant need of nurture in both flora and the people who inhabit the story. Like most of America, the suburbs are threatening to destroy a way of life that had existed since early days in California.

This is the story of Claire and Minna and their relationship.  Claire marries into a ranching family and comes to love the farm more than her husband does who was born there.  Claire is the only one who resists selling to developers after a horrible tragedy takes the life of her son.  Her husband Forster eventually moves on after they divorce, and her two daughters grow up and leave the home that only held painful memories for them.  It is at this point in the story that Claire, after years of isolation, develops breast cancer. She does not tell the girls, who are involved in their own lives, how seriously she is ill.  This is when Minna, a beautiful black girl from the Caribbean enters the story, brought to Claire by her younger daughter.  Minna is at loose ends and cheerfully takes on the duties of caretaker.  Claire is by turns defiant, proud, irritable, depressed and a difficult patient.  Minna through her patient persistence wins her over.

Then the story becomes dark.  The reader knows something is wrong with Minna as she gradually gains ascendancy over Claire and isolates her from friends and family.  Minna is mysterious and strong and becomes overbearing.  Eventually she scares off all the farmhands and Octavio, Claire's faithful overseer.   The story begins to move toward a climax that does not bode well.  Now we learn Minna's story which is most interesting, as she is a more developed character than Claire.  This is the best part of the book.  As the reader has suspected all along, Minna is not who or what she seems. 

The end comes quickly after Minna's story and Soli does a good job of tying up all the story threads.  I can confidently recommend this book as an interesting and gripping read.  If you like the writing, read Soli's first book which is most excellent.  Both are good choices for reading groups.