| The Drowning Tree: A Novel | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 31 reviews)
Sales Rank: 105419
Category: Book
Author: Carol Goodman
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Studio: Ballantine Books
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
Label: Ballantine Books
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 4.8 x 1
ISBN: 0345462122
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780345462121
ASIN: 0345462122
Publication Date: December 28, 2004
Release Date: December 28, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Artfully imagined, intricately detailed, eerily poignant: these are the outstanding features of Carol Goodman?s literary thrillers. She is part novelist, part craftsman?and The Drowning Tree is her newest masterpiece.
Juno McKay intended to avoid the nearby campus of her alma mater during her fifteenth reunion weekend, but she just can?t turn down the chance to see her longtime friend, Christine Webb, speak at the Penrose College library. Though Juno cringes at the inevitable talk of the pregnancy that kept her from graduating, and of her husband, Neil Buchwald, who ended up in a mental hospital only two years after their wedding, Juno endures the gossip for her friend?s sake. Christine?s lecture sends shockwaves through the rapt crowd when she reveals little-known details about the lives of two sisters, Eugenie and Clare?members of the powerful and influential family whose name the college bears. Christine?s revelation throws shadows of betrayal, lust, and insanity onto the family?s distinguished facade.
But after the lecture, Christine seems distant, uneasy, and sad. The next day, she disappears. Juno immediately suspects a connection to her friend?s shocking speech. Although painfully reminded of her own experience with Neil?s mental illness, Juno nevertheless peels away the layers of secrets and madness that surround the Penrose dynasty. She fears that Christine discovered something damning about them, perhaps even something worth killing for. And Juno is determined to find it?for herself, for her friend, and for her long-lost husband.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 26 more reviews...
From S. Krishna's Books September 6, 2008
I'm a big fan of Carol Goodman. I love her books, the way they are ambiguous and spooky. They are always well written and thought-provoking, at once a piece of literature as well as a mystery. She has written five books - The Seduction of Water, The Lake of Dead Languages, The Drowning Tree, The Ghost Orchid, and The Sonnet Lover. I've read all of those except the third, so I decided it was high time to tackle The Drowning Tree.
Juno McKay has almost escaped the ghosts of her past. She has a beautiful daughter, Bea, and a thriving career restoring glass in a small business with her father. When her company is hired to restore a stained glass window at her alma mater, Penrose College, she accepts the commission hesitantly. She knows that returning to her college will drag out the skeletons in her closet, specifically the fact that her ex-husband Neil was committed to an institution after trying to kill her and her daughter fourteen years ago in a fit of insanity.
Juno makes an effort to attend her best friend Christine's lecture on the window at Penrose, where she makes some controversial statements regarding her opinion on the origin of the window design. They meet up later for coffee, and Christine seems troubled. She asks Juno some odd questions, including ones about Neil, and then departs, leaving Juno confused and concerned for Christine.
As the book unfolds, Juno finds herself trapped in the middle of two worlds; she begins to investigate Christine's allegations regarding the origin of the stained glass window's design. Specifically, was the school's founder, Augustus Penrose, everything they thought he was? Why did he have his wife's sister Clare committed (ironically, to the same institution that Neil was in)? Is the figure in the window Eugenie, as they all had assumed for year, or is it actually Clare? And what exactly was the relationship between the three? As Juno dives into her research, searching for the answers to these questions, she emerges with shocking answers and insights into herself and her own past.
I enjoyed The Drowning Tree. I can't say I enjoyed it any more or less than her other novels, but it was well written. I really liked her constant use of mythology throughout the book - it is nice to feel like you are learning something while reading fiction!
I didn't feel like the historical mystery itself was as compelling or shocking as those in her other books. While it was well written and interesting, it just didn't really compare. However, Juno's story was extremely engaging and I read on eagerly to discover what happened to her.
If you haven't read any Carol Goodman, I highly recommend it. She has a new book, The Night Villa, which is being released later this year.
Goodman is the Queen of the modern Gothic novel. July 27, 2008
Carol Goodman's third novel, "The Drowning Tree", firmly establishes her as the Queen of the modern gothic novel.
This novel, like her previous two, take place mostly in the mystical regions of upstate New York. In "The Drowning Tree", we find ourselves transported to the spooky Hudson Valley area (not far from Sleepy Hollow). The story here involves two thirty-something women who have been best friends since College. They are both still involved with their school --- Penrose College of the Hudson Valley, NY --- narrator, Juno, restores stained glass and her best friend Christine is a writer/lecturer with a bent towards Greek mythology. When Christine mysteriously drowns just outside of Penrose College the investigation into her death seems to parallel her relationship with Christine against both ancient Greek mythology and the lives of tow sisters --- Clare and Eugenie --- who are ancestors of the Penrose family.
Filled with twists and turns --- as well as an unseen villain appearing unexpectedly --- "The Drowning Tree" combines classic literature with a great mystery. Enjoy!
 Exceptional author February 28, 2008
Carol Goodman is an exceptional author who knows how to real you in and keep you interested through all of her novels. This is an unstoppable page turner which I recommend to anyone!
 Silly and Pretentious May 22, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
From the get-go this novel was pretentious. Other reviewers have regaled this book for its intelligence, but constant references to Ovid and Dante seemed like rubbing the readers face in the authors research. The storyline about Penrose and the two sisters was awash with mythology that weakened the idea. A more straightforward telling could have made it intriguing. The underwater garden could have been so cool under different circumstances.
The protagonist's thinking and actions seemed disjointed. To not see Neal for well over a decade seems unbelievable. Was he sentenced to the institution, or there under his own volition? It was never explained why Juno didn't keep track of him even if he had tried to drown her and Beatrice. Why did it take days or weeks (couldn't get a grasp on the passage of time) to read the snippets of notes found around the stained glass? It wasn't a novel, for goodness sake. In the end, Juno faced betrayal by two very important people in her life, and the author didn't use it properly. She didn't make the reader feel the betrayal, or care. The ending was preposterous.
I didn't like this book at all. It was a book club selection for this month so I made myself finish the book. The middle really bogs down, and the ending is almost unconnected to the rest of the novel. Not recommended.
the best one yet! April 10, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've read Carol Goodman's other 2 books "The Lake of Dead Laguages" and "The Suduction of Water" and I found that "The Drowning Tree" is the best one yet. I just picked up "the Lake of Dead Languages" in Target one day while I was at work and read it and just loved it. So I searched for Goodman's other books and found that when i read "The Seduction of Water" it was also good, yet not as good as the first. Yet, when I read this one, I feel it topped the other two. I especially love how it references greek mythological stories, in which i find intriguing. The end was the best part, I couldnt put it down. I'd be up until 2am reading this and I knew I had class the next morning. haha. Im disappointed it's over though. It has still got me thinking about it. The ending was a surprise to me. I never would have guessed that that person was Christine's murderer. Well enjoy reading and I hope her neext two books are just as great. : )
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