Eucalyptus is based in New South Wales and tells the story of Holland, a man who's wife dies leaving him a young daughter Ellen. Following his wife's death, he purchases a farm to which he and his daughter move. Holland starts planting eucalypts on the farm, and before long he has hundreds of different varieties all over the land. His daughter grows to be a beautiful woman, and being acutely aware of how attracted to her men become, he develops an individual way in which to chose her future husband (I won't spoil anything by telling you how he chooses her husband).This novel is a patchwork of different stories and narratorial detours. The main love story unfolds through the stories of others and through the descriptions of the eucalypts themselves. As the love story reaches its climax it becomes more erotic and it has a satisfying conclusion.
Bail vividly describes the Australian landscape throughout the novel, and particularly the eucalypts that make up the story. I did find that sometimes I got a lot more carried awy witht he description of the landscapes and the trees than the story itself. Ellen seems so aloof and distant that it was difficult for me to identify with her at times. Despite this, I enjoyed the story a lot, laregly because of its uniqueness.
I was left wondering at the end of the book - the story of Ellen and her suitors begins as if it is a fairytale, and given the manner in which the story is told, I can't help but wonder whether the story of Holland, Ellen, Mr Cave and the final suitor is itself a fairytale?
If you are interested in reading a professional essay about this book please follow the following link:
http://www.trojanpress.com.au/assets/Oz_23_what_tree.pdf
Star Rating
5 / 8
Good and worth reading if you have the opportunity, but there's no need to prioritise it.
Originally posted 19 August 2009 Page Turners
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