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The Man Whom the Trees Loved
He painted trees as by some special divining instinct of their essential qualities. He understood them. He knew why in an oak forest, for instance, each individual was utterly distinct from its fellows, and why no two beeches in the whole world were alike. People asked him down to paint a favorite lime or silver birch, for he caught the individuality of a tree as some catch the individuality of a horse. How he managed it was something of a puzzle, for he never had painting lessons, his drawing was often wildly inaccurate, and, while his perception of a Tree Personality was true and vivid, his rendering of it might almost approach the ludicrous. Yet the character and personality of that particular tree stood there alive beneath his brush—shining, frowning, dreaming, as the case might be, friendly or hostile, good or evil. It emerged.
112 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1912
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1663 people want to read
About the author
Algernon Blackwood
1,313 books1,168 followersAlgernon Henry Blackwood (1869–1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary critic S. T. Joshi stated, "His work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's" and that his short story collection Incredible Adventures (1914) "may be the premier weird collection of this or any other century".
Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas." Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere." His powerful story "The Willows," which effectively describes another dimension impinging upon our own, was reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only "foremost of all" Blackwood's tales but the best "weird tale" of all time.
Among his thirty-odd books, Blackwood wrote a series of stories and short novels published as John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), which featured a "psychic detective" who combined the skills of a Sherlock Holmes and a psychic medium. Blackwood also wrote light fantasy and juvenile books.
Blackwood was born in Shooter's Hill (today part of south-east London, but then part of northwest Kent) and educated at Wellington College. His father was a Post Office administrator who, according to Peter Penzoldt, "though not devoid of genuine good-heartedness, had appallingly narrow religious ideas." Blackwood had a varied career, farming in Canada, operating a hotel, as a newspaper reporter in New York City, and, throughout his adult life, an occasional essayist for various periodicals. In his late thirties, he moved back to England and started to write stories of the supernatural. He was very successful, writing at least ten original collections of short stories and eventually appearing on both radio and television to tell them. He also wrote fourteen novels, several children's books, and a number of plays, most of which were produced but not published. He was an avid lover of nature and the outdoors, and many of his stories reflect this.
H.P. Lovecraft wrote of Blackwood: "He is the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere." His powerful story "The Willows," which effectively describes another dimension impinging upon our own, was reckoned by Lovecraft to be not only "foremost of all" Blackwood's tales but the best "weird tale" of all time.
Among his thirty-odd books, Blackwood wrote a series of stories and short novels published as John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (1908), which featured a "psychic detective" who combined the skills of a Sherlock Holmes and a psychic medium. Blackwood also wrote light fantasy and juvenile books.
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October 4, 2021
Algernon Blackwood one of the masters of supernatural story writing
this is an interesting read, a weird story concerns David and Sophia a married couple living on the edge of the forest, David becomes obsessed with the inner life of the trees in the neighboring forest, gradually drifting away from his wife and ends up overtaken by the forest
there's not much actions but the atmosphere of the novel and description of wild nature are beautiful
Blackwood displays the topic of beliefs and the limits of human knowledge and understanding
this is an interesting read, a weird story concerns David and Sophia a married couple living on the edge of the forest, David becomes obsessed with the inner life of the trees in the neighboring forest, gradually drifting away from his wife and ends up overtaken by the forest
there's not much actions but the atmosphere of the novel and description of wild nature are beautiful
Blackwood displays the topic of beliefs and the limits of human knowledge and understanding
December 26, 2024
رواية "الغابة السوداء" للكاتب البريطاني "ألجرنون بلاكوود" هي واحدة من روايات الرُعب النفسي الممزوج بالماورائيات.. فلو دققت النظر في الأحداث جيداً ستجد نفسك أمام إحتمالين أما أن تلك الأحداث تحدث فعلاً، أو أنها مُلفقة.. بسبب أوهام الشخصيات. فهُناك حد فاصل بين الإحتمالين تمشي عليه الرواية حتى النهاية لتُجيبك. أو رُبما لا تُجيب. أنت تعرف هذه اللُعبة جيداً.. وتلك المُقدمة مُجرد مثال عليها لا أكثر.
"حسناً، الإله الأعظم موجود في كُل شيء حي. فينا وفي الأشجار خاصة؛ لأنها من صنيعه؛ لذا يُمكنك إن كُنت شديد التركيز أن تشعر بحضوره فيها، لكن كما الإله موجود بالأشجار، بعض الأشجار الأخرى مثل كل شيء آخر. تُفضل الظلام، تُفضل الشيطان."
الخوف من الأشجار، والغابات، كم مرة شعرتُ بتلك الشجرة تتحرك.. تُقسم أن فرع هذا النبات يُراقبك.. حفيف الأوراق وتلاعب الرياح بها.. كُل ذلك قد يجعلك ترتجف ولو قليلاً.. لتطرح سؤال مُهم: هل للأشجار وعي؟ وذلك ما تدور حوله الرواية..
فنحن مع ثلاثة أبطال.. "ساندرسون" مُحب الأشجار وراسمها.. "ديفيد باتسي" مُحب الأشجار ومولع بها.. وزوجته "صوفيا" التي هي على النقيض تماماً منهما.
فـ"صوفيا" المتدينة التي لا نؤمن بمثل تلك الخُرافات طالما لم تُذكر في الإنجيل على حد قولها.. تواجه زوجها وصديقه في ليالي عصيبة ومرُعبة تتخللها الكثير والكثير من عبث الرياح بالأشجار مكونة لمشاهد مُرعبة لها. في حين أن مُحبي الأشجار مُستمعين بكل ذلك. بل ويشعروا أنه هُناك واجب عليهم بحماية الأشجار.
وذلك ما قاد "صوفيا" للجنون.. ولكنها تُحب زوجها.. فما عساها تفعل؟ تهرب وتترك كُل ذلك الجنون الخاص بتلك الغابة السوداء أم تظل وفية له؟ بل هي تُريد أساساً أن تبقى لأنها تخاف عليه من هوسه بالأشجار.. خائفة عليه بأياً ما كان ذلك الكائن في الغابة.. والتي شعرت بوجوده ثقيلاً كئيباً شديد السوداوية.
"أحياناً ديفيد، علينا الإيمان بأن هُناك ما هو أبعد من قُدرتنا على التجريب، علينا الاستسلام للحد الفاصل بين ما نستطيع تجربته وبين ما يجب احترام كونه من الغيبيات."
الإقتباس السابق على لسان "صوفيا" يُمثل الشق الثاني التي ارتكزت عليه الرواية وهو: هل يجب أن يكون هُناك حد لهوسنا بشيئاً ما؟ أم أنه لا يوجد هُناك سقف للهوس..
فـ"ديفيد" ظل يتمادى في هوسه.. حتى فقد نفسه! وأصبح عبداً للأشجار.. وصل هوسه أنه ظن أن الأشجار تُريده أن يكون جُزءاً منها. بل وتمنى ذلك.
في الختام..
رواية "الغابة السوداء" رواية غريبة ولكنك ستستمتع بها.. ستعيش أجواء كابوسية بين صفحاتها.. وستشعر بحفيف الأشجار وصوت الرياح..
ولكن تذكر.. لا تأمن أبداً لشجرة.
October 31, 2020
الغابة السوداء" أو بالنسخة الأصلية "الرجل الذي أحبته الأشجار".
ضياع.
ماذا قرأت؟ لا أعلم لكنه أشبه بسيناريو كابوس يترك انطباع لاذع بعد الاستيقاظ منه.
رواية قصيرة حول الماورائيات وقوى الطبيعة، الغموض فيها يطغى على الرعب، لكن أكثر ما يرعب فيها هو علاقة الزوجين التي سطا عليها هوس الأشجار.
أستبعد أن تكون كل تلك الأحداث الباردة مجرد تخيّلات، لكن إن لم تكن، فما معنى ذلك كله؟ وهل العنوان الأصلي يثبت العكس؟ لماذا حضور الرسام ساندرسون كان مبتورًا؟ وهل كانت الرواية تعوّل على خوفي من الغابات فقط أم أن ذلك مجرد غطاء؟
أظن بأني فشلت بالتقاط المغزى من وراء كل تلك السطور... ربما حالتي النفسية وقت القراءة ظلمتها لكني لم أجد أي شيء يشجعني للغوص بالمعاني، ومع ذلك فإن الحيرة المستفزة التي وضعتني فيها هي أفضل ما بها. لذلك قد تكون لي عودة أخرى في المستقبل البعيد ولو أني أشمئز من تلك الفكرة بقدر ما أود تطبيقها.
المهم، هل للنباتات وعي؟
ضياع.
ماذا قرأت؟ لا أعلم لكنه أشبه بسيناريو كابوس يترك انطباع لاذع بعد الاستيقاظ منه.
رواية قصيرة حول الماورائيات وقوى الطبيعة، الغموض فيها يطغى على الرعب، لكن أكثر ما يرعب فيها هو علاقة الزوجين التي سطا عليها هوس الأشجار.
أستبعد أن تكون كل تلك الأحداث الباردة مجرد تخيّلات، لكن إن لم تكن، فما معنى ذلك كله؟ وهل العنوان الأصلي يثبت العكس؟ لماذا حضور الرسام ساندرسون كان مبتورًا؟ وهل كانت الرواية تعوّل على خوفي من الغابات فقط أم أن ذلك مجرد غطاء؟
أظن بأني فشلت بالتقاط المغزى من وراء كل تلك السطور... ربما حالتي النفسية وقت القراءة ظلمتها لكني لم أجد أي شيء يشجعني للغوص بالمعاني، ومع ذلك فإن الحيرة المستفزة التي وضعتني فيها هي أفضل ما بها. لذلك قد تكون لي عودة أخرى في المستقبل البعيد ولو أني أشمئز من تلك الفكرة بقدر ما أود تطبيقها.
المهم، هل للنباتات وعي؟
November 1, 2014
Of all stories by Algernon Blackwood that I've read so far, The Man Whom the Trees Loved is my least favorite. This is not to say that it's a completely bad one - I just didn't enjoy like the ones I read before it.
The Man Whom the Trees Loved is a weird tale, which can be seen as an early precursor of the ever popular horror trope of the Killer Plant. It's concerned with Sophia and David Bittacy living in a house on the edge of a great forest, in which David develops a deep interest. The story is observed mainly from the perspective of Sophia, who at first doesn't understand her husband's interest in the trees but soon comes to fear them - as there is something in the forest which makes it irresistible to her husband - a force which is not necessarily evil, but simply outside human comprehension.
The story is not as compelling as either The Willows and The Wendigo, and moves along very slowly. It's more of a weird tragedy than weird horror - we see the tragedy of Mrs. Bittacy, who loves her husband and wants him to be happy, but is forced to see him drawn away from her by the trees. As David shuts her out more and more, Sofia feels her mind slipping - she thinks that the forest is destroying her to claim David for itself. You can see the ending coming from a mile away, but it doesn't make it any less meaningful. Blackwood's vivid descriptions of nature manage to make ordinary trees terrify, which is why despite its flaws the story ultimately found its place in the weird canon.
As with Blackwood's other stories, The Man Whom the Trees Loved is available for legal download. You can get a copy here: http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1074/th...
The Man Whom the Trees Loved is a weird tale, which can be seen as an early precursor of the ever popular horror trope of the Killer Plant. It's concerned with Sophia and David Bittacy living in a house on the edge of a great forest, in which David develops a deep interest. The story is observed mainly from the perspective of Sophia, who at first doesn't understand her husband's interest in the trees but soon comes to fear them - as there is something in the forest which makes it irresistible to her husband - a force which is not necessarily evil, but simply outside human comprehension.
The story is not as compelling as either The Willows and The Wendigo, and moves along very slowly. It's more of a weird tragedy than weird horror - we see the tragedy of Mrs. Bittacy, who loves her husband and wants him to be happy, but is forced to see him drawn away from her by the trees. As David shuts her out more and more, Sofia feels her mind slipping - she thinks that the forest is destroying her to claim David for itself. You can see the ending coming from a mile away, but it doesn't make it any less meaningful. Blackwood's vivid descriptions of nature manage to make ordinary trees terrify, which is why despite its flaws the story ultimately found its place in the weird canon.
As with Blackwood's other stories, The Man Whom the Trees Loved is available for legal download. You can get a copy here: http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1074/th...
June 2, 2016
Algernon Blackwood, according to wiki, was "one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre." I don't usually read ghost stories, my imagination is too vivid and I end up more spooked than the spooks. But the title of this book intrigued me.
We first read about Sanderson the painter, but a painter whose special talent is understanding and capturing on canvas the personalities of trees. At first I thought Sanderson would be The Man, but he was not. He is the catalyst for what happens to Mr. Bittacy, who is The Man. He was an Englishman who had been in India for years, working as a forest ranger. "He, also, understood trees, felt a subtle sense of communion with them, born perhaps of those years he had lived in caring for them, guarding, protecting, nursing, years of solitude among their great shadowy presences."
Mr. Bittacy has Sanderson paint a portrait of the Lebanon cedar that stands in front of the Bittacy home, which is near the edge of the New Forest. Mr. B had chosen this house specifically for its location near the famous forest. Mrs. Bittacy allowed him this choice, since she did understand to a degree about the connection he had with the trees. But only to a degree. She knew he was happier around the forest, but she felt that it took him away from her in ways she did not understand and which scared her on many levels. She did not have the same vision about Nature, and what happens in the story affects them both in ways neither expected.
This was not necessarily a scary story, at least not the kind that jumps out at you screaming BOO. But it was suspenseful and intense, with plenty of interesting topics being mulled over between the three characters, and a suitably other-worldly ending. I kept thinking what a great Twilight Zone episode it would have made!
I would like to read more of Blackwood, but I will be very careful about which titles I choose. He
created a wonderfully creepy atmosphere in this story just with the wind and the forest as his 'spooks'. If I am not careful with future titles he will scare me spitless!
We first read about Sanderson the painter, but a painter whose special talent is understanding and capturing on canvas the personalities of trees. At first I thought Sanderson would be The Man, but he was not. He is the catalyst for what happens to Mr. Bittacy, who is The Man. He was an Englishman who had been in India for years, working as a forest ranger. "He, also, understood trees, felt a subtle sense of communion with them, born perhaps of those years he had lived in caring for them, guarding, protecting, nursing, years of solitude among their great shadowy presences."
Mr. Bittacy has Sanderson paint a portrait of the Lebanon cedar that stands in front of the Bittacy home, which is near the edge of the New Forest. Mr. B had chosen this house specifically for its location near the famous forest. Mrs. Bittacy allowed him this choice, since she did understand to a degree about the connection he had with the trees. But only to a degree. She knew he was happier around the forest, but she felt that it took him away from her in ways she did not understand and which scared her on many levels. She did not have the same vision about Nature, and what happens in the story affects them both in ways neither expected.
This was not necessarily a scary story, at least not the kind that jumps out at you screaming BOO. But it was suspenseful and intense, with plenty of interesting topics being mulled over between the three characters, and a suitably other-worldly ending. I kept thinking what a great Twilight Zone episode it would have made!
I would like to read more of Blackwood, but I will be very careful about which titles I choose. He
created a wonderfully creepy atmosphere in this story just with the wind and the forest as his 'spooks'. If I am not careful with future titles he will scare me spitless!
June 5, 2021
U vreme kad je izdavač „Orfelin“ bio baš mlad, na policama jedne knjižare video sam dva drugačije i vrhunski dizajnirana naslova, čije su korice odudarale značajno od ostatka police: Blekvudove „Vrbe“ i Lavkraftov „Šaptač u tami“. Naumio sam da pazarim drugi, a pazario sam oba. I nisam nikad požalio. Jer, „Orfelin“ je razrastao u pravog mesiju relevantnih naslova jezovitih priča. Sa jezom Aldžernona Belkvuda upoznavao sam se vrlo postepeno i nepoverljivo, sve do zbirke Drevna svetla, koja je kod mene postavila temelj za obožavanje lika i dela ovog pisca. Kao i M.R. Džejms, i Blekvud je vrhunski atmosferista, koji svoje pripovedanje stavlja u vrlo realistične okvire, sve dok čitalac jednog trena ne postane svestan da se nešto od te realistične atmosfere dobrano izmenilo i poprimilo karakteristke onostranog koje vrlo suptilno ali uporno mori i zlostavlja. Kulise njegovih priča su ubikvitarne – od usamljenih ostrva, rečnih rukavaca, sanatorijuma do razrušenih manastira. Ono što ih sve povezuje jeste silvatična jeza, kako sam je ja označio, jer on iz grandiozne, samoobnovljive i besmrtne sile prirode crpi motive za svoje priče, i one su, rekao bih, jezive jedino dušama koje su otuđene od iste. Meni su, sasvim suprotno, melem za čula, jer sam fanatično zaljubljen u šume i divljinu i u njoj ne vidim stravu već palijativu. Osim puke, metafizički ogromne sile prirode koju Blekvud crpi, njegove su priče prožete i jakom seksualnom energijom koja se može shvatiti metaforično – jer priroda je vekovima čoveku simbol plodnosti i novog rađanja, ili realistično – jer su eksplicitne orgije vrlo često prisutne u njegovim pričama, ali, opet, u službi prirode i njenog neutaživog libida kroz koje subjekat na kraju doživljava preporod. Sublimativni primer za navedeno jeste upravo priča iz ove zbirke – „Preporod Lorda Ernija“, gde je kroz mnoštvo simbolistike, Blekvud poslao poruku o isceliteljskim svojstvima prirode. Slično je i sa naslovnom pričom – „Čovek koga je drveće volelo“, s tim što ovde pripoveda o bezuslovnoj ljubavi i poštovanju koju jedna jedinka može osećati prema šumi i drveću (taj sam), podignuta na nivo divinacije, naspram konzervativnog shvatanja vere kroz silne religijske kanone, koji na taj „naturalizam“ gledaju kao na blasfemiju, jer, zaboga, „drveće je samo previše izraslo povrće“. U „Ostrvu duhova“, obrađivao je neki vid astralne projekcije, čiji su motivi i efektori slični kao i u „Vendigu“. Priča koja mi se najviše svidela u ovoj zbirci jeste „Potajno obožavanje“, gde i dalje ne odustaje od silvatične strave, ali upliće vrlo eksplicitno i efekat onostranog, koji prezentuje kroz motiv polja vrlo jake negativne i zle energije koju pojedina mesta zaista mogu da poseduju i koja neznancu mogu da u datom trenutku izmene svest. „Čovek koga je drveće volelo“ i „Vukovi božji“ su me vrlo podsetili na radnju i atmosferu u romanu Mythago Wood, koji na sličan način baštini te motive, ali kroz elemente iz irske mitologije. U jednom eseju, Tom Šipi, jedan od najpriznatijih živućih Tolkinista, pomenuo je Tolkinovu inspirisanost Blekvudovim pričama „Vrbe“ i „Vendigo“. Budući da su i Tolkin i Blekvud bili vrlo privrženi prirodi i drveću, to prepoznavanje nije čudno. Tolkin je, kao i Blekvud, u svojim delima, davao drveću vrlo važne uloge (dva božanska drveta Telperion i Laurelin) i postavljao ih za efektore mnogih važnih zadataka (Enti) ali ih prikazivao i kao malevolentne duhove koji umeju da se odbrane od loših uticaja čoveka (starac Vrba). Čak je od Blekvuda usvojio i onomatopejičnu frazu "the Crack of Doom." Zato me ni ne čudi brzina kojom me Blekvudova proza osvojila.
August 24, 2016
A man who loves nature and his wife, a woman who loves God and her husband, this long married couple living in a house near the edge of the forest in the English countryside. What a peaceful-sounding life and a wholesome, balanced relationship this scenario brings to mind--if only it were so. Not in the hands of this short story's author, Algernon Blackwood, known for his gothic and supernatural horror stories.
This one, written in 1912, was more along the lines of psychological horror, or was it? It's for the reader to decide what's really going on here, which was half the fun. The other half was seeing how the story affected me since it gives each reader insight not only into human nature, but into his own individual nature. Some people may not be affected at all by the tension and malevolence in this story, while others like me will feel great unease. I don't know what that says about me other than I'm subject to the power of suggestion which is a major aspect of this story.
But what is the story about? It's about two people consumed by their own innocent passions which turned into something damaging when combined, like mixing ammonia with bleach. It's also about love and faith, emotional entanglement and estrangement, the boundaries between reality and imagination, and between sanity and madness. I can't say much more without spoiling things. Just know that you'll be in for a weird and thought provoking tale should you read it.
So why only three stars? It was mostly due to the length. Even though this story was just under a hundred pages, I felt it was too long and would have been even more suspenseful had a fourth of the story been cut since it was repetitive, even though this, conversely, built the tension. I would still recommend it, though, as a fine story to read on a cold windy night with the trees rustling and creaking all around you.
If you enjoyed The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories or The Haunting of Hill House, this classic in its genre might be a good match for you.
December 8, 2022
Uf !😶🌫️ Slučajno na GR app (koju ponekad ne mogu podneti i čekam neke izmene iste) sam ocenila knjigu sa 5 iako je još nisam završila. 🙃
Naime, ocena bi i bila 5 jer su mi se priče veoma dopale:
The Man Whom the Trees Loved - 4 ☆
A Haunted Island - 5 ☆
Secret Worship - the highest 5 ☆ ever existed !!!
The Wolves of God - 4 ☆
The Regeneration of Lord Ernie (still reading but) - 5 ☆ NQA
Recenziju ću sigurno dopunjavati čim završim poslednju priču.
Knjigu preporučujem svim ljubiteljima Lavkrafta <3
Naime, ocena bi i bila 5 jer su mi se priče veoma dopale:
The Man Whom the Trees Loved - 4 ☆
A Haunted Island - 5 ☆
Secret Worship - the highest 5 ☆ ever existed !!!
The Wolves of God - 4 ☆
The Regeneration of Lord Ernie (still reading but) - 5 ☆ NQA
Recenziju ću sigurno dopunjavati čim završim poslednju priču.
Knjigu preporučujem svim ljubiteljima Lavkrafta <3
January 19, 2020
رواية غريبة ... رعب من نوع غريب ... قد أتفهم رعب صوفيا حقا فبعض الأشخاص يخافون الطبيعة فعلا وعرفت بعض الأشخاص الذين خافون بل يرتعبون من البحر ليلا وهناك من لا يحبون مثلا منظر الجبال بسبب الخوف أيضا وعليه فالغابة ليلا قد تكون فعلا مقبضة ومخيفة والعزلة قد تكون مرهقة للعقل ... بالتأكيد كانت صوفيا ذات عقل مرهق
فاجأتني النهاية هنا قليلا فقد سارت أفكاري في إتجاه مختلف تماما في تخيل النهاية
فاجأتني النهاية هنا قليلا فقد سارت أفكاري في إتجاه مختلف تماما في تخيل النهاية
January 9, 2022
Nakon čitanja priče po kojoj je zbirka dobila naziv, počela sam drugim očima da posmatram drveće. 'Potajno obožavanje' mi je favorit, a odmah za njom 'Preporod lorda Ernija'. 'Ostrvo duhova' i 'Vukovi božji' su me podsetile na neke od prethodnih Blekvudovih priča koje sam pročitala. I kad god završim neku zbirku, mozak mi traži još. Još Blekvuda, još prirode, još predivnih vukova i duhova ljudi koji su poštovali svet na kojem žive i bili sa njim jedno.
May 1, 2011
Review from Badelynge
David Bittacy and his wife have been happily married for decades. Mr Bittacy has another love though. He loves nature. More specifically he loves trees. So when he discovers an artist who paints portraits of trees in a way that captures their individuality... their personality even, he decides to invite the artist to stay at his home. The two men are kindred spirits, both believing that trees have souls... that God is in the trees. Over a long night gazing at the trees that encroach his garden, with the deep wood close by, the two men venture to put into words a philosophical understanding of nature that frightens and disturbs Mrs Bittacy. Their words cause her to catch a glimpse of wild, potent, sentient impressions of the life that is a forest. It jars her deep religious convictions to the core.
Algernon Blackwood is brilliantly adept at this sort of psychological dance, playing the known world and its belief systems off against the limits of human knowledge and understanding. Blackwood's beautifully rich descriptions of nature, and his deft maintenance of disquiet are excellent. There are few writers, short of Mary Shelley in full Godwinian flow, who could keep that disquiet going while exploring a philosophical idea for over 70 pages and still retain the interest of the reader.
David Bittacy and his wife have been happily married for decades. Mr Bittacy has another love though. He loves nature. More specifically he loves trees. So when he discovers an artist who paints portraits of trees in a way that captures their individuality... their personality even, he decides to invite the artist to stay at his home. The two men are kindred spirits, both believing that trees have souls... that God is in the trees. Over a long night gazing at the trees that encroach his garden, with the deep wood close by, the two men venture to put into words a philosophical understanding of nature that frightens and disturbs Mrs Bittacy. Their words cause her to catch a glimpse of wild, potent, sentient impressions of the life that is a forest. It jars her deep religious convictions to the core.
Algernon Blackwood is brilliantly adept at this sort of psychological dance, playing the known world and its belief systems off against the limits of human knowledge and understanding. Blackwood's beautifully rich descriptions of nature, and his deft maintenance of disquiet are excellent. There are few writers, short of Mary Shelley in full Godwinian flow, who could keep that disquiet going while exploring a philosophical idea for over 70 pages and still retain the interest of the reader.
Read
January 15, 2025Отут теж, як і в "Вербах", дуже видно, що Блеквуд - генеалогічні витоки Лавкрафта. І тут - витоки якраз усього тривожненького, що є в Лавкрафта.
Жахливе припущення в основі "Чоловіка, якого любили дерева", таке: (а) а що, як людина - не єдиний можливий носій особистості? що, як інші істоти теж мають індивідуальність, суб'єктність, здатність до комунікації? (б) наша особистість - це зокрема продукт впливів особистостей наших навколишніх; отже, як нам мислити про себе, якщо каталог особистостей навколо значно ширший, ніж ми думали?
І з одного боку, це, звичайно, десь можна тлумачити як дуже сучасний для нас текст, який випереджає і наукову, і концептуальну рамку свого часу. Симбіотичні форми розмитого лісового життя, комунікація між рослинами, горизонтальне, а не вертикальне перенесення генів і всі химерні бічні алеї еволюції, розмитість меж того, що вважається живим і суб'єктним - це все дуже легітимні теми досліджень і роздумів нині (значно більшою мірою, ніж у части автора).
І в центрі - протистояння між двома підходами: по один бік - "вау, як захопливо, що воно все живе". По другий - "це жахливо, що з глобалізацією світу і соціальними змінами ми раптом мусимо визнати, що носієм суб'єктності може бути не тільки, умовно кажучи, білий гетеросексуальний чоловік з імперської нації, це ж поштішо визнати, шо ліси живі" (зауважмо, що жінка там по другий бік, але висловлюється десь так само, як дерева - шелестіннямлистя одягу, через "a crackling of her silk flounces that conveyed a sense of outrage even more plainly than her tone"). Я геть не певна (на відміну від кейсу Лавкрафта), по який бік у цьому протистоянні автор - ну, крім того, що хроніст. Хай там як, дуже тривожно, дуже читабельно.
Жахливе припущення в основі "Чоловіка, якого любили дерева", таке: (а) а що, як людина - не єдиний можливий носій особистості? що, як інші істоти теж мають індивідуальність, суб'єктність, здатність до комунікації? (б) наша особистість - це зокрема продукт впливів особистостей наших навколишніх; отже, як нам мислити про себе, якщо каталог особистостей навколо значно ширший, ніж ми думали?
І з одного боку, це, звичайно, десь можна тлумачити як дуже сучасний для нас текст, який випереджає і наукову, і концептуальну рамку свого часу. Симбіотичні форми розмитого лісового життя, комунікація між рослинами, горизонтальне, а не вертикальне перенесення генів і всі химерні бічні алеї еволюції, розмитість меж того, що вважається живим і суб'єктним - це все дуже легітимні теми досліджень і роздумів нині (значно більшою мірою, ніж у части автора).
"It's rather a comforting thought," he said, throwing the match out of the window, "that life is about us everywhere, and that there is really no dividing line between what we call organic and inorganic."
"The universe, yes," said Sanderson, "is all one, really. We're puzzled by the gaps we cannot see across, but as a fact, I suppose, there are no gaps at all."
І в центрі - протистояння між двома підходами: по один бік - "вау, як захопливо, що воно все живе". По другий - "це жахливо, що з глобалізацією світу і соціальними змінами ми раптом мусимо визнати, що носієм суб'єктності може бути не тільки, умовно кажучи, білий гетеросексуальний чоловік з імперської нації, це ж поштішо визнати, шо ліси живі" (зауважмо, що жінка там по другий бік, але висловлюється десь так само, як дерева - шелестінням
"Ah," said Sanderson gently, "but there is 'God' in the trees. God in a very subtle aspect and sometimes—I have known the trees express it too—that which is not God—dark and terrible. Have you ever noticed, too, how clearly trees show what they want—choose their companions, at least? How beeches, for instance, allow no life too near them—birds or squirrels in their boughs, nor any growth beneath? The silence in the beech wood is quite terrifying often! And how pines like bilberry bushes at their feet and sometimes little oaks—all trees making a clear, deliberate choice, and holding firmly to it? Some trees obviously—it's very strange and marked—seem to prefer the human."
April 23, 2024
Not to be confused with The Man Who Planted Trees, this is a horror story, yet not quite, more of a tragedy. I think I shall have to try something else by Mr. Blackwood and hope for better.
January 22, 2023
Aldžernon Blekvud je za H.F. Lavkrafta po svemu sudeći bio veliki mentor, naročito svojim Vrbama. Mnogi ga danas glorifikuju i forsiraju njegove priče kao dobre, uticajne i fascinantne, a njegov odnos sa prirodom ocenjuju veličanstvenim. Ono što vam niko neće reći o Blekvudu je gorka istina da je reč o čoveku koji će uzeti relativno dobru ideju i iz nje izleći kolosalno smeće od priče, kakva je naslovna novela ove knjige. I to nije prvi put da se to Blekvudu događa - imali smo ovakve situacije i u druge dve zbirke koje je izdalo Orfelin izdavaštvo (Vrbe i Drevna svetla). Isticanje šume kao zloćka koji vreba jeste kreativno i moguće je tu ideju i realizovati (sa Vrbama i Vendigom mu je itekako uspelo). Ovde, kao i u Drevnim svetlima - nikako. Što pokazuje samo kakav je razmaženi mamin sisić bio Blekvud i kolikom hiperprodukcijom se sam sebi ukakio u spisateljsku karijeru. Sedamdeset strana naslovne novele ne samo da je nepotrebno, već je i ultimativno idiotsko defeciranje po papiru koje, da parafraziram čika Bobana, ne može da uplaši ni malu decu pred spavanje. Ostrvo duhova je tipična dosadna urođenička Blekvud priča (nešto kao Vuk koji trči za sirotinju) na koju ne treba trošiti reči jer je kratka (i slatka kao šećerna bolest). Vukovi božji jeste nimalo suptilno povraćanje Blekvuda po papiru i povratak u kantu za smeće, nakon kratkog predaha sa Potajnim obožavanjem o kome će kasnije biti reči. Priča započinje odveć dosadno (stoti put koristim ovu reč, ali nema drugog opisa), monotono i tipično. Onda evoluira u kukumavku brata nad sudbinom brata i iščuđavanje njegovim životnim izborima do te mere da čoveku dođe da mu vikne u lice GET A LIFE. Jerbo šta je više seksi od KUKU LELE MENE BRATE MOJ. Mislim da čak ni kod Ivana Jefremova nisam upoznao dosadnijeg lika od Toma (kme, kme, moj brat, kme, kme, prebiću te što si ga vređo, kme, kme, žute ću ti zube izbit, kme, kme, mrzim te, nemoj mi batu diLat, sać te puknem u vugla). A za to vreme bato se samo plaši da u blizini motorni testerići ne izvrndlaju neko drvo da ga rebne po čelenku, jerbo vukovi božji će ga poždrat zbog grijehova. Tema "urođeničke sankcije", naročito smrću, je nešto što je ovaj čovek toliko eksploatisao da bi mu trebalo dodeliti Noblesovu nagradu za rudarenje u blatnoj laguni.
Da nije sve najcrnje potvrđuju dve priče koje su izvan teme "ĆE IZGINEMO, DRVA ĆE NE POBIJU". Potajno obožavanje ne razumem šta radi u ovoj zbirci iz dva razloga: prvo, priča uopšte nije u vezi sa prirodom i drugo, priča odudara od tipične Blekvud smeće priče kakve zaokupljaju većinu ove zbirke. Priča je pitka, bez veštačkog prolongiranja radnje i kao ćuskija smotanog smandrljavanja do kraja tipičnog za ovog seljobera. Ne nešto preterano kreativno, kraj se anticipira već u prvoj polovini priče, ima ponekih rupa u priči tu i tamo, ali je bilo zabavno čitati i zaradovati se prvi put nečemu još od Vrba. Preporod lorda Ernija počinje dosadnjikavo, ali do sredine izrasta u grandioznu priču, uporedivu sa Vrbama i Vendigom, da bi ponovo Blekvud u svom stilu upropastio kraj svojim smandrljavanjem bezveze. U priči postoji fever dream ples scena nalik na scene iz Išigurovog "Neutešni" i Krasnahorkaijevog "Satantango", što je fenomenalno, ali i nije, jer je Blekvud smrčkajući kraj tokom tog fever dreama opalio šamarčinu čitaocu da mu još zvoni uvo.
Na stranu sama sadržina, Orfelin je uradio užasan posao ovde. Stranice su izgužvane prilikom štampe, a lektura i korektura su takve da bi se i Boban Knežević postideo možda da objavi ovako. Doduše, nije da nisam navikao, jer više od polovine Orfelinovih knjiga su mi defektne, ali se po tom pitanju svi oglašavaju nenadležnim. U svakom slučaju stvarno ne mogu da prokljuvim razlog ovolike fascinacije Blekvudom osim fiksacije urednika edicije na prirodnjački horor kojim i svoja potonja etno horor dela dosoljava.
Obećali su iz Orfelina još neke urbane priče, i nadam se da više nema ničega čime će da nas ubijaju u pojam od ovog notornog dosadnjakovića. Ukratko - trebalo je Blekvudove najbolje priče zbiti u jednu zbirku, eventualno dve (jer ne znam šta još ima), a ne glupim pričama naguravati što više stranica kako bi se, i ovako nedovoljno bitan pisac, izmuzao do krajnjih granica.
Čovek koga je drveće volelo - 2,0⭐
Ostrvo duhova - 2,9⭐
Potajno obožavanje - 4,1⭐
Vukovi božji - 2,6⭐
Preporod lorda Ernija - 4,0⭐
Opšti utisak: 3⭐
Da nije sve najcrnje potvrđuju dve priče koje su izvan teme "ĆE IZGINEMO, DRVA ĆE NE POBIJU". Potajno obožavanje ne razumem šta radi u ovoj zbirci iz dva razloga: prvo, priča uopšte nije u vezi sa prirodom i drugo, priča odudara od tipične Blekvud smeće priče kakve zaokupljaju većinu ove zbirke. Priča je pitka, bez veštačkog prolongiranja radnje i kao ćuskija smotanog smandrljavanja do kraja tipičnog za ovog seljobera. Ne nešto preterano kreativno, kraj se anticipira već u prvoj polovini priče, ima ponekih rupa u priči tu i tamo, ali je bilo zabavno čitati i zaradovati se prvi put nečemu još od Vrba. Preporod lorda Ernija počinje dosadnjikavo, ali do sredine izrasta u grandioznu priču, uporedivu sa Vrbama i Vendigom, da bi ponovo Blekvud u svom stilu upropastio kraj svojim smandrljavanjem bezveze. U priči postoji fever dream ples scena nalik na scene iz Išigurovog "Neutešni" i Krasnahorkaijevog "Satantango", što je fenomenalno, ali i nije, jer je Blekvud smrčkajući kraj tokom tog fever dreama opalio šamarčinu čitaocu da mu još zvoni uvo.
Na stranu sama sadržina, Orfelin je uradio užasan posao ovde. Stranice su izgužvane prilikom štampe, a lektura i korektura su takve da bi se i Boban Knežević postideo možda da objavi ovako. Doduše, nije da nisam navikao, jer više od polovine Orfelinovih knjiga su mi defektne, ali se po tom pitanju svi oglašavaju nenadležnim. U svakom slučaju stvarno ne mogu da prokljuvim razlog ovolike fascinacije Blekvudom osim fiksacije urednika edicije na prirodnjački horor kojim i svoja potonja etno horor dela dosoljava.
Obećali su iz Orfelina još neke urbane priče, i nadam se da više nema ničega čime će da nas ubijaju u pojam od ovog notornog dosadnjakovića. Ukratko - trebalo je Blekvudove najbolje priče zbiti u jednu zbirku, eventualno dve (jer ne znam šta još ima), a ne glupim pričama naguravati što više stranica kako bi se, i ovako nedovoljno bitan pisac, izmuzao do krajnjih granica.
Čovek koga je drveće volelo - 2,0⭐
Ostrvo duhova - 2,9⭐
Potajno obožavanje - 4,1⭐
Vukovi božji - 2,6⭐
Preporod lorda Ernija - 4,0⭐
Opšti utisak: 3⭐
October 30, 2012
This author does atmosphere eeriness and melancholy well. This story is an example of some of his splendid works. Blackwood is a master word user and writes with wonderful prose.
There is one painter who has an obsession with the plant world, trees in particular. He loves them more than just artistically.
Does there exist in plants a faint copy of what we know as consciousness in ourselves?
It seems that he the husband Mr Bittacy the painter of trees an artist does believe so.
His wife the main protagonist is at her wits end she is a woman of God and is loosing her husband to the forest and his love of it and it's love of him. You feel the wifes love and battle for her husband and this really turns the story into a sad and touching story.
There is one painter who has an obsession with the plant world, trees in particular. He loves them more than just artistically.
Does there exist in plants a faint copy of what we know as consciousness in ourselves?
It seems that he the husband Mr Bittacy the painter of trees an artist does believe so.
His wife the main protagonist is at her wits end she is a woman of God and is loosing her husband to the forest and his love of it and it's love of him. You feel the wifes love and battle for her husband and this really turns the story into a sad and touching story.
"Mrs Bittacy had balance, sanity, and a fine deep faith. She was greater than she knew. Her love for her husband and her God were somehow one, an achievement only possible to a single hearted nobility of soul."
"She never lost knowledge of the fact that the leagues of Forest lay about their cottage like a mighty wall, a crowding, watching, listening presence that shut them in from freedom and escape."
"It was growing the thought startled her horribly just as a tree grows, the outer evidence from day to day so slight as to be unnoticeable, yet the rising tide so deep and irresistible. The alteration spread all through and over him, was in both mind and actions, sometimes almost in his face as well. Occasionally, thus, it stood up straight outside himself and frightened her. His life was somehow becoming linked so intimately with trees, and with all that trees signified. His interests became more and more their interests, his activity combined with theirs, his thoughts and feelings theirs, his purpose, hope, desire, his fate-
His fate! The darkness of some vague, enormous terror dropped its shadow on her when she thought of it. Some instinct in her heart she dreaded infinitely more than death for death meant sweet translation for his soul came gradually to associate the thought of him with the thought of trees, in particular with these Forest trees. Sometimes, before she could face the thing, argue it away, or pray it into silence, she found the thought of him running swiftly through her mind like a thought of the Forest itself, the two most intimately linked and joined together, each a part and complement of the other, one being."
September 19, 2020
لو كنتم من محبي روايات الرعب والغموض وجو الاشباح والأشياء الخارقة للطبيعة فهذه الرواية لكم، هي عن رجل يحب الطبيعة والأشجار وزوجته المتدينة يعيشون حياة هادئة رتيبة في بيت يقع على طرف غابة في الريف الإنجليزي، كان كل شيء على مايرام حتى أتى رسام متخصص فقط في رسم الأشجار ولا شيء غير الأشجار، وبمجرد دخوله في حياة الزوجين حتى تبدأ أحداث خارقة للعادة في الظهور.. رواية جميلة وفي نفس الوقت سعرها رخيص جدا.
A great gothic horror supernatural novel, the original title of it is: The Man Whom the Trees Loved. Highly recommended.
A great gothic horror supernatural novel, the original title of it is: The Man Whom the Trees Loved. Highly recommended.
October 28, 2024
عندما يتحول الحب إلى هوس ..
هوس بالدين ، أو هوس بالحياة!
صوفيا امرأة متزوجة مؤمنة ومتدينة حد الهوس ، الهوس الذي يجعلها تلغي عقلها وتأخذ الإنجيل كما تقرأه دون وعي دون تفكير دون فهم..
لا تؤمن بآي شئ غير مكتوب في الإنجيل.
على عكس زوجها داڤيد المهووس بالأشجار ، الهوس الذي جعله يترك كل شئ من أجلها ويتوهم أنها تحدثه وانها تريده أن يمتزج بها وذعر زوجته من هوسه لدرجة أنها أصبحت تسمع حفيف الاشجار وتترجم همساتها على انها تحدثها ايضًا وأنها تكرهها وتريدها أن تتخلى عن زوجها من أجلهم..
وساندروس محب الأشجار ومولع برسمها لدرجة أنك تشعر بأن الأشجار تتنفس وتتحرك بداخل لوحاته ويعتبر كرامة الأشجار ورسمها من كرامته الخاصة.
رواية رائعة ومليئة بغموض من نوع غير معتاد وهو أكثر ما أحببته فيها.
قد يختلف معناها الرمزي من شخص للآخر ولكن أعتقد من وجهة نظري أنها ترمز للهوس بشكل عام سواء بالدنيا أو الدين.
هوس بالدين ، أو هوس بالحياة!
صوفيا امرأة متزوجة مؤمنة ومتدينة حد الهوس ، الهوس الذي يجعلها تلغي عقلها وتأخذ الإنجيل كما تقرأه دون وعي دون تفكير دون فهم..
لا تؤمن بآي شئ غير مكتوب في الإنجيل.
على عكس زوجها داڤيد المهووس بالأشجار ، الهوس الذي جعله يترك كل شئ من أجلها ويتوهم أنها تحدثه وانها تريده أن يمتزج بها وذعر زوجته من هوسه لدرجة أنها أصبحت تسمع حفيف الاشجار وتترجم همساتها على انها تحدثها ايضًا وأنها تكرهها وتريدها أن تتخلى عن زوجها من أجلهم..
وساندروس محب الأشجار ومولع برسمها لدرجة أنك تشعر بأن الأشجار تتنفس وتتحرك بداخل لوحاته ويعتبر كرامة الأشجار ورسمها من كرامته الخاصة.
رواية رائعة ومليئة بغموض من نوع غير معتاد وهو أكثر ما أحببته فيها.
قد يختلف معناها الرمزي من شخص للآخر ولكن أعتقد من وجهة نظري أنها ترمز للهوس بشكل عام سواء بالدنيا أو الدين.
October 15, 2014
This story was first published in 1912, over 40 years before Tolkien described to us the lively trees of The Old Forest east of The Shire, or Treebeard and the Ents and Huorns of Fangorn Forest. In Algernon Blackwood's tale, an old gentleman living on the edge of The New Forest is turning treeish. His wife is helpless to prevent the change and he tries to encourage her to join him on his strange odyssey. There is a beautiful old cedar growing on their lawn between the house and the forest, that guards them from the attempted invasions of the trees, but one tree may not be enough to hold back the huge, roaring forest. He loves the trees and the trees love him. It will take more than one elderly lady and one guardian cedar to keep them apart.
Blackwood is one of my favourite author's of strange and supernatural tales and I enjoy his writing style in particular. For descriptions of wild nature, he has no close rival in my opinion. If you have not read any of this author's work before, I recommend that you try "The Complete John Silence Stories" which is a reasonably priced collection of Algernon Blackwood's short stories, available from Amazon (at the time of writing this review). You could also try the "Best Ghost Stories" - you might strike lucky, however, I have ordered that book several times only to receive emails after a few months, expressing regret that it cannot be supplied. Perhaps if enough people order it, the suppliers might wake up and print some more.
Blackwood is one of my favourite author's of strange and supernatural tales and I enjoy his writing style in particular. For descriptions of wild nature, he has no close rival in my opinion. If you have not read any of this author's work before, I recommend that you try "The Complete John Silence Stories" which is a reasonably priced collection of Algernon Blackwood's short stories, available from Amazon (at the time of writing this review). You could also try the "Best Ghost Stories" - you might strike lucky, however, I have ordered that book several times only to receive emails after a few months, expressing regret that it cannot be supplied. Perhaps if enough people order it, the suppliers might wake up and print some more.
May 21, 2013
One of those that you don't realize is as frightening as it is... until you walk outside and the trees are making noises.
April 18, 2022
قصة في منتهى الغرابة والسحر والحزن والرقة والرعب.
August 21, 2023
I thought this was going to be light and campy... it ended up being a tearjerker and deeply psychological. Full review soon.
October 4, 2016
The Story Which the Trees Might Love
… because it is slow enough for them to follow it at their leisure.
Like The Wendigo, The Man Whom the Trees Loved is concerned with the unfathomed forces embodied in nature, forces that some men – and we do not know whether these are to be pitied or envied – are able to perceive and to commune with. In this story, Blackwood gives us an elderly couple, whose love seems to have taken on the form of politeness early on, living on the brink of a forest. David Bittacy has always felt a strange sympathy with trees, but since he realized very soon that his Christian wife Sophia would not be able to share his feelings about the trees, not even to understand them from his point of view, he has mainly kept silent about the topic. Their everyday life ripples along merrily until David runs into Sanderson, an artist who solely paints single trees as he shares a fascination similar to David’s. From now on, David appears to be falling more and more under the influence of the trees, his love for them becoming stronger and stronger, and they apparently loving him back. The end is as foreseeable as who will make a drunken fool of themselves at your next company party.
There really were some spine-chilling moments like that in which the Bittacys and their guest, the painter, were sitting in the living-room, near the open window, looking into the dark garden and talking … trees when suddenly there seems something strange to be going on outside. Blackwood also creates a vague sense of terror and menace with regard to the forest apparently encroaching on the little house, whose only guardian is a single cedar (as Sanderson explains). All in all, however, the story is drawn out too long to maintain its darkly evocative power, and the author’s choice of an omniscient perspective adds to the impression that the story is flawed because we as readers are caught between two stools: Should we sympathize with Mrs. Bittacy, who fears to lose her husband, whom she loves so much, or should we pity Mr. Bittacy for not receiving more understanding from his wife? Maybe we should both, but then we are already struggling hard to keep awake over the umpteenth repetition of a tree metaphor or an idea that has already been expressed before.
And then, is it maybe all about Hawthorne? – as the following passage might suggest:
”They talked trees from morning till night [I already mentioned that they talk trees quite a lot in this story, which, for some reason, reminded me of the typical noise a saw makes when eating itself through a log, T.S.] It stirred in her the old subconscious trail of dread, a trail that led ever into the darkness of big woods; and such feelings, as her early evangelical training taught her, were tempting. To regard them in any other way was to play with danger.”
Does it all boil down to what a narrow-minded bigot Blackwood considered Mrs. Bittacy to be? That would be a pity because why did he bark up so many additional trees then, making this story unnecessarily lengthy?
… because it is slow enough for them to follow it at their leisure.
Like The Wendigo, The Man Whom the Trees Loved is concerned with the unfathomed forces embodied in nature, forces that some men – and we do not know whether these are to be pitied or envied – are able to perceive and to commune with. In this story, Blackwood gives us an elderly couple, whose love seems to have taken on the form of politeness early on, living on the brink of a forest. David Bittacy has always felt a strange sympathy with trees, but since he realized very soon that his Christian wife Sophia would not be able to share his feelings about the trees, not even to understand them from his point of view, he has mainly kept silent about the topic. Their everyday life ripples along merrily until David runs into Sanderson, an artist who solely paints single trees as he shares a fascination similar to David’s. From now on, David appears to be falling more and more under the influence of the trees, his love for them becoming stronger and stronger, and they apparently loving him back. The end is as foreseeable as who will make a drunken fool of themselves at your next company party.
There really were some spine-chilling moments like that in which the Bittacys and their guest, the painter, were sitting in the living-room, near the open window, looking into the dark garden and talking … trees when suddenly there seems something strange to be going on outside. Blackwood also creates a vague sense of terror and menace with regard to the forest apparently encroaching on the little house, whose only guardian is a single cedar (as Sanderson explains). All in all, however, the story is drawn out too long to maintain its darkly evocative power, and the author’s choice of an omniscient perspective adds to the impression that the story is flawed because we as readers are caught between two stools: Should we sympathize with Mrs. Bittacy, who fears to lose her husband, whom she loves so much, or should we pity Mr. Bittacy for not receiving more understanding from his wife? Maybe we should both, but then we are already struggling hard to keep awake over the umpteenth repetition of a tree metaphor or an idea that has already been expressed before.
And then, is it maybe all about Hawthorne? – as the following passage might suggest:
”They talked trees from morning till night [I already mentioned that they talk trees quite a lot in this story, which, for some reason, reminded me of the typical noise a saw makes when eating itself through a log, T.S.] It stirred in her the old subconscious trail of dread, a trail that led ever into the darkness of big woods; and such feelings, as her early evangelical training taught her, were tempting. To regard them in any other way was to play with danger.”
Does it all boil down to what a narrow-minded bigot Blackwood considered Mrs. Bittacy to be? That would be a pity because why did he bark up so many additional trees then, making this story unnecessarily lengthy?
November 22, 2025
My thoughts on The Man Whom The Trees Loved by Algernon Blackwood::::::
Our main character is obsessed with trees. His wife was raised an evangelical Christian. She's not as religious as her family but she still holds on to the tenets of their belief system. She thinks her husband is a bit strange but she loves him. She tolerates his non-comformist tendencies. They both live in a rural town occupying a small house surrounded by a lush forest.
Our main character encounters an artist that paints portraits of trees. Most of the portraits are commissioned by the owners of the trees. These works have an aspect imbued into them that mystifies our main character. He seeks out this artist in order to find out more about the artist and how he creates such beautiful work.
The artist comes to stay with our main character and his wife for a few days. His wife thinks the artist is a weirdo. The artist speaks of nature as if it had consciousness. The artist has long hair and dresses like a hippie from the 1960s.
The two men hang out in the woods for many hours. They talk about how beautiful and majestic nature is. The wife thinks that nature is to be dominated. That it is evil and out to kill everyone. She doesn't care for the artist and wishes he would leave.
The artist eventually leaves but the husband is changed by their meeting. He begins going out into the woods for most of the day. He comes back looking like a person newly in love.
She doesn't like it.
She gets very jealous. One day she goes out into the woods to look for him. She encounters a force that is pure evil. That force is her mangled and distorted imagination. She thinks the trees are out to get her, that they love her husband and wish that she would go away forever. She hears the wind call his name. She's sure the forest wants to steal him from her.
She eventually sees her husband but he doesn't see her. He's lost in a haze of sublime beatitude. She runs back to their house and thinks she's lost the love of her life forever.
He returns and they discuss the issue. He convinces her that his new found faith in nature is not evil. That his adoration of trees is not him being possessed by anything demonic. That God in fact is in everything. This comforts her. She begins to except that her husband is now a wizard.
You may be asking why I just spoiled this entire short story. I did it because no matter how much I tell you about this perfect and utterly beautiful story, there's no way to spoil it. You have to read it. The prose is some of the best I'll ever read. Algernon was one of the greatest and most underrated writers to ever exist. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite writers of all time.
Our main character is obsessed with trees. His wife was raised an evangelical Christian. She's not as religious as her family but she still holds on to the tenets of their belief system. She thinks her husband is a bit strange but she loves him. She tolerates his non-comformist tendencies. They both live in a rural town occupying a small house surrounded by a lush forest.
Our main character encounters an artist that paints portraits of trees. Most of the portraits are commissioned by the owners of the trees. These works have an aspect imbued into them that mystifies our main character. He seeks out this artist in order to find out more about the artist and how he creates such beautiful work.
The artist comes to stay with our main character and his wife for a few days. His wife thinks the artist is a weirdo. The artist speaks of nature as if it had consciousness. The artist has long hair and dresses like a hippie from the 1960s.
The two men hang out in the woods for many hours. They talk about how beautiful and majestic nature is. The wife thinks that nature is to be dominated. That it is evil and out to kill everyone. She doesn't care for the artist and wishes he would leave.
The artist eventually leaves but the husband is changed by their meeting. He begins going out into the woods for most of the day. He comes back looking like a person newly in love.
She doesn't like it.
She gets very jealous. One day she goes out into the woods to look for him. She encounters a force that is pure evil. That force is her mangled and distorted imagination. She thinks the trees are out to get her, that they love her husband and wish that she would go away forever. She hears the wind call his name. She's sure the forest wants to steal him from her.
She eventually sees her husband but he doesn't see her. He's lost in a haze of sublime beatitude. She runs back to their house and thinks she's lost the love of her life forever.
He returns and they discuss the issue. He convinces her that his new found faith in nature is not evil. That his adoration of trees is not him being possessed by anything demonic. That God in fact is in everything. This comforts her. She begins to except that her husband is now a wizard.
You may be asking why I just spoiled this entire short story. I did it because no matter how much I tell you about this perfect and utterly beautiful story, there's no way to spoil it. You have to read it. The prose is some of the best I'll ever read. Algernon was one of the greatest and most underrated writers to ever exist. He's quickly becoming one of my favorite writers of all time.
May 15, 2021
اول مره احس برعب من الطبيعة بسبب هذا الكتاب..
November 20, 2015
T.S. Eliot once said that he would show us "fear in a handful of dust." Blackwood, it seems, was trying to show us fear in a forest of trees. It could have worked, I guess. Tolkien's Mirkwood forest gave me the creeps. The Black Forest of German fairytales has often given me the willies, but here something fell flat. If a tree falls in the forest when no one is around does anyone care?
Perhaps it started with title. It sounds more like a bad Hallmark film than a scary tale. I mean The Willows was not a very creepy title either, but at least it was short enough and didn't have the word "Loved" in it. Picky? Maybe but the title also points to another flaw in the book--it points to characters as the main focus (the man at least), but the characters' lack of depth made it difficult for me to continue reading.
This novella is centered on a older couple (though their age wasn't specified until I was pretty deep into the story and had imagined them as a young couple), Mr. and Mrs. Bittacy. And what do we learn about these folks? The woman is a staunch and ultra-religious Christian and the man is obsessed with trees. The worst part is that this isn't like other tales where a person or couple fall apart. Those stories often start off making you care about the couple--if they are written well--so that a large part of the fear is that these people's lives are going to be destroyed. But Blackwood gave me very little to work with in term of characters. I must confess that I couldn't find any characters to really like.
Blackwood definitely had a way with writing landscape. He paints the forests of trees with words like Bob Ross did with his brush. However, Blackwood seemed bent on convincing the reader that the trees represented ancient pre-Christian pagan beliefs without really showing us how this is so. It came off didactic rather than descriptive. Show don't tell has long been the English teacher's motto. Well, I was begging to be shown just why the trees were so sinister. He did a great job in the Willows. Stephen King did an excellent job in Pet Sematary. But, here, Blackwood just seemed bent on making his female lead character (Mrs. Bittacy) look like an old prude who simply needed to give up her old fashion religion and come around to an even older one.
All in all, the plot was all about her character resigning herself to the fact that her husband loved his trees more than her and that the world didn't fit into the tight little categories she originally thought it did. Even this could have been done well, I guess, but, alas, it wasn't all that engaging. On the fear factor I give it one star. I know one thing--rather than keep me up at night--this book often had me sawing logs. Don't go barking up this tree unless you want to leaf disappointed.
Perhaps it started with title. It sounds more like a bad Hallmark film than a scary tale. I mean The Willows was not a very creepy title either, but at least it was short enough and didn't have the word "Loved" in it. Picky? Maybe but the title also points to another flaw in the book--it points to characters as the main focus (the man at least), but the characters' lack of depth made it difficult for me to continue reading.
This novella is centered on a older couple (though their age wasn't specified until I was pretty deep into the story and had imagined them as a young couple), Mr. and Mrs. Bittacy. And what do we learn about these folks? The woman is a staunch and ultra-religious Christian and the man is obsessed with trees. The worst part is that this isn't like other tales where a person or couple fall apart. Those stories often start off making you care about the couple--if they are written well--so that a large part of the fear is that these people's lives are going to be destroyed. But Blackwood gave me very little to work with in term of characters. I must confess that I couldn't find any characters to really like.
Blackwood definitely had a way with writing landscape. He paints the forests of trees with words like Bob Ross did with his brush. However, Blackwood seemed bent on convincing the reader that the trees represented ancient pre-Christian pagan beliefs without really showing us how this is so. It came off didactic rather than descriptive. Show don't tell has long been the English teacher's motto. Well, I was begging to be shown just why the trees were so sinister. He did a great job in the Willows. Stephen King did an excellent job in Pet Sematary. But, here, Blackwood just seemed bent on making his female lead character (Mrs. Bittacy) look like an old prude who simply needed to give up her old fashion religion and come around to an even older one.
All in all, the plot was all about her character resigning herself to the fact that her husband loved his trees more than her and that the world didn't fit into the tight little categories she originally thought it did. Even this could have been done well, I guess, but, alas, it wasn't all that engaging. On the fear factor I give it one star. I know one thing--rather than keep me up at night--this book often had me sawing logs. Don't go barking up this tree unless you want to leaf disappointed.
March 27, 2019
A masterpiece of horror. I've never read a book more successful at sustaining such an atmosphere of menace and gradually building dread. Describing the plot, which could be ultimately reduced to “evil trees”, makes it sound like a comedy. But the best horror comes not from making something alien and horrible, but taking the familiar and comfortable and transforming it into the alien and horrible. Writing that kind of horror is a near impossible task. If you break the readers immersion for an instant they’ll be able to take a step back from the story and say “Wait, cars/buildings/trees are evil? This is ridiculous!” and the formerly scary becomes funny. But Blackwood easily avoids that fate. Early on he brilliantly captures the subtle anxiety one gets being in the woods at night and from there he slowly builds upon and expands that feeling until trees truly seem sinister and terrifying.
October 29, 2012
Algernon Blackwood explores so many topics that are usually found in occult textbooks - it is very rare to see ceremonial magick and metaphysical topics presented in novel format. I am completely addicted to Blackwood's novels and stories ;)
This book is based on the premise that nature is more powerful than man. The trees/forest lure a man to join them, to become one with them, to become them. Of course, the man's wife is scared of the trees, and frightened of the outcome ... this could be taken literally, or seen as an analogy of a spiritual person who wants to evolve vs a 'normal' person who is more concerned with the material matters of our world.
Breathtaking!
This book is based on the premise that nature is more powerful than man. The trees/forest lure a man to join them, to become one with them, to become them. Of course, the man's wife is scared of the trees, and frightened of the outcome ... this could be taken literally, or seen as an analogy of a spiritual person who wants to evolve vs a 'normal' person who is more concerned with the material matters of our world.
Breathtaking!
January 10, 2012
I am a person who enjoys nature and would think I have a certain connexion to the those of the vegetable kingdom, however, I never before fathomed the intimacies one would have with trees until I read this novel. The beauty of the book is how they touched on the fallacies of religion, with the beliefs of Mrs Bittacy contrasting to her husband's love for the forest, and the obviously amorous feelings that they had for him. Her faith in God did not seem to protect her from their jealous actions, and alone she stayed losing her husband to the will of the trees. Excellent read.
January 29, 2021
رواية كابوس
ثقيلة فلسفية
ما ورائية فكرة مجنونة بترجمة ممتازة
للمزيد من التفاصيل
مراجعة مرئية للعمل
#كوكب_الكتب
https://youtu.be/rkV-cfGMdtU
ثقيلة فلسفية
ما ورائية فكرة مجنونة بترجمة ممتازة
للمزيد من التفاصيل
مراجعة مرئية للعمل
#كوكب_الكتب
https://youtu.be/rkV-cfGMdtU
September 3, 2023
ilginç bir zihin, çıkarımlar tek kişi üzerinden olduğu için tekdüze kalsa da bakış açıları ilginçti...
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