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The Teacher and the Tree Man
Paul Lucas is a family man with a job he’s good at and a house in an area he loves, so why is he often so frustrated? By the world out there, of course!
The non-stop, ever-encroaching techno-sphere, with its 24/7 “news” channels of disinformation, its increasingly rule-heavy bureaucracies, its worship of and dedication to those green pieces of paper we call money, and most of all, it’s continuing destruction of the good things in Nature, community, free time, fun times!, relationships, and so much more.
So he often spends time in an old-growth forest behind his house to blow off steam, relax and absorb the wisdom that Nature seems to imbue him with. But one day, Nature has a surprise for a man’s head living in the side of a tree. A Tree Man, if you will.
What the heck is this thing? Who is it? Where did it come from? Has it always been here? Is it even real?
These questions and more continually distract Lucas from his everyday life, a life that is offering up new challenges at the elementary school he works at, with his marriage of five years and with his on-and-off again relationship with drugs that his society condemns. How to manage all of this and figure out what the meaning is of finding a man’s head living in the side of a tree near his house? It’s all too much!
“The Teacher and the Tree Man” is a modern epic fable about life in the United States at the start of the new millenium. Fifteen years in the making, the novel explores many of the deepest issues our culture must deal its increasingly bellicose political scene; its struggles with war; its confusion about drugs, legal and non, and how they should or shouldn’t be used; its ability to educate students without needing to control them, especially those students deemed abnormal; its sense of disconnection as we absorb ourselves in the media-saturated landscape while keeping ourselves too busy in the real world to have time to reflect; and, most of all, its misunderstanding of and war against Nature and the very real impacts this has not only on human life, but on the lives of all things on this planet.
It’s not an easy ride, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun one! For what is life if you can’t have fun some of the time? So join the Teacher, Paul Lucas and his odd, yet wise friend the Tree Man, as they wrestle with these issues all while trying to get their groove on!
The non-stop, ever-encroaching techno-sphere, with its 24/7 “news” channels of disinformation, its increasingly rule-heavy bureaucracies, its worship of and dedication to those green pieces of paper we call money, and most of all, it’s continuing destruction of the good things in Nature, community, free time, fun times!, relationships, and so much more.
So he often spends time in an old-growth forest behind his house to blow off steam, relax and absorb the wisdom that Nature seems to imbue him with. But one day, Nature has a surprise for a man’s head living in the side of a tree. A Tree Man, if you will.
What the heck is this thing? Who is it? Where did it come from? Has it always been here? Is it even real?
These questions and more continually distract Lucas from his everyday life, a life that is offering up new challenges at the elementary school he works at, with his marriage of five years and with his on-and-off again relationship with drugs that his society condemns. How to manage all of this and figure out what the meaning is of finding a man’s head living in the side of a tree near his house? It’s all too much!
“The Teacher and the Tree Man” is a modern epic fable about life in the United States at the start of the new millenium. Fifteen years in the making, the novel explores many of the deepest issues our culture must deal its increasingly bellicose political scene; its struggles with war; its confusion about drugs, legal and non, and how they should or shouldn’t be used; its ability to educate students without needing to control them, especially those students deemed abnormal; its sense of disconnection as we absorb ourselves in the media-saturated landscape while keeping ourselves too busy in the real world to have time to reflect; and, most of all, its misunderstanding of and war against Nature and the very real impacts this has not only on human life, but on the lives of all things on this planet.
It’s not an easy ride, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun one! For what is life if you can’t have fun some of the time? So join the Teacher, Paul Lucas and his odd, yet wise friend the Tree Man, as they wrestle with these issues all while trying to get their groove on!
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First published April 3, 2015
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December 29, 2019
You might say, "Of course he rates his own book five stars" and I understand that.
That said, I spent the last two months re-reading it closely to prepare to release an audio version on my podcast and, well, I'm VERY proud of it.
Yes, it's too long---at 226,000 words, it's about the length of 2-3 books (most novels are 75,000-100,000 words)--but it's not wordy. It reads fast because I grew up reading genre writers and I was trained as a journalist.
It's long because it covers a lot of ground, and because it took 10-plus years to write.
So... what's it about?
Well, a respected young teacher seems to have it all, but he has a sense of unease and often enters an old growth forest behind his house to unwind and ponder life. And this is how he discovers the Tree Man, who literally lives in a tree (I'll say no more, but you can find out what that means in chapter one).
The two of them have to help each other out with some sticky situations and the novel, which takes place from September 2001 to late spring 2003, also has them navigating the topsy-turvy landscape of the current events in that critical era in U.S. history.
The book is both serious and playful, grounded in reality and sprinkled with magic. Ultimately, it's a fun read that'll make you think and feel deeply. Read it...or else!
That said, I spent the last two months re-reading it closely to prepare to release an audio version on my podcast and, well, I'm VERY proud of it.
Yes, it's too long---at 226,000 words, it's about the length of 2-3 books (most novels are 75,000-100,000 words)--but it's not wordy. It reads fast because I grew up reading genre writers and I was trained as a journalist.
It's long because it covers a lot of ground, and because it took 10-plus years to write.
So... what's it about?
Well, a respected young teacher seems to have it all, but he has a sense of unease and often enters an old growth forest behind his house to unwind and ponder life. And this is how he discovers the Tree Man, who literally lives in a tree (I'll say no more, but you can find out what that means in chapter one).
The two of them have to help each other out with some sticky situations and the novel, which takes place from September 2001 to late spring 2003, also has them navigating the topsy-turvy landscape of the current events in that critical era in U.S. history.
The book is both serious and playful, grounded in reality and sprinkled with magic. Ultimately, it's a fun read that'll make you think and feel deeply. Read it...or else!
Displaying 1 of 1 review