Hedge Apple

by Ronald R Van Stockum Jr

"But how do I get in?" The narrator asks himself, just as Alice did before she followed the White Rabbit. In a similar land of magical realism, Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr. sets up an escapade in "a long thicket of trees separating two sloping farm fields." We hike with Tony beyond a fallen fence with twists of old barbed wire wrapping into the tree bark of the forest perimeter. Encountering "Buddha-like" images, muscular snakes that grasp at his clothing, and rotting fruits from Hedge Apple trees, Tony ventures further into the unknown forest. The author, a biologist, environmentalist, musician, and historian, takes us into his philosophical world of surreal science. His adventurous narrator realizes that adulthood does not necessarily end the wonder of youth. If the reader wants an uplifting view of an emotional landscape, or a straight-up scientific thriller where the hero is chased by towering, glowering, gigantic monsters, it's all here in this fabulous tale. Like Walt Whitman poetry, the language is rich in meaning, allusion, alliteration, and a sly humor. Lovely and memorable.

- Mary Popham

92 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2018