Ivy's Tree

by Wendy Burton

Ivy’s Tree is the story of a 78 year old woman learning to navigate one of the largest cities in the world: Tokyo. With a distinct sense of place – Tokyo in the fraught economic times of 2007-08 – Ivy’s Tree is also the description of an old woman coming to terms with her relationship to her family. Summoned by her only daughter to Tokyo, Ivy is newly widowed and adjusting uneasily to life without her husband. Tokyo is a daunting city for a woman travelling alone, but more daunting is the difficult relationship between mother and daughter. Ivy has no connection with her son-in-law, a traditional Japanese salary man, and her grandsons, who do not know her.

The novel is written from Ivy’s point of view. Armed with an old guide book, and keeping her travels secret from her new family, Ivy learns to negotiate an unfamiliar culture and a complex transportation system. Ivy’s inner commentaries, some provided by her dead husband Jack, are at times poignant and at other times wryly amusing. When her travels are discovered, Ivy is essentially put under house arrest, and further estranged from her daughter.

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2020

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Ivy, but I found her fearful acceptance of the elder abuse that her daughter kept inflicting on her to be disturbing. Throughout the book, I kept wondering if Ivy would ever escape her daughter or if she would ever speak up for herself. I found the book compelling and read it in two sittings. After finishing the book, I feel like I need a therapist to help me work out my feelings from it. I love Ivy's bravery and sense of adventure, but I was disturbed by her acceptance of her daughter's treatment of her. Really disturbed.

[Amanda Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wendy Burton's debut novel, IVY'S TREE, is laugh out loud humorous and extremely poignant. The plot deals with racism, aging, grief and family issues in a most subtle and engaging manner. The central character, Ivy, is pithy, spunky, vulnerable, and entirely engaging in her honesty and lack of self-pity. Through all the challenges of cultural change she encounters in uprooting herself at an advanced age, we are with her, rooting for this extraordinarily courageous woman who never gives up, and who is able to rise above the grief of widowhood while feeling it deeply and with a wry humor.
Highly recommended!

[Mary-Anne Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing read about Ivy navigating a new city with bravery and resolve while at the same time navigating the complicated relationship with her daughter.