Deal Me In, Week 7 ~ “The Singing Tree”

Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis

“The Singing Tree” by Eric Lustbader

Card picked: Three of Clubs

From: Tales of the Impossible, ed. by David Copperfield & Janet Berliner

Review: Andy’s succsessful life is shattered when his wife Melissa is shot and killed during a random act of violence. Suddenly, his wealth and clout mean nothing to him. On the sarcastic suggestion of his wife’s attending physician, Andy leaves city life to tourist hunt elk in Montana. There, he hears his wife singing to him and undergoes a Native American ritual to seek out her spirit and be granted his wish: for everything to be as it was before.

Jeeze, David Copperfield, you sure know how to pick downer stories.

After last week’s “The Allies,” this is a much longer and more straightforward story. It’s telling is no-frills and takes no short cuts, and that’s okay. Not every story needs to be a virtuoso work. It is in many ways a much more accessible story. Pretty much everyone has the occasional desire to roll back the clock to a better time. As linear as this story is, it’s not an obvious case of “be careful what you wish for.” Andy gets a taste of having what he wants and realizing that it’s an unnatural state. And maybe in the end, his choice is rewarded.

About the Author: Eric Van Lustbader is known lately for picking up the Bourne gauntlet, writing in that series since 2004’s The Bourne Legacy. He’s also been an elementary school teacher and worked in the music business.

Is this your card?

(I think I still want to be David Copperfield when I grow up: “…I stopped inventing for a while and worked on an island that I have…”)