The Tulip Tree by Suzanne McCourt | ARC Review

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"Perhaps we only ever have one true chance at anything and the rest, if offered, is always second best.."

Review :

Loss is integral to life – from birth, we lose the safety of the womb. Often we lose our position in a family to another sibling. Change is all encompassing. We lose the three-legged races of childhood and later career-driven and consumerist ‘races’ imposed by a success-driven world. When we age, we lose our looks and our health. Ultimately, we die. Always, we are at the mercy of progress, risk and accidents; often we are victims of war.

Set in 1920, against the background of Poland’s tragic and tumultuous relationship with Russia, through war, revolution and invasion, until 1954 in the Snowy Mountains of Australia, The Tulip Tree revolves around two brothers - Henryk and Adam and their families faced with the struggle for existence.

Brothers Henryk and Adam Radecki’s relationship is fraught with love and jealously. Henryk, unhappily married to Lucia, is a clever, rich and successful industrialist, while Adam, an impulsive man, a devoted vet, married to Katarzyna, finds and loses love. Their bond is tested throughout their lives through various trials and tribulations.

A tale of love, loss, and resilience, told with compassion and wisdom, The Tulip Tree reminds us how, even after the most crushing defeat, hope can survive and renewal is possible even when family secrets threaten to tear lives apart. 

Caught up in momentous events, each character reminds us of our power to survive extraordinary times, of the moral choices we make and the dramatic turns our lives can take.

Beautifully written, full of the detail of everyday life, its joys and suffering, The Tulip Tree is engrossing historical fiction at its best, a profoundly moving story of love, sacrifice and loyalty.

The only drawback that I found is the excessively lengthy chapters which makes this book a slow read. 

Nevertheless, I would recommend this book, with its superbly drawn characters, to any reader who believes that the novel can take us on an unparalleled journey..

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