The Tree of Life

Eighteen months of the life of Thomas Keene, a fictitious 19th-centurycongregational minister, is traced in this journal-like novel. Having suffered a loss of faith, Keene abandons the East for frontier life in the Ohio wilderness. His account is by turns violent, tender, and erotic. Keene is both a witness to history, describing the many ordinary and horrific details of frontier life (including the conflict between white settlers and Indians), and a man searching for personal meaning in a world without God. Like a true frontier journal, the novel includes illustrations attributed to Keene. As a foil to the main character, the historic figure John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, is portrayed as a believer who lives with self-doubt.

Hugh Nissenson is the author of seven books including My Own Ground, The Elephant and My Jewish Problem, and In the Reign of Peace. He lives in New York City.