Why Willows Weep
edited by Tracy Chevalier
Why Willows Weep is a collection of nineteen short stories written by well-known contemporary British authors (an impressive list, as you can see on the cover above!). They are all fables, explaining some of the mysteries surrounding our trees. For example, why are crab apples sour, why are lime trees sticky, and why does the horse chestnut bear white candles?
All the trees are native to the UK, and for every book sold, the Woodland Trust (the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity) will plant five native trees.
The book is magical, with a few of the stories really standing out above the others. Yet all are enjoyable. Each story is only a few pages long, and they are all linked by their style – brief and poignant. The simplicity is a gift. There is some beautiful language in there!
Some of my favourites were most definitely “Why Willows Weep”, written by Sally Vickers, “How the Blackthorn Got Its Flowers” by Susan Elderkin, and “How the Oak Tree Came to Life” by Maggie O’Farrell.
If you love words and trees, this will appeal to you… A moving, peaceful and charming read for a rainy Sunday afternoon!
I’ve mentioned before I border on adult ADD lol! I seldom read anything that takes more than 5 minutes. But this is something I can make time for, snipits of stories and information, my style!
I read this book in a couple of hours, but you could easily take one story a day!
That sounds like a lovely book indeed…and perfect for reading on a cold winter night.
Hi Robin! It’s an easy and comforting read!
This is just the sort of book I love and love to have on my bookshelf. What a beautiful idea! xx
It is nicely bound as a hardback too!
Guess where the next clicks on the computer will go?
Glad I could recommend something for you Eha!
That sounds like a good book someone could read in it’s entirety or just leaf through..haha. Really, I love trees and books…perhaps it will show up in the States.
Love your humour! Yes, it’s a lovely book just to glance at now and then.
I do appreciate a book review, I am very out of touch here. Sounds a lovely book.
It must have been out a year or so before I discovered it…. by chance. Amazon recommended it to me while I was looking for something else, but I think I read about it on another blog somewhere too… I don’t know where I’d be without amazon – our nearest bookshop only has a handful of paperbacks in English.
Sounds interesting. I love books about trees.
I think you’d like this Uta.
I ordered it
Great! Enjoy reading it!
I see some of my favorite authors in that list…Hope it’s on the US Amazon, too!
I just looked, and it is on Amazon.com too… about the same price as well.
Thank you for the recommendation – I have seen it before, but I will order a copy.
Hope you enjoy the read!
Your book review is appealing to me. I like reading short stories better than long-winded
novels – and I love nature…
Yes, it’s an easy, but pleasurable read, as each story is very short.
This book does sounds lovely. Or, as you say – magical. It has just made my ‘must get’ list!
Great – hope you’ll be able to enjoy it soon!
Cathy what a delightful idea for a book…I love fables and the cost goes to a good cause.
That is a great point in its favour, and somehow made the reading more pleasurable!
I will have to check this out you know how I fight for my beat up nasty looking WILLOW
Oh yes!
When I saw your books to read I instantly picked this one out so I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I’m going to get hold of a copy so thank you for the review!
Hope you enjoy it!
A lovely book Cathy which I’ve mentioned on my blog a couple of times. I bought it after listening to William Fiennes reading ‘Why The Ash Has Black Buds’ on the radio. The illustrations were not too my taste but other than that a great little volume of short stories.
I knew I had read about it somewhere! Thanks for the recommendation – loved it!