Part I (Peace): Chapter 06

The Tree of Heaven

by May SINCLAIR (1863 - 1946)

One of the most heart-breaking of all World War I novels, this family epic was written in the midst of the War itself, and shows the intense emotion generated in ordinary lives by that tragedy. May Sinclair astonishingly weaves multiple themes into her narrative, seamlessly drawing from the great movements of her day: suffrage, sexual liberation, artistic revolt, war, and pacifism. Her most powerful metaphor throughout the novel is that of the Vortex: the dangerously irresistible force of human masses, how to resist it and (much more difficult) how to participate in it without losing one’s individual autonomy. - Summary by Expatriate

Listen next episodes of The Tree of Heaven:
Part I (Peace): Chapter 07 , Part I (Peace): Chapter 08 , Part I (Peace): Chapter 09 , Part I (Peace): Chapter 10 , Part II (The Vortex): Chapter 11 , Part II (The Vortex): Chapter 12 , Part II (The Vortex): Chapter 13 , Part II (The Vortex): Chapter 14 , Part II (The Vortex): Chapter 15 , Part II (The Vortex): Chapter 16 , Part II (The Vortex): Chapter 17 , Part III (Victory): Chapter 18 , Part III (Victory): Chapter 19 , Part III (Victory): Chapter 20 , Part III (Victory): Chapter 21 , Part III (Victory): Chapter 22 , Part III (Victory): Chapter 23 , Part III (Victory): Chapter 24 , Part III (Victory): Chapter 25