Carol is twelve years old and is moving into her grandfather's ranch home along with her father, mother, sister and baby brother. The setting is in the middle of a New Mexico desert on a sheep farm. The grandfather has beginning dementia and the family is getting his ranch ready for sale and planning on moving him into a home for seniors with this condition. The grandfather's relationship with his son is estranged and so Carol doesn't know Grandpa Serge very well.
As the summer continues, Carol gets to listen to her Grandfather's stories about a tree that used to live in their village by a lake and how it gave the gift of immortality. He tells this story as though it has happened to him. The realistic story starts to collide with this mystical story and you are drawn into a story of fantasy and magic about a beautiful tree that once was a tree of everlasting life for all who lived near it. Of course you also wonder if his dementia has just progressed and the stories are just creations.
I like mystical realism but this book was a tough one for me. I was too vested in the realistic portion of the story to let the mystical/fantastic part be possible. I think I would have liked this story better without having the magic. I loved the family story and dealing with dementia in and older person. I think it was a good book but not my favorite.
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