[.ca] Puzzle Bark Tree (ISBN 0451208846)

well written but story was lacking:
The first part of this book is very fast paced and keeps you turning the pages to see what happened to Grace and Melissa's parents in the past to uncover why they committ suicide and why their lives were so empty. The secret is revealed mid~book but there really isn't more and I was alittle disappointed. Worth reading but realize you know the truth all at once and there isn't anything more to learn the rest of the book.

Good story, but nothing new here.:
This was an okay read, a good story, but no new ground in the plot. Grace is left an island that was owned by her parents after they committed suicide. No one in the family knew about this island, so its existence and the home that was there is somewhat of a mystery. This story is about Grace and her sister's quest to discover why their parents were so troubled, cold and why they lost the will to live. I liked the characters, but there was nothing original or new in this type of story. It was not compelling, but I did want to know how Grace would deal with her issues so I stuck it out to the end. Only a three star read.

Do You Read a Book for its Title?:
Stephanie Gertler's title "The Puzzle Bark Tree" is symbolism but you'll have to read far into the book to find the metaphor in a tree trunk. However, the first paragraph of her prologue sets up an immediate cut-to-the-chase, a puzzle that demands solution, exactly what we readers want. Gertler's pacing almost always races. You eagerly await the next chapter until you get to the middle of the book and, alas, the puzzle is solved. It's a letdown. You wonder why half the book remains to be read. You consider quitting, then something you never saw coming plummets, and your nose dives right back inside her book. This novel is part mystery, psychological suspense and love story, essential ingredients of the proverbial good read. Three deaths are part of the mystery but it's not a whodunit; it's not a 'how'; it's a 'why'. A married couple with grown children commit suicide on the same night. An enigmatic note, left unfinished, is found. Given the history of these two depressed and detached parents who literally turned over the raising of their two daughters to a live-in housekeeper, their tragic deaths, although not incredible, demands answers. What was the root cause that finally led them to give up? Unraveling one daughter's dreams provides answers. Since her childhood, Grace Hammond, elder sister of Melanie suffered recurring dreams of drowning. As a married woman, Grace still cannot go near the water. Eventually, she realizes, the keys unlocking buried memories lay in her dreams. Her husband, renowned heart surgeon, demands she see a psychiatrist, but not because he believes it would help her; he's got no patience for such nonsense, he shouts at her. He's very good at repairing strangers' hearts, but excels at breaking his wife's. Stephanie Gertler writes simply and easily in short chapters that glide you along page after page, then suddenly stop you with a 'wow' event you'll want to stop and digest. Of course there's a happy ending. Your ride to it is by reckless roller coaster of steep hills to climb, low valleys to cruise. At the end of the ride, you move on, embracing the future and The Puzzle Bark Tree.

Do You Read a Book for its Title?:
Stephanie Gertler's title "The Puzzle Bark Tree" is symbolism but you'll have to read far into the book to find the metaphor in a tree trunk. However, the first paragraph of her prologue sets up an immediate cut-to-the-chase, a puzzle that demands solution, exactly what we readers want. Gertler's pacing almost always races. You eagerly await the next chapter until you get to the middle of the book and, alas, the puzzle is solved. It's a letdown. You wonder why half the book remains to be read. You consider quitting, then something you never saw coming plummets, and your nose dives right back inside her book. This novel is part mystery, psychological suspense and love story, essential ingredients of the proverbial good read. Three deaths are part of the mystery but it's not a whodunit; it's not a 'how'; it's a 'why'. A married couple with grown children commit suicide on the same night. An enigmatic note, left unfinished, is found. Given the history of these two depressed and detached parents who literally turned over the raising of their two daughters to a live-in housekeeper, their tragic deaths, although not incredible, demands answers. What was the root cause that finally led them to give up? Unraveling one daughter's dreams provides answers. Since her childhood, Grace Hammond, elder sister of Melanie suffered recurring dreams of drowning. As a married woman, Grace still cannot go near the water. Eventually, she realizes, the keys unlocking buried memories lay in her dreams. Her husband, renowned heart surgeon, demands she see a psychiatrist, but not because he believes it would help her; he's got no patience for such nonsense, he shouts at her. He's very good at repairing strangers' hearts, but excels at breaking his wife's. Stephanie Gertler writes simply and easily in short chapters that glide you along page after page, then suddenly stop you with a 'wow' event you'll want to stop and digest. Of course there's a happy ending. Your ride to it is by reckless roller coaster of steep hills to climb, low valleys to cruise. At the end of the ride, you move on, embracing the future and The Puzzle Bark Tree.

A powerful novel of transformation and healing:
Since childhood, a dream has haunted Grace Hammond Barnett. Only after her parent's suicide does Grace realize that her dream is actually a repressed memory and a key to forgotten past. She and her sister Melanie had always know their parents were different than other parents -- little more than vague shadows that passed through their lives restricting music and laughter with their dark presence. Only the housekeeper Jemma filled the girl's need for fun and frivolity, for hugs and unquestionable love. The free spirited Grace grows up to marry a man as emotionally barren as her parents. Over the years, her bohemian skirts and long silver earrings cease to suit this highly respected cardiac surgeon. Ironic really, that a man who heals hearts refuses to touch the emotions of his own or another. Even with the death of Grace's parents, Adam refuses to accompany her to the scene when the call comes. But his absence leaves room for extraordinary change when Grace learns of the clues that lead to the answer of her parent's silence and the secrets that will forever redefine her life. Author Stephanie Gertler displays a dazzling skill for charting the transformations of the heart in THE PUZZLE BARK TREE. Grace's parents become a powerful presence in the novel, ironically through their absences and odd restraint. Gertler skillfully captures Grace's mother's devastated psyche with powerful imagery and gentle understanding, never excusing her withdrawal yet treating it with compassion. Indeed, the women of the novel sparkle with a shimmering passion and presence, though the men are so strongly juxtaposed as to become stereotypes. Nevertheless, Gertler's flowing narrative weaves a mesmerizing tale of sorrow, transformation and healing. Moreover, Gertler's distinctive rich voice speaks with incredible sensitivity and wisdom. A beautifully realized puzzle comprised of the past and the future, of grief and of joy, THE PUZZLE TREE comes highly recommended.