Review: Brilliant, But Very Difficult To Read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
"The Fence And Then The Trees" is a brilliantly-written book. It's the story of two broken men who meet in prison and, although nary a word is spoken between them for the two years they spend as cellmates, they fall in love. Part of it is the unremitting loneliness of being in prison, being cut off from the real world and all human affection, part of it is living check-to-jowl in a small, barred cell, and part of is that both of them have to come to terms with their pasts - and do it with each others' help.Adder (Addison), the product of a rich and important southern family, is sent to a "Christian" "reparative" counselor at the age of 16. The counselor is, in reality, a pedophile who "cures" young kids by using them sexually. His parents really don't care whether the guy did it or not, as long as their son won't embarrass them any more by being a "pervert".Jack is another kettle of fish entirely. A grifter, he got into cons to rip off the insurance companies who refused to honor their commitments and pay his mother's bills as she lay dying of emphysema when Jack was only nine. Though his father gave him unconditional love, he passed away, and the "love of his life", a physician, stole Jack's stash and set him up to be arrested and convicted of car theft and armed robbery.The two damaged men meet in prison, where Jack is immediately moved into Adder's cell. Adder is a huge, muscled giant, who has not spoken a word in the nearly 15 years he's been in prison, and before whom, even the toughest inmates quake in fear. The very first night, Adder rapes Jack. Welcome to prison.Somehow Jack sees beyond all the violence and sexual abuse into Adder's soul and judges him to be a good and honorable man (the rape was probably not necessary, as Jack would have gladly given it up for Adder, I suppose).I've heard of "meet cute", but this one definitely takes the cake.What is most remarkable about this book is how slowly and painstakingly, over more than a year, Jack works to get inside Adder's shell, often with no success. But, after all, what else does he have to do with his time? When he finally gets a smile from Adder, something no one else has seen for fifteen years, he falls in love.Well, to make a long story short (and this is a very long story - more than 330 pages), they eventually do get together, but not before getting corrupted by the endless violence throughout the prison, and Jack doing things he never thought he could possibly do, to protect Adder, who is about to be released.It's only in the rather robust epilogue, that the two men get their happily-ever-after and it is, indeed, well-earned and welcome.The reason I called this book "difficult" is because it's a very realistic, no-holds-barred view of a couple of years inside any prison in America. There is almost constant violence (or the threat, thereof) and endless rape. There is an overweening fear that permeates the book. The author has masterfully nailed that underlying sense of menace. This book is not a beach read, and it is not a romance.What it is, is an extraordinarily powerful book that grabs the reader in his or her darkest soul, and propels you on to read more, despite your discomfort. There are flashbacks to both men's childhoods and early adulthoods that elucidate the forces that brought them to this terrible point in their lives. Though important, they can be a bit distracting and disarming. They are also a necessary relief from the unremitting evil that is the correction system.So, if you can deal with the realities of some very bad (and some not-so-bad) men locked up in unendurable conditions, on the journey to a deep, and unapologetic, love, this book is definitely a must-read.I do recommend it, most highly, but with the warning: be prepared for some pretty rough and uncomfortable moments.