Christopher Nolan's bucolic novel, THE BANYAN TREE, is a
remarkable achievement from both a literary and personal
perspective. One cannot help but be captivated by this book, as I
was, after learning that the author is a quadriplegic who writes by
tapping key by key with a stick attached to his forehead. Twelve
years and a half-million strokes later, the fruit of Nolan's labor
is receiving fantastic reviews from people who are pleasantly
surprised by the book's elegant simplicity.The
novel tells the life story of Minnie O'Brien, a shopkeeper's
daughter, who spends all of her days living in a small town in
rural Ireland. There is nothing particularly striking about Minnie
--- she is not beautiful, nor is she wise (in fact, she is even a
little senile in her old age), nor does she have qualities that
make her anything but ordinary. Nevertheless, Nolan manages to
engage the reader deeply in the events of Minnie's not-so-eventful
80-plus years. The reader witnesses the entire cycle of her life,
beginning with her parents' union and ending with her quiet death.
Though plain and simple, Minnie is a strong character, and readers
respect her honesty, loyalty, and humility. These qualities
strengthen what might normally be an unsympathetic character into a
protagonist that readers care about.Thus, we feel as humbly gratified as she does when Peter
O'Brien, a local farmer, chooses Minnie as his wife. Although Peter
hides a terrible secret from Minnie, their marriage is a good and
solid one. Nolan captures the beauty and intimacy of their simple
bond not by sweeping statements about the depth of their feelings,
but rather by describing in detail the daily routines they share
together. The easy companionship between the two is demonstrated
the first day Minnie helps her new husband in what would become the
annual task of cutting the peat from Holly Bog."Peter the sleansman was tackled and ready, Minnie the catcher,
holding her stance, stood waiting. He stood at the turf-face,
symbolizing all that was free and flowing in his masculinity. She
stood there on the hew stage, ready, willing, and receptive to any
flung sods of wet turf. He set up the ballet, she became his
ballerina." Despite the difficulty of the daily labor around the
farm, the couple set to these tasks with such a oneness of purpose
and mind that work did not seem quite like work anymore.This
easy relationship enabled Minnie to explore sexual freedom without
shame. She bore Peter two sons and a daughter before he died
suddenly of a heart attack. Although she has three children, Minnie
finds that she is now utterly alone in the world. These moments in
the book are truly heartbreaking as we observe Minnie's struggle to
live her life without her only companion. Nevertheless, each
painful scene somehow conveys Minnie's fortitude and her ability to
endure the loneliness. "She got used to feeling the damp coldness
of her late husband's pillow when time and again she rescued it as,
lemming-like, it attempted to drop over the edge of the bed."
Minnie similarly rescues herself from the despair of this great
loss and manages to pull herself from the edge of
despair.Sadly enough, Minnie's family offers her little support through
this difficult time. With her eldest children living on their own
--- Brendan, a bishop in New York, and Sheila, married to a wealthy
man in Dublin --- Minnie and Frankie, the youngest son, stay behind
to manage the farm. It is not long, however, before this prodigal
son leaves to explore the world, leaving Minnie and her five fields
all alone. Our heroine is forced to become entirely
self-sufficient, living each day without hesitation. She knows she
will live until Frankie comes home to continue her late husband's
work. All the while, Minnie protects her land from the clutches of
her jealous neighbor, Jude Fortune, and she waits anxiously for a
word from the son whose arrival will spell peace and rest for her
at last.Though not exciting or eventful, the novel is both thoughtful
and thought provoking. THE BANYAN TREE's beauty lies in the unique
blend of elements that unify a simple story --- a willful woman and
moving, eloquent language.