Those familiar with Nicole Alexander’s previous work will enjoy her latest outing.
The Cedar Tree is Nicole Alexander’s tenth novel for Penguin Books. It spans two centuries across Ireland and Australia.
This dramatic multi-generational family saga begins in 1860s Ireland, where cousins Brandon, Maggie and Sean O’Riain are wanted criminals. Fleeing capture and punishment, they travel to Australia. Brandon quickly embraces his new life in a new land, while both Maggie and Sean struggle to release the past and adapt to their new normal. Before long, Brandon is faced with a choice, the effects of which will echo down the generations of the O’Riain family for the next 80 years.
Jumping forward to 1940s Australia, Stella O’Riain is grieving the loss of her daughter and husband while struggling to make ends meet. With her funds and options exhausted, she leaves the station to live with her brother-in-law on the family cane farm in the Richmond Valley. Whilst there, she uncovers the secrets and betrayals that have travelled through from the past.
Each chapter alternates between the 1860s and the 1940s, creating tension between past and present and adding to the depth and complexity of both the characters and the overall story. Alexander skilfully ties the subplots back into the main narrative, making the overall text rather more seamless than expected given the structure.
Born and raised on the land, Nicole Alexander has a strong love of Australian pastoral history, which imbues The Cedar Tree with authenticity. Alexander vividly illustrates the extremes of Australia’s landscape and climate through her detailed descriptions of the lush cedar forests, cane fields and the harsh, unforgiving desert. Alexander also borrows heavily from her experience of working in agriculture, lending sincerity to her character depictions of graziers, canefarmers and woodcutters.
Contrast is also used to great effect throughout this narrative, particularly when the settings are used to highlight the disparity between those that ‘have’ in the lush forest areas and those that ‘have not’ in the desert fringes.
Those familiar with Nicole Alexander’s previous work will enjoy her latest outing, whilst a new audience will find her inherent love for the Australian landscape and her exploration of the struggle between loyalty, love and opportunity appealing.
Reviewed by Daniella Feltrin
Distributed by: Penguin Books Australia
Released: March 2020
RRP: $32.99
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