The Red Tree

By: Caitlin R. Kiernan

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens, Katherine Kellgren, Christian Rummel

Sarah Crowe left Atlanta, and the remnants of a tumultuous relationship, to live alone in an old house in rural Rhode Island. Within its walls she discovers an unfinished manuscript written by the house's former tenant - a parapsychologist obsessed with the ancient oak growing on a desolate corner of the property. And as the gnarled tree takes root in her imagination, Sarah risks her health and her sanity to unearth a revelation planted centuries ago.

©2009 Caitlin R. Kiernan (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Caitlín R. Kiernan has] a gift for language that borders on the scary." (Neil Gaiman)

Great weird fiction; mediocre narration

I recommend this book quite highly. It’s smart, somewhat dense macabre fiction. It’s a bit psychological thriller, a bit dark erotica, a bit Lovecraftian cosmic horror. The main voice narrator is where I had problems. The voice actor inhabits her role well with regard to emoting and conveying the story. But she affects an old fashioned, stereotyped Southern accent that wouldn’t work even if she did it well—and she does it inconsistently. The main character claims to be a “redneck” from Alabama who lived much of her life in Atlanta, yet the voice actor makes her sound a lot like Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois in Streetcar. It’s an embarrassing misfire for anyone with any familiarity with people from the South. Since the actor didn’t have good command of the accent anyway, often changing the way she pronounced certain sounds, she should have just read in a more neutral accent and concentrated fully on conveying the emotions of the character.

Katherine Kellgren was the novelist?

A middle-aged Lesbian horror author burdened with grief, epilepsy, and writers’ block leaves her native Atlanta to reside a summer in an isolated farm house close to a gigantic oak tree with a sinister reputation. Though she can’t write a novel, she can keep a journal, and this, plus the contents of a notebook she finds in the house, constitutes most of the novel. She has horrifying experiences that drive her to suicide, but whether said experiences are “real” or “imaginary” is left to the reader. I wasn’t surprised to read Kiernan later admitting that the story was partly autobiographical.

The credits list three voice actors, one for the author, one for the editor who provides a preface, and one for the professor who wrote the notebook. I am convinced that Audible listed the actors in order of appearance, not importance, and that is Katherine Kellgren who is the voice of the doomed writer. Ms Kellgren did a fine job as Mina Harker in the Dracula audiobook I heard in October. Here, she is even better as a tough, foul-mouthed, gravel-voiced Southern gal who is going into the abyss kicking and cursing. An excellent performance.

the red tree

hmmm, strange, but once you start listening you have to continue to the end!

A true "classic" horror story.

Be prepared for some spine tingles with this ones folks. I have not read too many horror storues and chose this one because the author is an advocate of HP Lovecraft and I was curious to read/hear this story.

I was surprised how chilling this book was aty times - I am a mature man with a wide variety of tastes - but Caitlin R. Kiernan took me on a journey of facination, suspense and yes . . horror.

But the horror was not "in your face" . . it was well scripted around a general story of a woman who rents a remote house ... simple . .yes ? . . well no - the background is well proportioned and the build up to the moments to real terror are irresistable.

A good read - but will make you sleep with the lights on once or twice.

Slow, Cerebral Pulse

Very difficult to put into words how much I enjoyed this reading, but I'll try. I'd read the book years ago, liked it, but probably didn't grasp it then like I do now with this second pass. The reading of it was both intoxicating and mystifying, opening up its many dimensions.

Many listeners will find this a little too slow, but once you get used to the pace, it flows so well you can't wait to find out what comes next. Quite interesting from both a horror and a historical perspective.

A great book if you are a patient listener, someone who likes movies like the Witch...even better if you're a writer listening to how a master story teller spins a yarn.

It has its moments...

The book is slightly intriguing. Its written as a journal and therefore; does not read like a normal novel. There are moments in the book which are great and put you on edge, but there are also a lot of moments that fall very flat. I think its a book that you have to listen to more than once, unfortunately, I don't know if the book is good enough to do such. The story has great potential, but...

Gripping, excellent horror

This is the best horror novel I've read in some time, filled with mystery, the tangled legacy of history, personal tragedy and the difficult war with one's own grief, the awful recognition of losing one's creative capabilities and seeing an inescapable tragedy approaching, and some great surprises wonderfully presented. Kiernan brings her distinctive fusion of scientific and artistic appreciation of the world to bear on this chronicle of a life's final months.

Slow-Burn Creeper

The idea and execution were good, my only complaint is with the narrator being long-winded at times. Also - a great example of not judging the book by its cover!

Worth it for the quality of writing

Many reviewers have complained about the meandering plot, lack of clear conclusion, swearing etc.

I don't like the novel because of any of these things, and yes, I usually prefer a more sympathetic main character too.

Yet the novel is worth reading if you like good writing, both in descriptions and in characterization.
I loved Lovecraft and Poe as a child, but have long since rejected the first for his laughably bad writing and see no reason to reread the second because his characters have so little depth.

In comparison to Kiernan, Stephen King spins a better plot, but I don't think a compelling plot is what Keirnan is trying to write here.
In terms of description, both literary quality and ability to convey creepiness, she writes as well -- better, I'd say -- than the best of King, and she does a better job revealing the tragedy and especially the ambiguity that lurks in relationship.
Yes, there is some sweaty sex that may titillate or disgust the reader, but the really compelling and heartbreaking thing about the novel is the portrayal of a tentative new friendship that is a shadow of hope threatened by horror.

The tension lies in wondering whether the narrator will be saved, go down with her friend, or be left even more alone in the darkness.

Good novel, horrible audiobook

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

For anyone interested in horror, I'd definitely give recommend it. I would, however, recommend that they buy it in paperback, primarily because of the godawful performances on display here.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Red Tree?

The endless walk would have been an excellent, tense moment, if only the narrator hadn't sounded halfway through her second bottle of wine and ready to about fall asleep.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The southern drawl might only be a pet peeve of mine, but the feeling of boredom on the part of the narrator is unmistakable. If you'd drugged her half out of her mind and held up flash cards while you whacked her on the head, you might have gotten a better performance. It ruined any sense of immersion, suspense or fear, and in a horror novel those are the most important things to get right. For a different genre she might have been a good fit, but here she was either miscast or just didn't care.

Did The Red Tree inspire you to do anything?

Yes. Listen to samples more thoroughly before buying.

Any additional comments?

In all fairness, the two lesser used narrators both performed well, but it ended up only making the third one look even worse by comparison.