Why Did God Make the Tree?: A Patrick Denny Novel
Why Did God Make the Tree?: A Patrick Denny Novel
Why Did God Make the Tree?: A Patrick Denny Novel
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Description
Description
Within the boundary between reality and nightmare, a psychiatrist confronts the dark mysteries of his patients' minds - and his own.
Something isn't quite right in Waylingbrooke, New Hampshire. Beneath the shadow of the town's red brick watchtower, Dr. Patrick Denny - once a successful horror novelist - returns to his former profession of psychiatry, seeking solace in the quiet routines of Everston Psychiatric Hospital. Instead, he finds himself challenging the institution's rigid reliance on medication as he guides his patients through the labyrinth of their minds: Samantha, an insomniac haunted by her parents' deaths; Michael, who believes he's living inside one of Patrick's stories; and Amelia, a catatonic woman lost for decades in the dark forest of her psyche.
In his attempt to untangle the mysteries of their troubled minds, Patrick finds that his own tormented past begins to bleed into his present, and the macabre storyteller that still dwells within him threatens to emerge. As stories seem to birth stories and reality loses its edges, Patrick must question whether his return to psychiatry offers deliverance or signals his final descent into madness.
Why Did God Make the Tree? stands as a haunting literary exploration of consciousness, with three interconnected parts where surreal dreams and stories-within-stories illuminate the nature of identity. Following in the Gothic tradition of Shirley Jackson and Henry James, Gregg's evocative debut rewards patient readers with its layered complexity and dreamlike psychological depth, challenging our assumptions about sanity, reality, and the power of the stories we tell ourselves to survive.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"A mystifying but endlessly absorbing tale blending surreality and issues of mental health . . . surprisingly cohesive, thanks in large part to the author's deliberate pacing and unambiguous transitions."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Filled with otherworldly encounters delivered with engaging conundrums for added value, Why Did God Make the Tree? is a delightfully unpredictable foray into psychological horror that is thoroughly absorbing from start to finish."
-D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Review
"Compelling debut . . . explores madness, devil worship, human monstrosity, and the way stories and nature affect our own conscious reality . . . [Gregg] weaves these braided tales into a psychological procedural best suited for readers who relish humane scares over vivid gore . . . [and] toys with expectations throughout, favoring suggestion and mystery over spoon-fed exposition, trusting readers . . . to feel their way through the murk."
-BookLife Reviews, Editor's Pick
"A journey through madness, love, and self-forgiveness in a modern-day gothic ghost story elevated by wit, rich characters, and proliferating mysteries . . . A master storyteller, Gregg implants exposition into the midst of powerful emotion . . . [and] deftly holds mirrors up to real-life horrors in this twisted, dark and deeply immersive tale."
-BlueInk Review, Starred Review
"An enthralling journey . . . covers the very sensitive subject of mental health, institutional power, and the doctors who wielded power indiscriminately. A fast-moving story with quite a few twists in the tale . . . A most interesting book, and will definitely be read more than once."
-Readers' Favorite, Five-Star Review
"Thought-provoking and haunting, this modern gothic tale presents psychological depth, humor, and poetic prose that will have audiences biting their nails in anticipation."
-The BookLife Prize
"A winding novel that delves into complex subjects through a dark, thought-provoking narrative lens . . . Some of the most haunting parts aren't just monstrous in the story; they reflect real-world horrors. Gregg crafts one of the most thought-provoking portraits of a monster I've seen, one that leaves a burning, searing imprint on the conscience. It's a raw, unflinching look at the darkness that exists both in the mind and in the world around us."
-Renae M. Richardson, Dead Talk News
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
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