Rating: 
Summary: A Lesson For Authors
Review: It is difficult to forget the trials that Christopher Nolan had to endure to even write this book. The end result is an amazing picture of life in rural Ireland during the last Century written in the most amazing manner. The book shows that a simple story when told by a master author can accomplish more than all the twists and turns authors today feel compelled to put into their novels. A wonderful and human story. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Words, words, and more words
Review: Not to sound hard, but a novel should stand on its own merits despite the afflictions ot the author. There is a wonderful story hidden in the purple prose. These characters could have been so incredibly moving if only Christopher Nolan had not been in love with words--and often the wrong ones. When he gets more deeply into the story, his style becomes more lilting and descriptive--the rest of the time, the language gets in the way of the story and real communication. At times, I moaned aloud at the ridiculous overuse of words just to use words, and yet, I did love Minnie and her love for her land. I would have liked to have heard more from her--the earthy, honest woman--and less from the author.
Rating:
Summary: Words, words, and more words
Review: Not to sound hard, but a novel should stand on its own merits despite the afflictions ot the author. There is a wonderful story hidden in the purple prose. These characters could have been so incredibly moving if only Christopher Nolan had not been in love with words--and often the wrong ones. When he gets more deeply into the story, his style becomes more lilting and descriptive--the rest of the time, the language gets in the way of the story and real communication. At times, I moaned aloud at the ridiculous overuse of words just to use words, and yet, I did love Minnie and her love for her land. I would have liked to have heard more from her--the earthy, honest woman--and less from the author.
Rating: 
Summary: Intoxicating
Review: Other reviewers have commented on the plot. I will focus on but one aspect of the novel - the intoxicating language. Nolan makes words sing. His descriptions are arresting, his figures of speech spellbinding, and his attention to sound value utterly astounding. If adventurous language choices delight you, read this book and then spread the word. Nolan's novel deserves far more attention than it has received.
Rating:
Summary: Intoxicating
Review: Other reviewers have commented on the plot. I will focus on but one aspect of the novel - the intoxicating language. Nolan makes words sing. His descriptions are arresting, his figures of speech spellbinding, and his attention to sound value utterly astounding. If adventurous language choices delight you, read this book and then spread the word. Nolan's novel deserves far more attention than it has received.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible book ...
Review: This book is SO verbose it is a difficult read ... after 50 tortuous pages I gave up. The author is caught up in descriptions so wordy ... I don't recommend it to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: Unicorn Stick And Half A Million Clicks
Review: This is a truly special literary work, a gift from the author who spent 12 years creating it.If you enjoy any of the great authors of fiction from the 19th and early 20th century you will love the book. Mr. Nolan won The Whitbread Award in 1987, for the work he penned prior to this one, "Under The Eye Of The Clock". If you enjoy rich enveloping detail that never is tedious, the book is for you. If you enjoy the scope of a work that takes the needed time, that brings to mind the word "epic", and the phrase "sure to be a classic", get this book. If you are new to his work as am I, you are probably the rule rather than the exception. The last work published by Mr. Nolan was in 1987, and this new work took 12 years. And this leads to the title of this review. Mr. Nolan is paralyzed and he is mute. He cannot read aloud what he has crafted so as to hear his prose as he means it to be heard. Mr. Nolan has what is called his "Unicorn Stick", attached to his forehead and with the assistance of a helper; he types his works one letter at a time. "The Banyan Tree" required 500,000 taps on his typewriter over a 12-year period. The book is a remarkable work by any standard, and is made more astonishing by the method he uses to communicate this tale of a Family's History. The book deserves your full attention, and a bit more time to read. Rushing through the story would lessen the impact of it, and fail to acknowledge the extraordinary effort it took to create.
Rating:
Summary: Ireland lives
Review: This is very much a book about Ireland and the beginning is tough to read, given the colloquialisms and use of the Irish lingo But then it relaxes and becomes a very wonderful book. The story itself might not be the novel of the century. But the way the author handles the language, inventing, reinventing and fusing it to create the most beautiful images, truly is a thing of joy. Much has been said about the author's affliction. That should not enter in a judgement of the novel. It truly is beautiful. It sings.
Rating:
Summary: Not Easily Forgotten
Review: This wonderful book took me a few pages to get used to because of the writing style. I soon was able to visualize the characters, especially Minnie O'Brien and her simplistic lifestyle. Nolan draws the reader in through a narrow window to experience life in Ireland through the eyes of a heartbroken mother. Her life revolves around her husband and children, each of whom in some way has left her and disappointed her, yet she carries on. The old ways of staying in one town for generations of a family is shattered by the modern world and yet she never lets go. You'll cry, guaranteed!
Rating:
Summary: And on to the next.....
Review: Today I finished The Banyan Tree, and felt compelled to find and read Nolan's Memoirs: Under the Eye of the Clock to learn more about this incredible writer. It amazed me from the very first chapter that someone who is paralyzed could write such beautifully descriptive prose regarding ordinary things, like churning butter, the landing of an AerLingus jet, a woman's love for her family,or the conniving character of Jude, among others. The story, set in rural Ireland is simple, but it is so alive with every word and the imaginative ways that Nolan can use language. It is a book to savor slowly, enjoying the depth of the characters that come alive on every page. You will feel as if you've met them, loved them, despised them. You will laugh, and you will cry, but you will not soon forgot Minnie and her love for her family and her land.
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