Rating: 
Summary: I got a little lost in a few spots...
Review: ...but that's not to say I didn't thoroughly enjoy this book at least 90% of the time. Eucalyptus feels more like a painting or a poem than a novel; there's a misty, surreal, magical tone to the crafting of the story, and sometimes I got a little lost, wondering what Australian path the author was leading me along.
The setup is that Holland planted on his land at least one each of all the hundreds of different varieties of eucalyptus and then declared that only a man who could name every tree correctly would be worthy to marry Ellen, his daughter. A fairy tale? Yes, sort of, and therein lies both the charm and the problem with this small book full of beautiful, if elusive, language.
Give it a try, though. It's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Lyrical and lucid storytelling
Review: Eucalyptus is the story of a man who possesses the largest collection of Eucalypt trees and a beautiful daughter, Ellen. As Ellen begins to attract the attention of the men in this tiny town in the New South Wales outback, her father Holland issues a national challenge. The man who can name all the Eucalypts on his property will be awarded Ellen's hand in marriage. And so, the prospective suitors flock, as Ellen becomes more and more apprehensive...And meanwhile within this fairytale, Ellen has met a storyteller of her own. Eucalyptus is beautifully written novel with a twist and a lyrical style that makes it unique. It captures the essence of the Australian landscape and its quirky inhabitants. Murray Bail's Eucalyptus shows what writing, at its best, is capable of.
Rating: 
Summary: A tough read - disappointing and obscure
Review: Hailed as a masterpiece of original fictional writing by literary critics worldwide, I began reading Murray Bail's "Eucalyptus" - 1999 winner of the Miles Franklin Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize - with high expectations but regret to say that it was a major let down for me. The story of a father offering the hand of his daughter in marriage to the man able to correctly name all the eucalyptus trees in his orchard, has the makings of a fascinating premise for a fable. Bail's intimate knowledge of the Australian outbacks and well researched command of his subject is certainly impressive but to the non-native reader seems only overindulgent. Compounding the difficulty for me was the obscurity of his language and his vision. His sentences don't flow. Neither does his thought process, which makes reading the novel a jerky and uneven experience. His characters (Ellen and her father, Holland) are curiously underwritten. We don't understand what goes on in their minds and cannot empathise or like them. The fable remains ultimately an enigma. Even the wooing of Ellen by the unnamed lover with a stream of fantastic but unconnected stories as they encircle and cavort with each other from tree to tree became hard work and tedious for me. A fellow online reviewer helpfully explained that these stories all hinted at unfulfilled love but I can't say they made that connection when they tumbled into my consciousness. I realise the reviews of "Eucalyptus" from both critics and public alike have been wildly ecstatic. I only wish I felt the same but I don't. I found it a less than pleasurable read - disappointing and obscure. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story
Review: I first read this book several years ago after my husband gave it to me. At first, I wasn't sure I liked it, but I continued to read it and ended up loving it. Yes, the story uses eucalyptus trees as a tool to wrap the story around, and no, I'm not really interested in trees, but that's not the point. Mr Bail tells a beautiful tale of a father and daughter and their relationship. Of course, this story isn't 'believable' because few of us, if any, have heard lately of a real father requiring a man to name all the trees on his property before being allowed to marry his daughter. How silly! And yet what a wonderful outline for a fairy tale. Fairy tales usually are 'unbelievable'. Who really has 'ugly step-sisters' or ever saw a frog turn into a prince after kissing the princess, or knew a girl who fell in love with a hideous beast? This is a story! The father is oblivious to his daughter's desires and doesn't even know who she is at all. Yet she is precious to him and he requires what may be an impossible task of the man who will 'take' her from him. I think that's a noble, if outdated, emotion in a father. She meets the man of her dreams, almost dies because she will be forced to marry a man she could never love, and is brought back to life by her lover. She falls under his spell because of the odd, enchanting stories he tells her. Of course the stories have no endings, but they are tales that spark her interest and imagination. I found those little pieces of stories fascinating. All women should be so fortunate that they can be made so happy with simple tales told by the man they love. So, I recommended this book to my latest book group, not sure if I or they would find it as wonderful as I remembered it. I did, but we have not yet gotten together to discuss this book. I expect some people will hate it and others, I hope, will see the beauty I found in it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hmm....
Review: I guess if you want to enjoy this novel, you must read it as a fairytale. I had the most trouble believing 1) Ellen's father could get all the Eucalyptus species successfully growing on his property and 2)The surreal descriptions of the trees, which from a poetic perspective, are the best part of the story .
In the end, I didn't like this novel. The ending was unresolved, anticlimaxed and irrelevant to the flow of the rest of the story. This is one novel where the trees are given far more poetry, colour and life than the 'wooden' human characters. I guess it's only right then that Nic Kidman will be playing the female lead the the cinematic adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to get into
Review: Mainly a book of stories that wind around a plot, but for some reason, it works. It is about a girl named Ellen whose father is obsessed with his eucalyptus trees on a paddock in Australia. To find a husband for his daughter, he holds a contest: anyone who can name ALL of the species of eucalyptus on the property can have Ellen's hand. Many fail, but one who is kind and charming, but slightly arrogant, makes his first obligation naming the trees with her father; he barely pays Ellen any mind. The other man tries to win Ellen herself - the trees are secondary. He courts her by giving each tree a story, which makes up the better part of the book. There is an airy feel to the story that makes it have a fairytale quality. I almost set it down halfway through because of its lack of substance. At points, it feels almost forced - like the author has to try very hard to get the tone he wants and only just makes it. The last half, howver, makes up for the beginning, though with facinating stories about imperfect people. It is a good attempt at a good idea, and that makes it worth the read.
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Summary: Active Reading
Review: No, the book did not always flow. It was not exactly easy reading. I had to stop and think and re-read a few sentences. Sometimes I had to grasp for understanding of what was happening. This wasn't because I am lacking or writer Bail cannot tell a story.. but because he wasn't spoon feeding me his story... he was off and going and required me to run along with him. There was nothing passive about this book. I had to participate and it was well worth it. Bail is not required to lay out an easy experience. I found the writing absolutely delightful and worth any effort I made.
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Summary: A story like no other; fascinating but characters are flat.
Review: On many levels this story fascinated me. As a budding writer I was envious of the amazing story which unfolded as I read. As a gardener and naturalist I was fascinated by the details of Australia's trademark trees and the way they were woven into the story to explain life and people's relationships with one another. I admired the "simplicity" of the writing style and the brevity of words. However, one thing puzzled me. I couldn't really get into the heads of the characters and feel what they were feeling. I only experienced their feelings through a kind of misty gauze. Something - a vital link - was missing between reader and characters to complete our understanding, to make our experience of this wonderful story complete. To me, the characters did not fully come to life. However, I have no regrets having read the story. I'm glad I did and have recommended it to others. I am honoured to somehow share the same landscape which had inspired Murray Bail, because like the obsessed characters of this book I too love the many forms the eucalyptus takes across this huge island. And I love his writing style. In a funny way, the flatness of the characters did not spoil my reading of the story, but gave me something to ponder when my reading was complete. What really were their feelings like? How would I have felt if I had been one of them? I can only imagine....and the story will continue to haunt me for years to come. Thanks Murray!
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Summary: Interesting Allegory About Individuality
Review: On the surface, Eucalyptus seems to be a fairy tale about a confined "princess" who can only be freed by a "prince" that names all the trees on her property. If one stops at that level, they will probably dwell on the frequent descriptions of eucalyptus that tend to break the story's narrative flow and the characters that seem a little too sparsely defined. Yet, beyond that basic reading of the text, there is a surprising depth to this book. To put it simply, Eucalyptus is a very interesting and challenging allegory about appreciating individuality.
Bail establishes his allegory by showing how his main characters have been primarily defined through speculation and assumption. For example, he depicts how Holland is subjected to conjecture regarding both his relationships and his past. Additionally, Bail describes some assumptions that were present when Holland and his wife first met. Given the prominent role that supposition played in shaping his life, Holland decides that the only man who can have his daughter is one who proves he can see past stereotype in order to appreciate a person's individuality. Holland attempts to achieve this objective by having his naming contest act as a surrogate for determining if a person can recognize uniqueness. However, Ellen goes beyond her father's intentions when she falls in love with a man who recognizes the eucalyptus' individuality by relating a story that reflects each tree's character. This man doesn't even have a name, thereby reinforcing Ellen's ability to see beyond a person's "title" to that which truly defines them as an individual.
By having his heroine fall in love with a person who recognizes each tree's "story" and not just their name, Bail makes the point that individuality is not just a person's title. Instead, he shows that individuality is tied to the experiences and stories that make up a person's existence. The fact that Bail conveys this point with elegant language and interesting trivia just makes the book richer. These elements make Eucalyptus much deeper than a simple fairy tale. In the end, the book is a fascinating examination of what determines individuality and the true way to acknowledge it.
Rating:
Summary: magical but unfocused
Review: The book certainly had a magical quality about it, with the isolated setting of a private ranch, all the eucalyptus trees, the stories told by the mysterious stranger. I actually enjoyed all the botanical information about eucalyptus trees, as I have never considered them before. However, I didn't fully understand where the story went. The father seemed a likeable enough character, but why did he impose such an impossible task to secure the marriage of his daughter-it seemed a draconian measure for someone who obviously loved her and would have wanted to see her happy. I wasn't sure what kind of person the daughter was and didn't have much personal feeling for her. I'm not sure how sympathetic I felt towards her- could she not have done more to avoid the fate imposed upon her by her father? All in all, I enjoyed some of the fantasy-like qualities of the book, but felt it was unfocused in the message it was trying to put across.
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