The Willow Tree by Hubert Selby Jr. – Reviewed by Guy Portman
A callous attack sees a young girl and her boyfriend injured. In the immediate aftermath of the incident they are separated, neither knowing what has happened to the other. Further tragedy ensues when one of the pair dies, leaving the survivor hellbent on revenge. During their convalescence, they forge an unlikely friendship with an old man, who has extensive experience of hatred from his time incarcerated in a Nazi concentration camp.
The Willow Tree is in essence a fable about hate and its ramifications. Themes include hope, forgiveness and love. This sentimental and at times harrowing work suffers from a dearth of characters. Another criticism is its storyline, which is predictable, implausible and increasingly ponderous.
The book appealed far less to this reader than Hubert Selby Jr.’s seminal work, the Transgressive classic Last Exit To Brooklyn.
