The Language of Trees is the third in Steve Weigenstein’s historical novel trilogy about the people, the ideals and the realities of the democratic community of Daybreak, Missouri, before, during and after the Civil War. Readers who have followed Charlotte Turner and others through settlement, war, bushwhackers, love and loss will find this new ‘chapter’ in the saga a lively and rewarding read.
Each chapter is written in the voice of one of the main characters, but these are not jump cuts. They flow evenly through the narrative, bending to each point of view, but following the arc of the story. Minor characters are woven through the events and actions of the main characters. Even Henry Rowe Schoolcraft’s 1821 Journal of a Tour to the Interior of Arkansas and Missouri (a familiar work to Ozarks historians) is a minor player, setting a tone and serving as the gateway for one ‘outsider’ to find his way into the heart of Daybreak. Historical in its setting, the narrative deals with universal passions (greed, lust, regret) and contemporary challenges (exploitation of resources, power grabs and callous ambitions).
Wiegenstein captures the changes in outlook brought on by age, loss, experience and the implacable intransigence of human character that, more than any political or ideological conflict, affected the survival of such communities across time and country. Charlotte Tuner, one of the “originals,” and Josephine Mercadier, of the second Daybreak generation, two strong and principled women, drive the narrative just as they shape and knit together the community of Daybreak.
Wiegenstein’s focus on utopian societies is itself intriguing. In the nineteenth century, many groups came together based on practical, ideological, political, religious or common cultural ties, seeing in the New World landscape a tabula rasa on which to write their own mission and goals. In that context success or failure might hinge on personal or group weaknesses and strengths as much as their inherent friction with old ways or the weaknesses of human character. Might. But those frailties and hard rock traditions broke or significantly modified most dreams.
Wiegenstein’s skill in weaving a story fraught with passion, greed, ambition and idealism pulls the reader into the narrative. Learning that comes with age, pain, joy and experience both frees and surprises reader and characters alike. One comes away from The Language of Trees with a sense that Charlotte, Newton, Josephine and J.M. (John Malcolm – although he didn’t claim his given names) Bridges would carry on. The community might even survive… at least the reader can hope there is still more to the story.
The Language of Trees was published by Blank Slate Press in St. Louis. It is available on amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble and independent publishers.
