The Libraries of Friendship that have been keeping me going during the pandemic take several forms. 'Where the Trees Were' came from a friend who ordered me a lucky dip of books from the Oxfam online shop, each a surprise. This is the first of them I've read and it proved truly serendipitous. Read at another point in my life, I would have moderately enjoyed this novel. Right now, it was exactly what I needed to read. The narrative follows a woman called Jayne, who grew up on a farm in rural Australia with a tight-knit group of friends. Flashbacks to her childhood and teenage years alternate with adulthood. The plot centres upon a group of ancient trees with Aboriginal carvings. While sad events do occur, the story felt to me overwhelmingly one of resilience, restoration, and growth. Crucially, it is both inspiring and escapist to follow a protagonist like Jayne. She camps and cycles in vividly-described Australian landscapes. She leaves her job after achieving what she wanted there, despite not having a firm plan for what to do next. She single-handedly builds a deck for her home and decorates it beautifully. Jayne also has a strong social conscience, intellectual curiosity, and a lovely girlfriend. Given that I am trapped in a job I hate, trapped indoors by fear of coronavirus, and terrible at DIY, it was glorious to escape into her head for a while. 'Where the Trees Were' is well-written, emotionally compelling, and full of memorable details. It addresses Australia's colonial legacy sensitively from a white woman's perspective while telling a coming-of-age story beautifully. For me, though, the great appeal was to briefly inhabit a happier, brighter, and wider world without any of 2020's oppressive fears. I reached the end too quickly. ( )

Another good story from an interesting author. ( )

This was quite a good story but I think the author could have broadened the information about the aboriginal history and connection to the trees and made the book a lot more interesting.
The parts of the book relating to the idyllic childhood of the children in their Australian country town were very enjoyable, however the parts telling of the life of Jayne were quite boring and the theft of the artefacts from the museums and her involvement was never properly explained. ( )