The Giving Tree

By Matt Reed. At the risk of seeming churlish, I was never a Shel Silverstein fan. The Giving Tree, which is one of his most popular stories, struck me as deeply creepy.  It’s about a tree that gradually martyrs itself for a boy until there’s nothing left of it.  We’re supposed to admire the tree’s generosity of spirit, rather than recoil at the boy’s selfishness. As a kid, it struck me as missing the point.  As an adult, I can’t help but see the story as gendered, with the tree as the Mom.  And if that’s the fate of Moms, then we need rewrite. I thought of the Giving Tree again upon reading Sherman Dorn’s kind review of my book. Read more...