I wrote at the outset I didn’t know where our copy of The Giving Tree came from, but I actually learned upon cracking open the book: Here’s what’s fascinating: the book deeply moves adults regardless of whether they view it as extolling the tree’s unconditional love or lamenting the tree’s self-destructive love. Readers have debated the book’s meaning since its publication in 1964, with the primary disagreement captured by the title of a NY Times Sunday Book Review from 2014: ‘The Giving Tree’: Tender Story of Unconditional Love or Disturbing Tale of Selfishness? Variously interpreted as a picture of parental love, divine love, abusive relationships, or even environmental rapacity, the book sharply divides readers. By the end, the tree is a stump, but the boy - now a tired old man - needs nothing more than a quiet place to rest, so he sits on the tree and she is happy. So the tree gives the boy her apples to sell, her branches to build a house, and her trunk to make a boat. They play together happily every day, but the boy grows up and pursues the trappings of adulthood: money, a house, a family, travel. On its face, the story is about a tree’s sacrificial love for a boy.
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