Match Book
Why the Tree Loves the Ax
Jim Lewis
1998 · 276 pages · Literary fiction
How it reads
Why the Tree Loves the Ax is literary fiction (psychological literary fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is dark. It goes to difficult places and doesn't look away. It's a slow burn: character-driven, with a payoff that comes from accumulation rather than twists. It rewards attention and suits unhurried reading more than five-minute gaps.
It's set in a big city setting, in the present day, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are identity, survival and class and society. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is left open, for you to argue about. At 276 pages it's a quick read. It's a hidden gem — known to relatively few readers.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something dark
- you have time to settle in
- you want something to chew on
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy, heartwarming or funny
- you're reading in five-minute gaps
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- literary fiction
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- established
- Setting: place
- big city
- Setting: time
- contemporary
- Mood / feeling
- dark
- Pace
- slow burn
- Tone / weight
- heavy and literary
- Length
- short
- Narrative style
- third person, one viewpoint
- Publication era
- modern classic
- Popularity
- hidden gem
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Ending style
- ambiguous
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- My Absolute DarlingGabriel TallentShares: literary fiction, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, psychological literary fiction
- Of Cattle and MenAna Paula MaiaShares: literary fiction, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, slow burn
Idle GroundsKrystelle BamfordShares: literary fiction, heavy and literary tone, slow burn, ambiguous ending
A Spectral HueCraig Laurance GidneyShares: literary fiction, heavy and literary tone, slow burn, ambiguous ending
Light Can Be Both Wave and ParticleEllen GilchristShares: literary fiction, heavy and literary tone, slow burn, ambiguous ending
The WhispersAshley AudrainShares: literary fiction, dark mood, heavy and literary tone, slow burn
Appears in
Find a copy
Reviews on Goodreads ↗Match Book earns a commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Match Book earns from qualifying purchases.