A couple of months ago I blogged about the descriptive
mastery of French author Jean Giono in his novel The Horseman on the Roof.
Problem was the topic of that book was a cholera pandemic. I believe I used the
word “ghastly.” I wondered then about applying his descriptive powers to other,
more pleasant topics. With that in mind, I picked up a short story of his that
is right out of the naturalist genre: The Man Who Planted Trees.
The story is similar to the American folklore classic Johnny Appleseed. Though, instead of planting fruit trees for a growing nation,
Giono’s story is about replanting oak forests in the Provence region of SE
France in the foothills of the Alps Mountains. The protagonist is a shepherd who
after the death of his wife takes on as a personal mission the task of planting
a hundred acorns each day in areas abandoned by early settlers who had harvested
and destroyed the natural environment which enticed them to settle there in the
first place. This book answers my question about utilizing Giono’s writing
skills on a more pleasant topic. He was
the perfect writer for The Man Who Planted Trees.
In 1988 an animated film adaptation of the book was released.
The 30-minute film won the Academy Award for Best Short Story.
Recommendation: Yes, both book and film are booster shots for
humanity, there is yet hope for planet Earth.
