by Davis Grubb
First published 1965
Jim Dance runs a failing store in Elizabethtown during the Great Depression. After Christmas passes, his family's tree becomes impossible to remove. The tree stands firm in their parlor, glowing and alive, defying every attempt to dismantle it. As the miraculous tree continues to flourish, it transforms the Dance household. The townspeople grow angry at this strange defiance of normal order. They pressure the family to conform, to remove what they see as an embarrassment to their community. Jim's business suffers further as neighbors turn against them. The solid citizens of Elizabethtown cannot tolerate the Dances and their persistent symbol of hope. Eventually the family must abandon their home under this social pressure. They leave town carrying new strength within them, while behind them the luminous tree remains standing in the empty house, creating a legend that will outlast their departure.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: defiance-of-social-norms, social-outcasts
Setting: Elizabethtown
Period: Great Depression
158 pages · Hardcover · Scribners