The Flame Tree (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "THE TUA GURU HAJI Abdullah Abubakar first appeared in twelve-year-old Isaac Williams's largely untroubled life on a Saturday morning in late August..." (more)
Key Phrases: Imam Ali, Mas Gatot, Nahdlatul Umat Islam (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The graphic depiction of terrorist acts (such as beheadings) may be too intense for some readers, but Lewis poses some provocative questions about faith and fervor in this gritty first novel set in Indonesia around the time of September 11. The author explores the issues, at least initially, through the friendship of main character Isaac, who is living with his missionary physician parents, and his Muslim friend Ismail. Despite the friends' obvious biblical names, the way they relate to each other unfolds subtly and authentically. But as anti-American (and anti-infidel) sentiments rise in the days leading up to the bombing of the World Trade Center, Ismail turns against Isaac. At first, the author depicts the growing tension between them realistically, and readers can almost feel Isaac's pain and confusion at his friend's cold shoulder. But soon the narrative paints the issues in broad strokes and the characters' relationship gets lost in the larger themes. When Isaac's parents decide their son should leave Indonesia for the U.S., he is kidnapped by Islamic fanatics bent on converting him into a Muslim (occasioning graphic details of his forced circumcision). The author (himself the son of missionaries) reveals links between two seemingly opposed religions and explores reasons that many Islamic people resent Americans. Showing how religious ideas and ideals can breed atrocities against humanity, he creates a riveting read. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)
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From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Cracks appear in the comfortable certainties of 12-year-old Isaac Williams's life in Indonesia when a radical Muslim leader targets the American hospital where his missionary doctor parents work and his friend Ismail joins the movement. The situation deteriorates quickly after September 11, 2001, when the sight of the toppling towers in New York emboldens the Javanese militants. When the Baptist compound is evacuated, Isaac's parents insist on staying behind to continue their work. The evacuation helicopters are attacked, but Isaac miraculously escapes, only to be captured and kept hostage by members of the fundamentalist movement, including his favorite former teacher. Forced to study the Qur'an and learn about Muslim theology, the boy finds it surprisingly similar to his own fundamentalist beliefs, but providing considerably more comfort for its believers than his own distant and judgmental God. Before his release, Isaac undergoes a forced circumcision, described in excruciating detail. The scene will haunt readers and may limit the audience for this otherwise extraordinary look at one small portion of the Muslim world. The author's love for his childhood home is evident in the lush details of the Javanese natural and cultural world. Isaac is an interesting and well-developed character, resilient enough to survive serious physical and emotional challenges and compassionate enough to forgive his captors in the end. This is a remarkable reading experience for students willing to enmesh themselves in a different world.–Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (July 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689863330
• ISBN-13: 978-0689863332
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,571,322 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book; have your children read this book. Discuss., July 29, 2004

By	Susan O'Neill (Andover, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When Isaac Williams, the 12-year-old son of missionary doctors in Indonesia, experiences an uprising in the small Muslim town he calls home, the divide between Muslim and Infidel becomes personal and quite literally painful. Everything he takes for granted--his family's security, his trust in the people he has lived with for so long, his concept of God, and his bantering, effortless relationship with his best friend--falls apart. As the plot moves through its frank and sometimes horrifying turns, Isaac learns that evil can wear many masks and good might lie in the most startling of places.

This is a very, very timely book, and its message in these days of grave cultural divide is vital. The story is a page-turner; it's enormously thought-provoking, and Lewis doesn't let us off the hook easily. He deals with complexities broad and personal, themes of doing bad in the name of good, of humanity and religion, of allegiances, friendship, cruelty and wisdom. His prose is adept, his characters human and believable. And despite the weight of its subject--or because of it--it's a terrific read.

If I were to design a curriculum for human understanding in our new century, mandatory for high-school children of all creeds, it would begin with this book and The River Runs Salt, Runs Sweet, by Jasmina Dervisevic-Cesic. I would encourage parents to read The Flame Tree, pass it to their children, and spend some very valuable time discussing it.

Susan O'Neill, author, Don't Mean Nothing: Short Stories of Viet Nam

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent read, October 26, 2004

By	susan_d - See all my reviews

The Flame Tree is much more than a coming of age story. By focusing on a 12 year Christian, American boy living in the world's largest Muslim nation during the upheaval of 9/11, Richard Lewis sets up a potentially explosive situation.

Isaac Williams is the son of two doctors who work at a missionary hospital in Indonesia. An exceptionally bright boy, he considers Indonesia his home, and though he schools with other ex-pat children, his best friend is a local devout Muslim boy, Ismail. But things take an ominous turn in young Isaac's life when the Muslim church across the street from his home compound takes a decidedly extremist turn under a new Imam. People in the community who had previously welcomed Isaac become colder, he starts having nightmares about threatening crows, and he finds a new, hidden gate into the compound. Just as things hit a contentious note in his community, 9/11 explodes and his previously tranquil community rages with a full- blown riot.

With panic at a fever pitch, during a mandatory evacuation, complete with Marine escorts, the unthinkable happens and Isaac is taken hostage by the extremist group.

To say more would divulge intricate plot details that will leave not only young readers, but also adults, breathless as they get caught in the web of this riveting page-turner. Most importantly though, beyond the action and suspense of this novel lies a thoughtful examination of culture and faith. Lewis does an admirable job here of opening up a very foreign world while also carefully exploring facets of the Muslim and Christian faiths. From the description, it would be easy to assume that this novel pits Muslims against Christians, but remember, this is an extremist group, and care is taken to highlight Islamic beliefs in their less incendiary and dangerous forms. I dare say that this book is timely, and right now, an important read. Not only for youngsters struggling to understand, but also adults.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensitive and Thoughtful Story, October 15, 2004

By	Jeannette Cezanne (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First-time novelist Richard Lewis' THE FLAME TREE has one of the best opening lines I've read anywhere. "The Tuan Guru Haji Abdullah Abubakar first appeared in twelve-year-old Isaac Williams's largely untroubled life on a Saturday morning in late August."

Who could resist continuing?

While it is part of Simon and Schuster's young adult publishing programme, THE FLAME TREE is just as easily an adult story -- or, better still, one to share between a parent and a young adult! Isaac's experiences of Islam allow him to broaden his own horizons - "As Isaac read this," writes Lewis, "he found that the pool he had dived into was not so strange and alien after all."

And nor is Indonesia an alien land, as presented by Lewis. One feels with Isaac, one tastes, one hears, one sees. Issues and difficulties are confronted honestly, but with compassion. Peace, one comes to believe, may be possible.

One book at a time.