The Yellow Leaf by Joel Doonan

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David_James
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The Yellow Leaf by Joel Doonan

Post by David_James »

This is a refreshing story. Well done and uncommon. It made me reflect on the deeper meaning of life and the connectedness of everything. Frankly, it made me feel good. Great Job!
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kailhofer
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Re: The Yellow Leaf by Joel Doonan

Post by kailhofer »

I was touched by the sentiments of this one as the leaf floated from place to place, much like the feather in the opener of Forrest Gump.<br><br>It is not a strong plot, per se, and some of the methods of moving the leaf from place to place sounded a bit contrived. After all, the main protagonist is a leaf (or perhaps the tree that sent it), incapable of independent motion or speech, not a person who could grow and develop in an arc amongst the trials of a driven plot.<br><br>Still, it's enjoyable, and that's the main thing. It showed love of a tree for the boy who hugged it so many years ago in a way one doesn't usually see, and yes, I got a few warm fuzzies from it.<br><br><br>As a suggestion, I thought it might have brought a stronger emotional reaction to interconnect the beginning and end more. For instance, if the woman at the beginning was the man's sister at the end and it showed the tree caring for his whole family, or even better, if the man at the end was the boy at the beginning & it took his whole life for the leaf to rejoin him. I'd have liked that better than the man just having been at the tree at some point as a child. It can't be the same kid in this one since the woman in the beginning talks to her son, and the man at the end heard it from his grandma. I don't know if Mr. Doonan wanted a bigger canvas, but having the leaf follow the boy through life could have been neat, too, and it arriving just when he needed to be reminded of those golden leaves and belonging and love to make things turn out right. <br><br>But that would be a very long tale... <br><br><br>Nice story.<br><br>Nate
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Robert_Moriyama
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Re: The Yellow Leaf by Joel Doonan

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

I wasn't clear myself on whether the mother and child at the beginning of the story were blood relatives of the dying man at the end. There was a sort of resonance there, however, between the dying man's memories of his childhood, and the mood and setting of the opening scene; perhaps it was this connection that gave the leaf its remarkable durability and aptitude for hitching rides across thousands of miles.<br><br>Magic realism? Realistic magic? You decide.<br><br>Robert M.
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