The Singing Tree

Set on a Hungarian ranch on the Great Plains, the story begins in the summer of 1914 and spans the years of World War I. It follows 13-year-old Jancsi Nagy, his cousin Kate, and their extended family as war disrupts their peaceful farming life and forces the children to take on adult responsibilities.

In the opening chapters, life on the Nagy ranch is stable and happy. Jancsi and Kate visit Uncle Moses, the elderly Jewish storekeeper who has served the village for decades, keeping all records in his head. Uncle Moses orchestrates an intricate series of trades for Peter Hódi, a young farmer preparing for his wedding to Mari Vidor. Through clever bartering, Uncle Moses ensures that everyone ends up with what they need: Peter gets a cow, a harness, and silver buttons; Mari's father gets cash and glasses; and Uncle Moses gets wool and a small profit. When Jancsi questions the fairness of these deals, Uncle Moses explains that he knows each person's needs and weaknesses, and that his role is to see that nothing goes to waste.

On the way home, Kate's father, Sándor Nagy, the village schoolteacher, stops the wagon at a poplar lane and shows the children a carved post from March 1848, when feudal estates were divided and Jews were given equal rights. The post lists names of those who planted the trees, beginning with Jancsi's great-grandfather Márton Nagy and ending with Uncle Moses' grandfather, Moses Mandelbaum. Sándor explains that the partnership between farmer and merchant represents Hungary's strength, and that as long as they work together, the country will be safe.

At supper, Jancsi's father, Márton Nagy, announces that Jancsi will receive his own herd of five mares and six foals on the recommendation of Old Arpád, the most renowned horse-herder on the plains. Márton dismisses the possibility of war, but Sándor warns that conflict could change people's souls. The next day at the corrals, Old Arpád greets Jancsi as "the young master," and Jancsi silently resolves to be worthy of the title. A young herder named Pali, recently returned from mandatory army service, recounts ethnic slurs and mistreatment from Austrian officers, hinting at the tensions about to erupt across Europe.

The community gathers for Peter and Mari's traditional wedding. At the feast, Lily Kormos, the snobbish daughter of the new local judge, insults Peter when he grabs her for a dance. Kate stamps on Lily's toes to defuse the crowd's anger, then locks Lily in a barn. Judge Kormos laughs rather than objecting, and Márton offers to have Lily spend the summer on the farm. That evening, Aaron Mandelbaum, Uncle Moses' newly graduated lawyer son, arrives with grim news: Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, has been shot in Bosnia. The date is June 28, 1914.

Over the summer, Lily transforms from a spoiled girl into a happy, sunburned child who works alongside the family. But war sweeps across Europe as cascading declarations pull in nation after nation. Aaron arrives in uniform, ordered to lead local men to the Russian front. Before leaving, he gives Márton a sealed envelope. After the soldiers depart, the envelope reveals a gold medal for bravery and a notification that Aaron's eldest brother, Rabbi Joseph Mandelbaum, was killed in the first battle while aiding the wounded. Márton walks to deliver the news to Uncle Moses and his wife, Aunt Sarah, fulfilling Sándor's earlier promise that the tall farmer will never let the Mandelbaums walk alone.

Over a year passes. Márton sells most horses to the Army and gradually shifts responsibilities to Jancsi. One morning he announces a trip to town, where Jancsi signs a legal document granting him authority over the farm's business. Father then disappears briefly and returns in military uniform: Corporal Márton Nagy of the Seventh Infantry. He had concealed his enlistment and arranged everything in advance to spare the family prolonged grief. At the train station, he orders Jancsi to ride home without looking back. Jancsi obeys, stopping only at Uncle Moses' store to weep on the old man's shoulder.

Jancsi manages the farm through the seasons. Before departing, Father had entrusted him with a key to a locked ledger. When a cryptic postcard prompts Jancsi to open it, he discovers detailed daily instructions for nearly a year, anticipating every need. Following its guidance, Jancsi applies for Russian prisoners of war to help with fieldwork. Six arrive and quickly become part of the household, each claiming tasks with the phrase "Me do." That same day, Uncle Moses reveals that Peter Hódi has deserted to see his ailing wife Mari and their newborn baby, Panni. Kate devises a plan to hide Peter beneath the Russians in the wagon, and they pass through a military police checkpoint unchallenged.

Peter's brief stay reveals the war's poisoning effect on the soul, just as Sándor once warned. He accuses Márton of buying safety and calls Uncle Moses a profiteer, spewing hatred learned at the front. After Peter slips away to rejoin his unit, Mari and Panni remain on the farm, and the Russians integrate fully into family life.

In June 1916, with no news from Father, Jancsi, Kate, and Lily travel to the Carpathian Mountains near the border to bring Mother's elderly parents to the farm, where marching troops have left food scarce. On the return journey, a stray cat Lily has smuggled along goes into labor, forcing a stop at an Army hospital. Inside, Kate recognizes a patient listed as having amnesia: It is Márton Nagy. Her piercing scream jolts his memory. Father greets Jancsi with the same command he used at their parting, "Soldier! Forward, march!" and opens his arms.

Father comes home promoted to Lieutenant but deeply affected by his experiences, and the doctors will not send him back to combat. He never speaks directly of fighting. At Christmas 1916, he recounts how soldiers on both sides lit candles at wayside crucifixes on Christmas Eve and sang "Holy Night" together, then refuses to describe what followed. Uncle Moses' second son, Dr. Sam Mandelbaum, is also killed. When Father reads about the Allied blockade starving German children, he and Mother agree to take in six.

In late June 1917, six pale, frightened German children arrive. Grigori, one of the Russian prisoners, breaks through their terror by having each Russian carry baby animals into the kitchen, embodying his belief that all children are the same. As the children settle in, Hans, the eldest boy, writes his mother questioning what his Berlin teacher taught about Russians and Jews being monsters. His mother tells him to forget everything that teacher said.

In April 1918, Father tells the family the story that gives the book its title. During an advance through a devastated, lifeless forest, his unit found one surviving apple tree at dawn, full of birds of every kind singing together: orphans of the destruction sheltering on the one living thing still rooted in the earth. He compares Mother to that tree, steady and unchanging while small and large orphans find shelter on her limbs.

The war ends in the fall of 1918. Father and Jancsi visit Uncle Moses, who is overjoyed by the American President's proclamation of justice and peace for all nations. Aaron plans to return as the fourth generation of Mandelbaums to keep the village store. On the way home, father and son stop at the poplar lane. The carved post from 1848 still stands, its words intact. Father adds that a fourth word has just been born: "Peace." Jancsi tells Father that the singing tree represents more than Mother alone; it is the house, the family, and everything they are together. They affirm that storms may come and people may pass through, but they and their home will remain the same.