Jerzy Kosinski - The Devil Tree

Praise for The Devil Tree:

Flawless... A strong, meaningful voice, adding something vital to the riches of the modern novel.

The Times (London)

One of our finest and most important writers... masterful.

The Oregonian (Portland)

Kosinski is, one is sure, related in some crazy way to Hesse.... An unusual writerso consistently faithful to his own peculiar talent.

Cincinnati Enquirer

Jerzy Kosinskis prose is in itself so remarkableterse and hardedged but still supple and fluidthat it seems impossible he could ever fail or bore his readers.... Kosinski is one of our most valuable and exciting writers, and The Devil Tree will undoubtedly find a wide and appreciative audience.

Saturday Review

Stunning... powerful and affecting.

Publishers Weekly

THE DEVIL TREE

BOOKS BY JERZY KOSINSKI

NOVELS
The Painted Bird
Steps
Being There
The Devil Tree
Cockpit
Blind Date
Passion Play
Pinball
The Hermit of 69th Street

ESSAYS
Passing By
Notes of the Author
The Art of the Self

NONFICTION
(Under the pen name Joseph Novak)
The Future Is Ours, Comrade
No Third Path

Jerzy Kosinski

A NOVEL

REVISED AND EXPANDED

Copyright 1973, 1981 by Jerzy Kosinski

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Any members of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or publishers who would like to obtain permission to include the work in an anthology, should send their inquiries to Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

First published in hardcover by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., in 1973. Revised and expanded edition first published in hardcover by St. Martins Press in 1981. This Grove Press edition is printed in special arrangement with Henry Holt and Company, New York.

This book is fiction. Any similarity to any actual event or character,
whether past or present, is gratuitous and not intended.

Printed in Canada
Published simultaneously in Canada

Acknowledgements: The quotation used as an epigraph preceding the text is taken from Abraham Joshua Heschels Who Is Man? Copyright 1965 by Abraham Joshua Heschel. Reprinted with the permission of Stanford University Press, www.sup.org. // Lines from Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop by W. B. Yeats that appear on page 121 quoted by the narrator are reprinted with the permission of Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, from The Collected Works of W. B. Yeats, Volume 1: The Poems, Revised, edited by Richard J. Finneran. Copyright 1933 by The Macmillan Company; copyright renewed 1961 by Bertha Georgia Yeats. // Lines from Shine, Perishing Republic by Robinson Jeffers appearing on page 151 are taken from The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers. Copyright 1934 by Robinson Jeffers; copyright renewed 1962 by Donnan Jeffers and Garth Jeffers. Reprinted by permission of Random House, Inc. // Lines from Dear Judas by Robinson Jeffers appearing on page 151 are taken from Dear Judas and Other Poems. They are reprinted by permission of Liveright Publishing Corporation. Copyright 1929 by R. Jeffers. Copyright 1957 by Robinson Jeffers. Copyright 1977 by Liveright Publishing Corporation. // Lines from To His Father by Robinson Jeffers appearing on pages 151 and 152 are taken from The Collected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers, Poetry 1902-1920, Prose and Unpublished Writings, Volume 4, edited by Tim Hunt. Poem copyright 1924, 1952 by Robinson Jeffers; editorial matter copyright 2000 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Jr. University. Reprinted with the permission of Stanford University Press, www.sup.org.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kosinski, Jerzy N. 1933-1991.

The devil tree : a novel / Jerzy KosinskiRev. and expanded,
p. cm.
eBook ISBN-13: 978-0-8021-9951-5
1. Inheritance and successionFiction. 2. Self-destructive behaviorFiction. 3. Children of the richFiction. 4. AmericansAfricaFiction. I. Title.

PS3561.O8 D4 2003
81354dc21 2002033860

Grove Press
841 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

When I wrote this novel initially, I felt restricted by the proximity of its story to the environment and events of my recent past decade. This might account for the cryptic tone of the novels first version.

Now, years later, in this revised and expanded edition, I have felt free to reinstate all the additional links that bound Jonathan James Whalen to those whom he loved.

JERZY KOSINSKI

To Katherina
and to the memory of my mother

Beyond all agony and anxiety lies the most important ingredient of self-reflection: the preciousness of my own existence. To my own heart my existence is unique, unprecedented, priceless, exceedingly precious, and I resist the thought of gambling away its meaning.

ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL,
Who Is Man?

The native calls the baobab the devil tree because he claims that the devil once got tangled in its branches and punished the tree by reversing it. To the native, the roots are branches now, and the branches are roots. To ensure that there would be no more baobabs, the devil destroyed all the young ones. And thats why, the native says, there are only full-grown baobab trees left.

JERZY KOSINSKI,
The Devil Tree

THE DEVIL TREE

Looking down at the river shimmering in the bright sun, Jonathan Whalen leaned against the steel balustrade at the end of the street. The skyline of New York that he remembered did not seem altered by the recent skyscrapers. Far across the river, jets took off from La Guardia, leaving behind them thin lines of exhaust. On the near side, a helicopter lifted into the sky, hovered over the water, then veered off, casting its shadow on the river. Another helicopter descended and touched down, quivering to a stop on the landing pad.

Whalen walked toward the heliport, where a freshly painted copter sat on a platform. A large sign proclaimed: EXECUTIVE HELIWAYS, INC. SEE MANHATTAN FROM THE AIR. LOW-RATE EXCURSIONS. Whalen went into the ticket office, and the clerk looked him up and down.

Id like to see Manhattan, said Whalen.

Why dont you take a subway? said the clerk, focusing on Whalens old shirt, worn pants, and scuffed boots.

Manhattan cant be seen from the subway.

How about the bus?

Too slow. How about the sight-seeing flight?

The clerk leaned across the counter. Look, this is Executive Heliways, not freeload ways. Understand?

I do, said Whalen. He held out several crisp bills, the exact amount listed on the wall board as the price for the half-hour flight. Will this do?

Shuffling uneasily, the clerk stared at the money. Ill check with the pilot, he mumbled as he disappeared into the back room, and a moment later he returned, accompanied by a man in a gray uniform.

This is the fella who wants to take the ride, said the clerk.

The pilot glanced at Whalen. Look, son

Im not your son, said Whalen, and he pushed the money toward the clerk.

The pilot hesitated. Im going to have to sort of frisk you before takeoff.

You frisk everyone who flies with you?

Wellat my discretion.

Then use it, said Whalen.