Book Summary- The man who planted trees

The man who planted trees is a short story by Jean Giono. This story is about a shepherd who single handedly converted a deserted land into a new forest.

Book summary of the man who planted trees

Summary:

The story begins when the narrator decides to take a hiking trip through provence and into the alps. On his way, he reached a deserted, barren area where hardly anything grows. Only wild lavender can be found in this region. On his journey, he runs out of water and his search of water leads him to a shepherd named Elzeard Bouffier, who gave him water and took the narrator to his cottage.

Curious about his way of living and laconic tone the narrator decides to stay with him for the time. He gets to know that after losing his son and wife, the old shepherd decided to reside his life in solitude. He would separate good acorns from the bad ones and plant those on the barren land. This was his attempt to bring the dying land back to life. The narrator then returns to his home. During that time he fought in the world war, after the war he returned again to the same region but was shocked to see the young saplings growing there. He also finds out that the old shepherd was no more a shepherd but a beekeeper.

The authorities however believed that this new forest was a result of some natural phenomenon and gave official protection to it. But Elzeard Bouffier continued doing his deeds. Because of his efforts the valley became lively again. It was as if in the attempt of healing himself the old shepherd healed the barren earth as well.

From the story of Elzeard Bouffier the narrator was able to restore his faith in humanity.