Nolan wrote "The Banyan Tree" (published 1999) in perspective of a country woman, Minnie O’Brien. The novel spans 80 years of Minnie's life, cutting from present to past to show the individuality of a woman and a mother who is determined to save the family's farm. "The Philadelphia Inquirer" appreciated "Nolan's soaring language and lilting alliterative style suffuse [... much of the book with a sense of the miraculous" and "The New York Times Book Review" found it "richly – even baroquely – told [...] Nolan writes with verve."