I do love a sweeping novel with separate plot lines that gradually intertwine, and the examinations of 90s "ecowarrior" activism in the Pacific Northwest were really fascinating. But the book's ultimate message really didn't sit well with me... Human nature means we're all ultimately doomed? It's ok because the earth itself will survive even if we don't? I'm really not a fan of these fatalistic responses to climate change - it discourages activism/collective responses which can make a difference! The 1987 Montreal Protocol saved the ozone layer! Overall I could just tell that this book was written by a 60-smth-year-old white guy, and I'm over it. ( )

I enjoyed the premise and plotting of this one, but the writing style put me off quite a bit. While a flowery, prose-ish style can work in some stories here it feels overdone, and it comes off as though there's a lack of confidence in the base material.

Also, of course many magical realism novels have non-definitive endings (thinking of something like Kafka on the Shore here), but with a lot of those cases I think they at least leave characters in a place where you feel ready to say goodbye to them. The plot may be left unsolved or with unanswered questions, but the characters have gone through an arc, and you feel sad to leave yet content to see they've changed (not always for the better, of course!). However, in this book, I don't get that sense. It doesn't feel like the right time to leave these characters or move on from where they've been left. One could argue that my connection to them and desire for more time is a sign of a strong bond, and not all stories need to give characters resolution. However, to me, it feels like a failure to wrap things up, leaving me with a sour note when I put down the book.

Overall I feel pretty mixed. The best thing I can say is the premise is interesting enough that it carried me through to reading the whole thing. It's a situation where I wish a different author had come up with the idea (though, I'll note this is the only book by this author I've read, so I'm not sure if this is just their style or they've switched it up for this one). ( )

I am a tree hugger at heart and had sort of avoided The Overstory even though I bought a used copy thinking I would read it for the American Author Challenge. I knew it would be a challenge to read about the deceit and devastation practiced in the name of progress that tried hard to wipe out the Native Americans, the buffalo and the ancient trees, just to name a few. As you can see from the pictures I've posted, I live amongst trees here at the farm, and my husband and I own ten acres of wooded land along a creek where we once considered building a house but may now just preserve it from development as long as we can.

It seemed like a natural follow up to At The Edge of the Orchard so I dove in and it was, as I suspected, devastating for the trees and for the activists who try to save them from humanity while trying to save humanity from themselves. It does not, as you might expect, go well for the trees or the people. Law enforcement was often brutal to the protesters when they refused to yield in ways I won't describe here. Oregon Public Broadcasting has a radio series called Timber Wars produced in 2020 that lays out what they call the biggest environmental fight in the US.

The book is the story of ordinary human beings who encounter trees in ways that change their perspectives on the world. Powers masterfully tells their stories from their childhood through adulthood through the perspective of their journey both to and then with trees at the center. Along the way, we learn the stories of trees in America including references the Johnny Appleseed, chestnut blight and seed saving. It did make a nice companion to At the Edge of the Orchard although trees did not form the centerpiece of Chevalier's novel with its focus on family and relationships. But she describes the huge stump where the westerners held dances and it is surprising to think any giants were left for Powers' characters to save.

There may have been an undercurrent of hope in the book that ultimately the trees had a longer timeline than human beings but it couldn't cut through the sense of grief that permeated the book. I don't want to discourage you from reading it as I think it was the best book I've read this year. I'm following it up with a nonfiction, The Forest Unseen, in which David George Haskell spends a year reporting from a one-meter square patch of the Tennessee mountains. ( )

green

Yes heart in right place. It's all good, no bad thoughts expressed, but this was the worst book i have read in years. If this is a good example of the modern novel then I am glad i haven't bothered with many of the others. God i hate it when an author turns a noun into a verb. Cloying overwritten treacle....... ( )