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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book desperately needed an editor. Not only for length.
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Depressing, beautiful, pointless, too point-full, meandering, slow, disconnected, magical, overly… realistic… dunno. I don’t think this book is for me.
I loved parts of it but I wanted so much more. I guess I like my fiction to be a little more… fictional.I would have liked just a little more magic, I’d have liked the stories to come together a little more, I’d have liked more of a wrap up for each character .
As for the ending,I think he was aiming for realistic but it came off more nihilistic. It mostly felt like 600 pages of nothing - for no pay off.
Still, I’m glad I read it. It is an eco-opus and it planted some good seeds (forgive me!)…Yes, the ending was unsatisfying… but maybe I just need to sit with this one a little more.
[ETA: I was right that this book has stayed with me more than I expected, so I’m bumping the rating up to 3.75/5 stars!]
I loved parts of it but I wanted so much more. I guess I like my fiction to be a little more… fictional.
As for the ending,
Still, I’m glad I read it. It is an eco-opus and it planted some good seeds (forgive me!)…
[ETA: I was right that this book has stayed with me more than I expected, so I’m bumping the rating up to 3.75/5 stars!]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Death, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Solid 4. I really liked the story and the writing style but it was a little too long for me. Not sure how Neelay fit in, especially at the end. And why was Ray’s story so sad lol whole book kinda made me freak out and want to go plant some trees haha
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Like the Bible if Jesus was a sapling. Excellent writing, complex story, moving. My God is tree now.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Extremely creative book - it spreads out like the forest and connects people to trees in a myriad of ways. It was a bit depressing (not the books fault, def more of a humans at fault).
“when you cut down a tree, what you make from it should be at least as miraculous as what you cut down.”
“Her trees are far more social than even Patricia suspected. There are no individuals. There aren’t even separate species. Everything in a forest is the forest. Competition is not separable from endless flavors of cooperation. Trees fight no more than do the leaves on a single tree.”
“when you cut down a tree, what you make from it should be at least as miraculous as what you cut down.”
“Her trees are far more social than even Patricia suspected. There are no individuals. There aren’t even separate species. Everything in a forest is the forest. Competition is not separable from endless flavors of cooperation. Trees fight no more than do the leaves on a single tree.”
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This book should be required reading everywhere in the world.
Funny thing is, I stumbled upon it by accident and decided to buy it more or less on a whim, after hearing stuff about it that presented it as something different than it actually was. It doesn't matter, though, because I was enthralled from the first pages (even though I was sure I'd need a picture dictionary to figure out all the trees). It's a very well-written book, evocative and descriptive, and although it spans so many years and tackles so many characters, I was never bored. It's also one of the few books written after 2000 where I can actually like all the characters. Yes, they're flawed and they're definitely not perfect, but they're built in such a way that you can understand them. I liked the structure, it was very clever, following each character from their origins to the aftermath of the story and what comes after.
Now on to the content. I won't say much about it, because I do not want to spoil it for anyone who has not read it yet (and you should, you definitely should). There are times when the story is not easy to read. It's painful and it's harsh at times, but the subject is tackled with grace and respect. I might be biased, because I too have had trees I was greatly attached to (and some of them I lost, so this story speaks a lot to me). What surprised me, though - in a pleasant way - was that there was this glimmer of hope throughout the story, and I really appreciated that.
I might need a while to recover from this. I don't think I'll find another book too soon that's so well-crafted and touching at the same time. But I'll definitely be checking more Richard Powers at some point.
Funny thing is, I stumbled upon it by accident and decided to buy it more or less on a whim, after hearing stuff about it that presented it as something different than it actually was. It doesn't matter, though, because I was enthralled from the first pages (even though I was sure I'd need a picture dictionary to figure out all the trees). It's a very well-written book, evocative and descriptive, and although it spans so many years and tackles so many characters, I was never bored. It's also one of the few books written after 2000 where I can actually like all the characters. Yes, they're flawed and they're definitely not perfect, but they're built in such a way that you can understand them. I liked the structure, it was very clever, following each character from their origins to the aftermath of the story and what comes after.
Now on to the content. I won't say much about it, because I do not want to spoil it for anyone who has not read it yet (and you should, you definitely should). There are times when the story is not easy to read. It's painful and it's harsh at times, but the subject is tackled with grace and respect. I might be biased, because I too have had trees I was greatly attached to (and some of them I lost, so this story speaks a lot to me). What surprised me, though - in a pleasant way - was that there was this glimmer of hope throughout the story, and I really appreciated that.
I might need a while to recover from this. I don't think I'll find another book too soon that's so well-crafted and touching at the same time. But I'll definitely be checking more Richard Powers at some point.
emotional
reflective
sad