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This book is about working class poor, greed and capitalism, environmentalism and justice...and what happens when they all collide. It demonstrates the very complicated relationship between humans and nature. The theme of mothering was very profound and beautifully threaded throughout the novel.
The ending of this novel was...tough. The last few chapters were an emotional roller coaster, which was a bit jarring after such a slow-paced novel. The entire novel was so well-written, though, and I really hope Davidson is working diligently on her next novel.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Car accident
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Car accident
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident
Minor: Abortion
It also doesn’t help that not a single one of the characters is likeable or has any ounce of definition. Rich is a fourth generation logger who made a terrible deal for a plot of land. All he wants is to cut logs. Colleen is his alarmingly young wife (it’s a bit of cradle-robbery if you look too hard) who has a string of miscarriages and desperately wants a baby. She wants one so bad she because a makeshift midwife in the backwoods they inhabit. And someone this story is told through the eyes of their five year old, Chub, as if to portray the element of “one big happy family.” Then there are a host of side characters who are so poorly constructed and unlikeable that this novel just drags on and on and on.
If the author had a story to tell here, she did more than miss the mark. This could have been a great story about the struggling between blue collar loggers and environmental activists trying to preserve nature and prevent the unnecessary carcinogenic exposure the logging community faces when they spray pesticides. This could have been a commentary on man’s struggle to subdue the earth for a quick buck, to commodify its diverse riches for our slimy monetary gain. Instead this is a drawn out and overbearing book that shows the worst of humanity and makes it very hard to have any sort of sympathy for this community.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Miscarriage, Car accident, Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Hate crime, Abortion
5 stars for setting, absolutely. It’s set in Klamath, which is about 45 minutes from where I grew up, and every mention of a familiar place and description of the environment was like a warm blanket over my homesick heart.
Everything beyond that, though, was just so heavy. I know that it’s all pretty accurate to the history of the area, but that didn’t make it less of a tough read. I knew a story set in that area around that time period was gonna be at best bittersweet, but it got to the point where it started to feel like misery porn.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Abortion, Alcohol
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Violence, Car accident, Abortion, Alcohol
Minor: Terminal illness, War