Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage
Moderate: Animal death, Infertility, Car accident, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This book really touched me. I left it feeling big emotions about the earth and our place in it. It was pretty slow-paced, which was sometimes a virtue (you really get to know the characters and you really get into their individual and collective psyches), though I did sometimes feel like the story lagged. That said, based on my experience, I would 10/10 read another book by this author, and I really want to visit the Redwood forest.
I absolutely loved this book. From the first page I was transported to my former home in the mountains of Washington State. I could smell the forest and hear the creek running at the end of my property. This book is set in the late 1970’s in the old growth forest of Northern California, but the similarities to my little slice of heaven struck a deep, resonant chord with me. I found the characters to be finely-drawn and I felt both their joys and their sorrows.
There are weightier issues at play, chemical spraying and the effect on the community and environmentalists protesting the destruction of old-growth forests. I have some personal experience with those type of protests. Without giving myself completely away, there may or may not be video of me standing in the middle of a mountain road in my nightgown and Uggs screaming at loggers decimating the old-growth trees on my neighbors property. He sold the trees for money. Little rat-bastard. He will get his because he was dumb enough to put in his septic tank ABOVE his house. As Lark says in this novel, “shit pays”.
I found this novel to be beautiful, elegiac and I was thoroughly moved.
There are weightier issues at play, chemical spraying and the effect on the community and environmentalists protesting the destruction of old-growth forests. I have some personal experience with those type of protests. Without giving myself completely away, there may or may not be video of me standing in the middle of a mountain road in my nightgown and Uggs screaming at loggers decimating the old-growth trees on my neighbors property. He sold the trees for money. Little rat-bastard. He will get his because he was dumb enough to put in his septic tank ABOVE his house. As Lark says in this novel, “shit pays”.
I found this novel to be beautiful, elegiac and I was thoroughly moved.
Rich Gunderson has been carving out a living logging in the Pacific Northwest for his whole life, just like his father before him and generations of family--many who died on the job--before that.
But it's 1977, and things are changing. Rich's livelihood feels on the verge of becoming obsolete as the heavily harvested woods dwindle. He makes a desperate bid to make his own way by investing heavily into logging a corner of the forest.
Meanwhile, environmentalists are fighting to stop logging and preserve the trees; a former resident with links to Rich's wife Colleen returns to town as a scientist researching water contamination and links to local health issues; and Rich's ability to earn back any of the savings he sunk into buying the woods seems in jeopardy. Rich and Colleen's relationship is strained by their many miscarriages and disagreements about their future.
Damnation Spring is a roller coaster of a book. Author Ash Davidson lays out secrets, money woes, an old flame, a domineering sister, foolish relatives, dangerous and backbreaking work, brushes with disaster, the stress of straddling ecological responsibility and the demands human consumption, and overreaching uncertainty. Every character grapples with obligation, safety, and family issues.
This literary fiction from Ash Davidson is wonderfully wrought, with lots of tense undercurrents, a growing sense of being trapped in an impossible situation, heartbreaking horrors, and few, if any, black-and-white answers--Davidson presents fascinating gray areas instead. The setting is lush and captivating and feels like its own character.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Damnation Spring.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
But it's 1977, and things are changing. Rich's livelihood feels on the verge of becoming obsolete as the heavily harvested woods dwindle. He makes a desperate bid to make his own way by investing heavily into logging a corner of the forest.
Meanwhile, environmentalists are fighting to stop logging and preserve the trees; a former resident with links to Rich's wife Colleen returns to town as a scientist researching water contamination and links to local health issues; and Rich's ability to earn back any of the savings he sunk into buying the woods seems in jeopardy. Rich and Colleen's relationship is strained by their many miscarriages and disagreements about their future.
Damnation Spring is a roller coaster of a book. Author Ash Davidson lays out secrets, money woes, an old flame, a domineering sister, foolish relatives, dangerous and backbreaking work, brushes with disaster, the stress of straddling ecological responsibility and the demands human consumption, and overreaching uncertainty. Every character grapples with obligation, safety, and family issues.
This literary fiction from Ash Davidson is wonderfully wrought, with lots of tense undercurrents, a growing sense of being trapped in an impossible situation, heartbreaking horrors, and few, if any, black-and-white answers--Davidson presents fascinating gray areas instead. The setting is lush and captivating and feels like its own character.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see Damnation Spring.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
Definitely not for readers who prefer a fast-paced, gripping storyline…well suited for the ones who appreciate the slow and methodical emphasis on the seemingly mundane aspects of life in nature, used by the likes of Edward Abbey, Leopold, and Thoreau.
Editing as I've had time to digest:
I absolutely love how much time Davidson spent fleshing out the characters in this novel. I can see where the criticisms are coming from but it really gave insight and depth to the story. The shifting perspectives were delightfully frustrating, seeing Colleen and Rich dance around eachother, screaming to yourself "just TALK". But you know it would be out of character for them to do so.
I appreciated the way Chub's perspectives were written, seeing through the lens of a child without it feeling childlike.
You can feel the research put into this novel. The ending felt so much more significant because I was so invested by the end.
Editing as I've had time to digest:
I absolutely love how much time Davidson spent fleshing out the characters in this novel. I can see where the criticisms are coming from but it really gave insight and depth to the story. The shifting perspectives were delightfully frustrating, seeing Colleen and Rich dance around eachother, screaming to yourself "just TALK". But you know it would be out of character for them to do so.
I appreciated the way Chub's perspectives were written, seeing through the lens of a child without it feeling childlike.
You can feel the research put into this novel. The ending felt so much more significant because I was so invested by the end.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes