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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
DAMNATION SPRING by Ash Davidson is about a logging community in northern California in the 1970s and what happens when a midwife starts asking whether the local timber company's herbicide is causing miscarriages and birth defects—while her husband, a lifelong logger, is trying to buy a plot of old-growth forest to start his own operation. The heart of this story is their relationship, the strength of their commitment to each other while so many of the expectations they have for life are falling away. Davidson grew up in the town where the book is set and spent 10 years researching it. All the details are right. She lets us see the scratches that the loggers caulk boots leave in the linoleum floors of the local clinics. She lets us hear the crash the “big pumpkin” redwoods make when they land exactly where they’re meant to fall. When I finished the last page, I sobbed so loudly that Abby had to get out of bed to check on me.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Happy Publication Day!!!!
Although environmental stories are not my usual reads, I was intrigued by the premise from the opposite perspective. Instead of focusing on the “tree huggers” (which was the focus of my last environmental book), this one focuses on the working class loggers in the 1970s.
Rich has been cutting down redwood trees as long as he can remember. Almost 50 now and after his younger wife’s miscarriage, he makes the decision to use their life savings to buy a huge section of land with the intention to profit off the cut redwoods.
Unknown to him, his wife, Colleen, begins to question whether her miscarriage (and the seven previous ones which she kept a secret) were caused by the sprays used to keep the land free of weeds. Working in secret with her ex boyfriend, she begins to wonder whether the nose bleeds, cancers, and deaths are worth it trade off for the income Rich gets.
The story is also told through Chub’s perspective. As their only kid, his chapters showcase his innocence in what’s going on around him.
The synopsis that I provided should have really set the background for the story, but instead this plot lasted for over 70% of the novel. Every plot point that I mentioned kept getting repeated and it seemed that there was no escalation.
You may be asking me what then was happening for majority of the book?
Well, we really meet a lot of random and pretty asshole-ish characters. By a LOT, it honestly felt like every chapter a new character was interjected. I didn’t use the word introduced, because no introduction was ever given. They would just appear using logger jargon. Their whole family was also mentioned as if we should know who they are in relation to Rich or Colleen. I honestly wouldn’t be able to describe the other characters no matter how hard I tried (and trying to find them in the book would be impossible).
There was also a weird focus on some storylines. Rich’s toothache was mentioned so many times for absolutely no reason. We’re given background on his previous dentist. We’re told the life story of the current dentist he refuses to see. We get a random chapter of him going to the dentist. It makes no sense. Additionally, there was a skull found very early on but I don’t think there was ever any conclusion to who that was or what happened.
Overall, maybe the last 10% of this book actually felt like something was going on. I still don’t completely understand what’s happening with the land in the end (but I can’t say I ever knew what was going on with it).
I might have set too high expectations for this and ultimately had to really push myself to read to the very end.
∙
part of race against time challenge (aka read all 2021 releases before the year ends.)
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Although environmental stories are not my usual reads, I was intrigued by the premise from the opposite perspective. Instead of focusing on the “tree huggers” (which was the focus of my last environmental book), this one focuses on the working class loggers in the 1970s.
Rich has been cutting down redwood trees as long as he can remember. Almost 50 now and after his younger wife’s miscarriage, he makes the decision to use their life savings to buy a huge section of land with the intention to profit off the cut redwoods.
Unknown to him, his wife, Colleen, begins to question whether her miscarriage (and the seven previous ones which she kept a secret) were caused by the sprays used to keep the land free of weeds. Working in secret with her ex boyfriend, she begins to wonder whether the nose bleeds, cancers, and deaths are worth it trade off for the income Rich gets.
The story is also told through Chub’s perspective. As their only kid, his chapters showcase his innocence in what’s going on around him.
The synopsis that I provided should have really set the background for the story, but instead this plot lasted for over 70% of the novel. Every plot point that I mentioned kept getting repeated and it seemed that there was no escalation.
You may be asking me what then was happening for majority of the book?
Well, we really meet a lot of random and pretty asshole-ish characters. By a LOT, it honestly felt like every chapter a new character was interjected. I didn’t use the word introduced, because no introduction was ever given. They would just appear using logger jargon. Their whole family was also mentioned as if we should know who they are in relation to Rich or Colleen. I honestly wouldn’t be able to describe the other characters no matter how hard I tried (and trying to find them in the book would be impossible).
There was also a weird focus on some storylines. Rich’s toothache was mentioned so many times for absolutely no reason. We’re given background on his previous dentist. We’re told the life story of the current dentist he refuses to see. We get a random chapter of him going to the dentist. It makes no sense. Additionally, there was a skull found very early on but I don’t think there was ever any conclusion to who that was or what happened.
Overall, maybe the last 10% of this book actually felt like something was going on. I still don’t completely understand what’s happening with the land in the end (but I can’t say I ever knew what was going on with it).
I might have set too high expectations for this and ultimately had to really push myself to read to the very end.
∙
part of race against time challenge (aka read all 2021 releases before the year ends.)
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars
Three words to describe this book: Descriptive, Informative, Heartbreaking
The book was slow to start but once I became invested in where it “could” possibly go and I became involved in the characters’ lives, it truly started to flow faster. I thought most of the characters were fleshed out in such a way that I felt like I knew them.
I think this was a powerful book and it’s even relevant today as our climate is shifting and former land industries are getting a closer look at whether they are relevant, they need innovation, slowed down, or even if they are needed at all.
Davidson’s descriptions of the land and the forest made me feel like I was there, through the felling of the trees, and the landslides, and the clearing of the creek. It was beautiful and, unfortunately at times, ugly.
I feel she expertly ties together the environmental impact of logging and the use of herbicides, with the reality that the lumber industry provides jobs for families and, a product we use and want.
Favorite Person: Lark. I smiled whenever the main characters encountered him. I knew I was in for a good time and a break from the other “realities” going on with the Gundersen Family.
Least favorite person: Merle. I felt like he was the real, although hidden, bully.
Three words to describe this book: Descriptive, Informative, Heartbreaking
The book was slow to start but once I became invested in where it “could” possibly go and I became involved in the characters’ lives, it truly started to flow faster. I thought most of the characters were fleshed out in such a way that I felt like I knew them.
I think this was a powerful book and it’s even relevant today as our climate is shifting and former land industries are getting a closer look at whether they are relevant, they need innovation, slowed down, or even if they are needed at all.
Davidson’s descriptions of the land and the forest made me feel like I was there, through the felling of the trees, and the landslides, and the clearing of the creek. It was beautiful and, unfortunately at times, ugly.
I feel she expertly ties together the environmental impact of logging and the use of herbicides, with the reality that the lumber industry provides jobs for families and, a product we use and want.
Favorite Person: Lark. I smiled whenever the main characters encountered him. I knew I was in for a good time and a break from the other “realities” going on with the Gundersen Family.
Least favorite person: Merle. I felt like he was the real, although hidden, bully.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Such a beautiful and well researched book! I’m looking forward to what more Ash Davidson will write.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
slow-paced