Reviews

The Trees by Percival Everett

nickel_is_neat's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think you should read this book. This is funny (so funny!), sad, and meaningful the whole way through. 

sophieguillas's review against another edition

4.0

Two detectives are called in to investigate a series of murders where each white victim is accompanied by the body of a man that looks like Emmett Till.

When I picked up this book I thought it was going to be really heavy, but it found some surprising humour about the state of American racism. The white characters often reminded me of reading 100+ year old southern gothic books for school. It was satisfying to see that same setting from a black perspective. Our trio of investigators had a complicated relationship with their place in law enforcement and I appreciated how their perspective was put into contrast with Mama Z and Gertrude.

It took my a while to understand the supernatural elements of the story. I think I was just waiting for a non supernatural explanation for everything that happened, so I didn't engage with it for what it actually was right away. But I really liked when the murders escalated in the end. The "race war" was so extreme but also exactly in line with what the members of the KKK were expecting, which really highlights how absurd their stances are.

A weird and compelling book! There's a lot to think about considering the history of lynching in this one. I read it in one day, but I think I'm going to be digesting it for a while.

oiwaz's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

jessltrueman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kteddycurr's review against another edition

5.0

Best book of the year so far. The pacing and the way the characters were introduced were perfect. I've already recommended it to multiple people.

emilyeehaw's review against another edition

4.0

this was solid! such an interesting premise and well-done execution. i almost think i would have liked the ending of this book a bit more if it was even more ambiguous. 

deelisch's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

magis1105's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

monkeyboystiff's review against another edition

3.0

I feel like I missed something here, that there was some great work of literature I couldn't quite decode. Really it was just the author saying racism and lynching is bad, not a revelation. Weird unsatisfying ending.

Just not very rewarding for the effort. Annoying really, I wanted a proper story not an A level studies book.

gitsy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5