Scan barcode
rachelasteen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
mayawinshell's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
tremendous, beautifully written prose. made the world and time and life (not just green life—human life, too) feel expansive. also made me feel fragile and mortal. but left me with fewer worries i think. in the long run of things
loved living in this world for as long as i was reading the book… i love multigenerational stories and seeing elders as the little kids and young people they were and are still. and we get to do that so many times with so many characters. my favorite section was the first one, the short stories— it made me feel like i could die, lose a loved one, or have my life forever altered at any time…. boooo!! not bad writing just realism i can’t handle
.5 shaved bc the one thing i’m not so keen on is the way richard powers wrote neelay’s sense of his own body… every time this disabled character “describes himself” it’s as, like, a ‘twig-thin, insect-like freak creature on wheels’ or something like that… and neelay is not a real disabled person with autonomy speaking self-deprecatingly about himself… he’s a fictional character being described by an author who is not in a wheelchair. idk it made me raise my eyebrows and give a little side eye each time it happened, which was kind of a lot
besides that, every character (including neelay) was written with so much fullness, so much empathy, so much life. and don’t get me started on the way TREES were written about. it’s the best stuff. i am still most enamored with patricia westerford’s section in part I (roots) because of the way that nature was described. rhapsodic. the life of forest ecosystems is older, bigger, and more articulate than most humans have ever attempted to presume. we are so small yet can do so much harm. i thought about a book i read when i was starting out my first-ever garden this summer, called “edible forest gardening” that advised that the gardener engage in a harmonious style of planting that, like a naturally growing forest, would create networks of mutually beneficial behavior between all your various plants. the tall ones that love and need sun towering to protect the short ones that prefer cool shade. trees whose roots provide the nutrients necessary to grow certain fungi. all of it growing in a way that needs little intervention or assistance from its human cultivator, and is simultaneously beneficial to that human with all the edible goods it can offer. i couldn’t achieve that in this first attempt, but the ideals expressed in the introductory chapter stayed with me. and this book (especially ray and dorothy’s overgrown backyard) reminded me of it, and made me feel that that at the very least, small versions of this partnership with this thing that gives us so much, is possible.
as for more takeaways— beyond the obvious ones—i’m at a bit of a loss for words! i have to spend some serious time thinking about all of the wisdom it imparted. intense!! i’m not sure if i was actually reading it as long as i recorded above but i was honestly never bored. i recommend this book to lovers of summer and fall
tremendous, beautifully written prose. made the world and time and life (not just green life—human life, too) feel expansive. also made me feel fragile and mortal. but left me with fewer worries i think. in the long run of things
loved living in this world for as long as i was reading the book… i love multigenerational stories and seeing elders as the little kids and young people they were and are still. and we get to do that so many times with so many characters. my favorite section was the first one, the short stories— it made me feel like i could die, lose a loved one, or have my life forever altered at any time…. boooo!! not bad writing just realism i can’t handle
.5 shaved bc the one thing i’m not so keen on is the way richard powers wrote neelay’s sense of his own body… every time this disabled character “describes himself” it’s as, like, a ‘twig-thin, insect-like freak creature on wheels’ or something like that… and neelay is not a real disabled person with autonomy speaking self-deprecatingly about himself… he’s a fictional character being described by an author who is not in a wheelchair. idk it made me raise my eyebrows and give a little side eye each time it happened, which was kind of a lot
besides that, every character (including neelay) was written with so much fullness, so much empathy, so much life. and don’t get me started on the way TREES were written about. it’s the best stuff. i am still most enamored with patricia westerford’s section in part I (roots) because of the way that nature was described. rhapsodic. the life of forest ecosystems is older, bigger, and more articulate than most humans have ever attempted to presume. we are so small yet can do so much harm. i thought about a book i read when i was starting out my first-ever garden this summer, called “edible forest gardening” that advised that the gardener engage in a harmonious style of planting that, like a naturally growing forest, would create networks of mutually beneficial behavior between all your various plants. the tall ones that love and need sun towering to protect the short ones that prefer cool shade. trees whose roots provide the nutrients necessary to grow certain fungi. all of it growing in a way that needs little intervention or assistance from its human cultivator, and is simultaneously beneficial to that human with all the edible goods it can offer. i couldn’t achieve that in this first attempt, but the ideals expressed in the introductory chapter stayed with me. and this book (especially ray and dorothy’s overgrown backyard) reminded me of it, and made me feel that that at the very least, small versions of this partnership with this thing that gives us so much, is possible.
as for more takeaways— beyond the obvious ones—i’m at a bit of a loss for words! i have to spend some serious time thinking about all of the wisdom it imparted. intense!! i’m not sure if i was actually reading it as long as i recorded above but i was honestly never bored. i recommend this book to lovers of summer and fall
amburns118's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cbirchy's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most extraordinary books I have ever read. It has changed the way I see the world, quite literally. I cannot recommend highly enough.
bubblesuns's review against another edition
4.0
I so badly wanted this to be my favourite book ever - and I felt like it was on track - but the last 150 pages or so just really started to drag; perhaps not all the stories and characters needed to be there.
Regardless, this was a beautiful story so lovingly crafted and it will stick with me for a very long time. I don’t want to just copy Obama, but I also will view the world a little differently from now on.
Regardless, this was a beautiful story so lovingly crafted and it will stick with me for a very long time. I don’t want to just copy Obama, but I also will view the world a little differently from now on.
csgiansante's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 I think there was a really strong message that you can get out of this book, but I don't know if I was as gripped by the story as other. I think I enjoyed the Roots chapters the most, and then the later chapters felt somewhat muddled. Still a good book, but I wouldn't need to revisit it.
pleasereadittome's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
haey0's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
katiecaytonholland's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0