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mandi_lea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, War, Addiction, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Violence, Ableism, Animal death, Cancer, Drug use, Terminal illness, Blood, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
auraroraora's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction
Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual harassment and Physical abuse
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
"Because there’s nothing like poverty to teach you just how much of a luxury integrity truly is."
"What is nature exactly, Willow?...Is one of my reclaimed wood tables Nature? Am I nature?"
"Whenever she tells the story of the cyclone...she will puzzle over how to properly describe the sound it made as it ate through her library. She'll grapple with how one could possibly capture precisely the sound of ten thousand books drawn up into the air and scattered for hundreds of miles. And it won't be until years later--long after the Depression ends and poor people stop riding the rails...and long after she's able to again venture into that section of her field where they planted the windbreak of maples together, trees that have only thrived ever since. And long after the void he left in her life entirely heals over--only then will she arrive at a suitable answer: they sounded like birds."
"So know this: your father loved you with everything he had. He just didn't have much left."
"Time, Liam has learned, is not an arrow. Neither is it a road. It goes in no particular direction. It simply accumulates—in the body, in the world—like wood does. Layer upon layer. Light, then dark. Each one dependent upon the last. Each year impossible without the one preceding it. Each triumph and each disaster written forever in its structure. His own life, he can admit now, will never be clear, will never be unblemished, will never be reclaimed. Because it is impossible to ungrow what has already grown, to undo what is already done. Still, people trust the things he’s built, and there is something to that. It’s not enough, but it’s what he’ll take with him."
"What if a family isn't a tree at all? What if it's more like a forest? A collection of individuals, pooling their resources by intertwined roots, sheltering each other from wind and weather and drought... what are families other than fictions? Stories told about a particular cluster of people for a particular reason. And like all stories, families are not born, they're invented. Pieced together from love and lies and nothing else."
Graphic: Homophobia, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Drug use
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Medical content, Infidelity, Colonisation, Suicide, Alcohol, Misogyny, Violence, Outing, Cancer, Grief, Gun violence, Ableism, War, and Sexism
Minor: Abortion
Wrongful imprisonmentfeathery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Cancer, Bullying, Blood, Animal death, Drug use, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Classism, Addiction, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Gun violence, Ableism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Outing, Infertility, Vomit, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Excrement, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Outing, Miscarriage, Rape, Murder, Abortion, and Sexual violence
hmatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It starts slower than I usually enjoy, but the characters really grew on me. I wasn't expecting the depth in the characterizations and the nuance within each character's storyline.
The writing style plus the Canadian-centric setting really reminded me of Emily St. John Mandel, except perhaps more developed with a better plot than most of her work (sorry, I love her writing, but Station Eleven is a clear outlier when it comes to a solid plot).
I know this is a book that I will read again - I'm sure it's one of those ones where you notice so many more little details on the re-read. And I love that there's a book club kit for it (that has recipes).
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual violence
Minor: Bullying and Emotional abuse
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Author: Michael Christie
Genre: Historical Fiction/Climate Fiction
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: September 24th 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Atmospheric • Mesmerizing • Extensive
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Greenwood is a multi-generational family saga spanning more than a 100 years, running parallel to a story about trees, a continuous metaphor for the constant weathering and survival that is life. A story packed with secrets, growth and sacrifice that dives deep into the meaning of family, and shines an ever needed light of climate change, it's one of the books that will stay with you long after the final page.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I am so pleased to see this novel as the @readcanlit January 2021 selection, otherwise I may have never picked it up! I had received wonderful feedback from several trusted sources, but each time I read the blurb, I couldn't phantom it being a book for my taste. Now after having read it, I'll gladly admit it was nothing like what I was expecting, and I continue to struggle to put my thought into words. Michael Christie has delivered a timely literary masterpiece!
Greenwood is my first dip into climate fiction, and I must say I am impressed with this genre blending novel! I originally thought the structure was confusing, but came to understand it was a beautifully woven aspect for a novel centering around trees, mirroring its concentric rings. There were so many astonishing metaphors sprinkled throughout between life and nature. It delves deep into the roots of what makes a 'family' a family, and explores how branches of a family tree aren't always so straightforward. There was so much to love, and every time I put it down my mind kept coming back to it, however, I did find it an extremely slow build and long book. At times I had difficulty keeping track of the characters and the different timelines, and for that reason alone I couldn't give it full stars. At the end of the day, books, trees, and families all have their own story to tell.
Greenwood is certainly worth your time and I would recommend it to everyone. To be honest, I'm not sure you want to miss this one! More specifically to anyone who appreciates nature, enjoys a good multi-generational family saga, is looking for a great Canadian read, and/or enjoys historical fiction or climate fiction. I can also attest it makes a wonderful choice for book clubs!
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• everyone!
• nature lovers
• book clubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"How intimately a book is related to the tree and its rings, she thinks. The layers of time, preserved, for all to examine."
"No, her son is not hers alone. He descends from many bloodlines. Or, more precisely, he descends from the one, great bloodline: born of the Earth and the cosmos and all the wondrous green things that allow us life."
"Everett turns back to regard him and places his hands on Liam's head. 'There aren't any normal lives, son. That's the lie that hurts us most.'"
"People can adapt to anything, as long as it is necessary. And though she's been turned out of her Eden, she's leaving with a story. Only a partial story, it's true, but as far as she can tell, that's the only type there is."
Graphic: Addiction and Drug use
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gun violence, Infertility, and Physical abuse
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