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perseusj4ckson's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Violence, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Suicide, and Car accident
rachel17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I have so many thoughts. My climate friends recommended this book to me, saying, “I didn’t really enjoy it, but it’s important.” I kind of agree. Mostly, I thought this was a beautifully-written, piercing set of stories about our relationship with the natural world. But that doesn’t quite encompass all the layers. Some parts were flowery and soothing, other parts: caustic and disturbing. Generally, I think this is a Good Book.™
But I’ve a few criticisms. I continue to be frustrated by white male authors. While I appreciated the diversity of the characters, some of the “broken English” parts made me cringe, particularly the parts that were referenced repeatedly. I also thought this book was sorely lacking Indigenous Knowledge attributions, which he sort of touched on in the very end, but barely. And to any male authors out there who may still somehow be unsure: You Don’t Need To Write About Women’s Chests. Though, slightly ironically, I had a hard time keeping the white dudes straight.
I’ve got a lot more opinions about other things in this book, but I think that might make this review into a novella.
But I’ve a few criticisms. I continue to be frustrated by white male authors. While I appreciated the diversity of the characters, some of the “broken English” parts made me cringe, particularly the parts that were referenced repeatedly. I also thought this book was sorely lacking Indigenous Knowledge attributions, which he sort of touched on in the very end, but barely. And to any male authors out there who may still somehow be unsure: You Don’t Need To Write About Women’s Chests. Though, slightly ironically, I had a hard time keeping the white dudes straight.
I’ve got a lot more opinions about other things in this book, but I think that might make this review into a novella.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Police brutality, Gore, and Death
leahgustafson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This is a gorgeous portrayal of the wonder, beauty, and power of trees (and nature). The writing is definitely worthy of a Pulitzer!
•
I really enjoyed reading the first section, “Roots.” This reads like a collection of short stories where we briefly meet each of the characters, learn about their families, and discover a little bit about how their lives are shaped by and connected to trees/nature.
•
The structural shift in this book (after the first section) was a very interesting choice. The middle and ending sections almost feel like a completely different book in the way they are written. The characters become secondary to the true main characters, the trees. However, I believe this is in line with Power’s purpose for writing this book. I like how Powers teaches us more about trees and the natural world through fictional stories and language devices. It didn’t feel like I was reading a text book about trees, but I definitely learned something during this reading experience! While I enjoyed how all the stories were woven together (similarly to the roots, branches, and leaves of trees), the middle felt a little long winded for me at times.
•
This book highlights the magic of trees/nature and ultimately asks us to reflect on our own relationship with the natural world. We can’t help but ask what we are doing to protect and preserve a natural world that has been around for centuries before us and will be around long after humans are gone.
•
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide
jt0645's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
chelsea_w's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
"This is not our world with trees in it. It's a world of trees, where humans have just arrived." That is a quote from "The Overstory" by Richard Powers that succinctly summarizes the 500+ pages of the book. It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I love nature. I love being in nature. I love the work I do in Eagle Mountain on behalf of nature. I would love to find a job that pays me a living wage to spend 40 hours a week in a hammock in nature (seriously, if you know of anything, I'm the person for that job!). So it's no surprise that this book spoke to me. Powers has divided the book into 4 main sections: Roots, Trunk, Crown, and Seeds and each section felt very much like that portion of a tree to me.
Roots provides the background on most of the main characters in the book. Each chapter's main character has some connection to trees, but not yet to each other. In this section, I thought I was reading a collection of short stories. Each story/chapter was told in a unique way and very different from each other. I enjoyed the stories, but since they didn't relate to each other, I wasn't sure I would complete the entire collection of short stories at once. I thought I would read a few, then read another book and come back to read another few stories. Like roots, however, it may appear that each root is independent of other roots of the same tree, but they are all connected and provide nutrients and strength to the tree.
After learning about 9 people (roots) the book transitioned into describing the Trunk. Like a tree, this was the most visible and hearty part of the book. I already returned my copy to the library, so I don't have exact numbers, but roughly half of the book was spent in the trunk. This is where we see the individual characters starting to come together - sometimes with direct interaction in the book, sometimes with a sense of shared purpose. The plight of the characters is that humans are causing destruction of forests in alarming and unprecedented ways. Several ways to address this problem are explored in the plot. The methods are as varied in their approach as the characters are in their support. Powers does a good job of portraying a broad range of reactions and emotions. As a reader it was easy to empathize with each character whether I agreed with their actions or not.
The last two sections of the book, Crown and Seeds, are less distinguishable from each other than they are from Roots and Trunk. I won't spoil plots, but here we find some of the conclusion of the narrative and an attempt to sway the reader into action. There are still a lot of seemingly critical loose ends that are not fully resolved in the book. I've been trying to decide why Powers decided to leave them incomplete. Is is because the book is already over 500 pages and he didn't want to make it longer? This seems unlikely since there is already a lot of rambling and some sections of the book that could have been excised to be able to answer these lingering questions. Is it because Powers wanted to portray the book as still living like a tree and future leaves and branches are not yet visible? Perhaps, but this feels like trying too hard to make the metaphor fit. I think it is because by leaving the ending vague or uncertain, Powers is allowing the reader to continue thinking about the story after the pages have ended. There are several questions on GoodReads pertaining to the unanswered questions and a lot of speculation. I think this was a clever way for the author to get people engaged and interacting where they ordinarily wouldn't.
Overall, I really liked this book. It was long and there were parts that didn't seem to contribute to the storyline that could have been skipped, but I felt a lot of emotions reading the book: nostalgia, hope, despair, excitement, sadness, among others.
Roots provides the background on most of the main characters in the book. Each chapter's main character has some connection to trees, but not yet to each other. In this section, I thought I was reading a collection of short stories. Each story/chapter was told in a unique way and very different from each other. I enjoyed the stories, but since they didn't relate to each other, I wasn't sure I would complete the entire collection of short stories at once. I thought I would read a few, then read another book and come back to read another few stories. Like roots, however, it may appear that each root is independent of other roots of the same tree, but they are all connected and provide nutrients and strength to the tree.
After learning about 9 people (roots) the book transitioned into describing the Trunk. Like a tree, this was the most visible and hearty part of the book. I already returned my copy to the library, so I don't have exact numbers, but roughly half of the book was spent in the trunk. This is where we see the individual characters starting to come together - sometimes with direct interaction in the book, sometimes with a sense of shared purpose. The plight of the characters is that humans are causing destruction of forests in alarming and unprecedented ways. Several ways to address this problem are explored in the plot. The methods are as varied in their approach as the characters are in their support. Powers does a good job of portraying a broad range of reactions and emotions. As a reader it was easy to empathize with each character whether I agreed with their actions or not.
The last two sections of the book, Crown and Seeds, are less distinguishable from each other than they are from Roots and Trunk. I won't spoil plots, but here we find some of the conclusion of the narrative and an attempt to sway the reader into action. There are still a lot of seemingly critical loose ends that are not fully resolved in the book. I've been trying to decide why Powers decided to leave them incomplete. Is is because the book is already over 500 pages and he didn't want to make it longer? This seems unlikely since there is already a lot of rambling and some sections of the book that could have been excised to be able to answer these lingering questions. Is it because Powers wanted to portray the book as still living like a tree and future leaves and branches are not yet visible? Perhaps, but this feels like trying too hard to make the metaphor fit. I think it is because by leaving the ending vague or uncertain, Powers is allowing the reader to continue thinking about the story after the pages have ended. There are several questions on GoodReads pertaining to the unanswered questions and a lot of speculation. I think this was a clever way for the author to get people engaged and interacting where they ordinarily wouldn't.
Overall, I really liked this book. It was long and there were parts that didn't seem to contribute to the storyline that could have been skipped, but I felt a lot of emotions reading the book: nostalgia, hope, despair, excitement, sadness, among others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
juliatsang's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, Suicide, Death, and Grief
beanypole's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Infertility
Minor: Dementia, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping
matcha_pages's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Violence
m4rtt4's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.75
I really loved the first part, and had the rest of the book been like it, I'd probably have given this at least 4.5 stars. Still not bad, all the nature stuff was mind-blowingly incredible, but some of the (POC) characters were pretty stereotypical and I didn't really like how all their stories intertwined in the second half.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Police brutality, Violence, Ableism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Sexual content, Infertility, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
luise96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts