Reviews with content warning for Death - The Overstory

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Overstory by Richard Powers

76 reviews

lindseyhall44's review

reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

“Let me sing to you now, about how people turn into other things.”
I received a copy of The Overstory as a birthday present, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew that there was widespread critical acclaim, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Never did I expect to feel, think, or see as powerfully as I did with the novel as my lense.
The Overstory follows an ensemble cast of characters, as trees shape and define their life experiences. Through themes of activism, growth, and ultimately life, the trees themselves will speak to you from the confinements of pages.
The format of the novel was immediately intriguing to me, as the parts are separated by the sections of a tree.
The roots and trunk may be, for some, (almost dauntingly) slow, but Powers is a master class in character studies, and the connection once finished reading will feel like the epitome of rewarding.
Although it was one of the most heartbreaking and gut wrenching works I have read in a while, it also offered a strangely hopeful note, that like trees we too can can leave a positive legacy behind.

I took off half a star because some of the mental health depictions I thought could have been written better.

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deedireads's review

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emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

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

4.25

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

The Overstory is a sprawling, beautiful novel about trees, activism, and interconnectedness — both between us and the planet, and with one another.

For you if: You like climate fiction and / or books with lots of main characters and plotlines.

FULL REVIEW:

The Overstory has been on my TBR for a long time. It won the Pulitzer, it was shortlisted for the Booker, and everyone and their brother kept recommending it to me. So when I planned a trip to Northern California to visit the redwoods, I knew it was finally time to pick this book up.

As you’ve probably heard, The Overstory is about trees. But it’s also about people — quite a lot of people, in fact. A big chunk of the book is dedicated to introducing us to a huge cast of characters, one full chapter per person. It’s unclear what these people have to do with one another until we move into the other sections of the book, at which point we bounce between them and see how their stories start to merge. In some cases, they meet; in others, they hear of one another. But the throughline is that all of them find themselves protesting deforestation and protecting trees in one form or another.

If you read Bewilderment first, like I did, you know Powers can write one heck of a nature book. Please allow me to confirm that this is a book that will make you think more, and more fondly, of every tree you see. It’s just exquisite stuff. I especially loved when two of our characters spent an entire year living up inside a giant old-growth redwood to stop it from being cut down. What made this even more interesting is that I read it after I read Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard, whose research inspired this book.

I will say that I did find all the characters and storylines a bit tricky to keep track of, although to Powers’ credit, my confusion never lasted very long. It’s also a bit longer than I think it needed to be. But overall, the prose is breathtaking, the characters will make you ache, and the impression it leaves won’t fade anytime soon.

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haleylooloo's review

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emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

A very densely packed book, because the descriptions are so vivid you have to read every word to truly get this book. One of the most reflective and thoughtful books I’ve read. Truly an experience. I imagine this book will be on my mind for years to come. A true future classic!

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aelunny's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

If I'm honest, I would've liked this book a lot more of I read it before I read Braiding Sweetgrass. I like the unique format of the book, and I understand it's charge, but I feel like my view on nature was already connected to the slow and deep way this book portrays it, and therefore I don't know if it hit as much as it did for all of the other people who are singing it's praises. Maybe I'm being harsh because it was really well written, but this is my review so it stands as is.

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julziez's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

1.0

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igmartinez's review

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adventurous dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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middumullu's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

I read a paper copy. It was honestly a slow start, but built up really well. The book is divided into a few different sections so I guess that's how I'll break this up. I don't remember how many there were so I can't get super specific but the beginning/middle/end had very different vibes.

Beginning - sets up each of the different characters' backstories and personalities. It's a pretty diverse cast of characters, and each of their worlds at this point feels distinct and individual and real. It was slow and calm, but I wasn't sure what direction the story was going to go because many of these parts felt like they had closure. The first section ends with an absolute BANGER.

Middle - The second section starts with an absolute BANGER as well. The way the story continued over from each section was done really well. The stories started to merge here and it was interesting to see the ways that they came together, and to try to guess where and when each of the characters and story lines would meet. The middle parts of the book pick up the pace, too. You begin to feel the urgency that characters are feeling, their sense of purpose and connection to something greater. It's inspiring and makes you want to go out and do something to help the world.

End - This part slows down too. For me it was sad to read, about the state of the environment, the decline, where all of these characters find themselves in life. It felt a bit like crashing back to reality after some of the fantasy of the middle section. I honestly can't remember how it ended but I remember feeling like there was a lot to consider. Our relationship to the Earth, our relationship to each other, the extent of our responsibility for different parts of our life.

I really enjoyed all of the characters and their dynamics together. I've seen some people complaining about Neelay feeling irrelevant to the plot but I liked his parts. I thought they added a different view of the world that was much needed. Patty of course was my favorite. Icon. Overall a good and thought provoking read, but on the longer and slower side.

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