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amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
this book is sooo longgg
talking about a bunch of different people all connected eventually through their love of trees
talking about a bunch of different people all connected eventually through their love of trees
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Suicide attempt, Grief, Police brutality, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Medical content
lectora21's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Infertility
zoe_werdy's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.5
There's no denying that this was an incredible book. The writing is beautiful, the weaving together of 9 different stories, diverse characters linked together by trees over several decades. This book makes profound points about sustainability, deforestation, human greed and human love. I was looking for a fiction book about the climate crisis and this was definitely it. The only thing was at over 600 pages and 9 different narratives it was such a long read, it didn't grip me, I had to take breaks to read other books in between each section and by the end I just wanted it finished. It was certainly an achievement to finish it but I'm pretty glad it's done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Death
adina_zeling's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicide
keegan_leech's review against another edition
challenging
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
This was a re-read and it's still an absolute favourite book of mine. Despite its flaws, which were more noticeable the second time around, it remains stunning for that rare quality in a book to fundamentally change the way you think about the world. It presents both trees and the broader environmental crisis in a rare way and does it persuasively.
I think some readers might find it at times too saccharine, or—depending on how closely you agree with the novel's assessment of humanity's prospects—either overly bleak or wildly optimistic. But whatever you think of it, it's a book to provoke and change you. I certainly think about it constantly, and for that alone I'd recommend it to everyone.
The characters, prose, and structure of the novel are all good enough that it manages to walk the knife's edge of being a book I'd recommend to everyone, but there's no doubt that they are supports for the themes and content of the novel more than selling points in themselves.
I'd recommend it, even if all my criticisms sound off-putting. If you think there's any part of you that would like to marvel at trees and growing things, or wonder at the connections between living things, then please read this book.
I think some readers might find it at times too saccharine, or—depending on how closely you agree with the novel's assessment of humanity's prospects—either overly bleak or wildly optimistic. But whatever you think of it, it's a book to provoke and change you. I certainly think about it constantly, and for that alone I'd recommend it to everyone.
The characters, prose, and structure of the novel are all good enough that it manages to walk the knife's edge of being a book I'd recommend to everyone, but there's no doubt that they are supports for the themes and content of the novel more than selling points in themselves.
I'd recommend it, even if all my criticisms sound off-putting. If you think there's any part of you that would like to marvel at trees and growing things, or wonder at the connections between living things, then please read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Police brutality
Moderate: Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, Torture, and War
Minor: Terminal illness and Confinement
waybeyondblue's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Police brutality
Minor: Suicide attempt
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
I started this book in March 2020 and it took me almost 2 full years to read.
There's two branches (heh) that my experience reading The Overstory could've gone down:
The first is a 5 star experience full of memorable characters, strong statements about nature, trees, environmentalism, and how humans are destroying the planet with our greed and need for more. With gorgeous writing and a clear love of trees woven throughout.
The other is my actual experience.
The second was a grandiose story that could've been told in 400-450 pages, where the last 150-200 pages were the most interesting of the whole novel (which are the parts I read in 2022).
Each section is represented by a part of the tree, and the Roots section is essentially 10 intros of 10 characters. The constant starting and re-starting made for a difficult entry into the novel as each character existed completely separately from the rest and only in subsequent sections were some of them connecting together.
With respect to the characters - they were often times well realized and fleshed out and yet other times they fell flat. The characters who received more page time in subsequent sections often felt more developed and less stereotypical. Some of the characters didn't really have an impact on the story because they so rarely interacted with anyone else in the novel. The majority of characters were also presumed white - only 2 (from my 2020 recollection) were people of colour - a Chinese-American woman (who laterends up with a facial disfigurement ) and Indian-American man (also a wheelchair user). I think a story like this would've benefited from a greater diversity of characters, which would more accurately reflect both our world and the environmental activism space. There was also a notable lack of Indigenous characters and world views. Considering there was only one Indigenous character (or presumed Indigenous) who appears in some of the last scenes to help out Nicholas, and who doesn't have a name and 'speaks to the trees in a very old language' - it might've been a good thing that Powers didn't attempt to write characters I sense he would've struggled with characterizing without stereotyping.
However, the nature writing was gorgeous and the love of trees obvious - I loved learning details about various trees and sharing the experiences of the characters. Nicholas and Olivia's experiences living in Mimas (a mature redwood tree) were some of my favourite scenes in the book.
I think there were a lot of strong messages in here about the power of trees and the importance of environmental activism and protecting our natural resources for their own sakes. However, the novel felt a little too bloated due to all the characters attempting to generate these messages.
And this final point is more due to marketing... I was expecting more speculative fiction elements of the trees literally talking to the characters and more change happening to save the trees. However, this was a novel incredibly grounded in reality and only hints of some characters 'hearing' what the trees were saying - which could be easily explained as a normal psychological phenomenon rather than the speculative element I was expecting. This is very much a work of literary fiction and I think some of the marketing did not emphasize that piece enough.
Overall, I'm glad I finally read it - I think the nature writing was great, and Powers knows how to tell a story. But his stories don't need to be this long with this many characters.
Finishing it did keep me distracted during a very stressful weekend and for that I'll have fondness for it.
There's two branches (heh) that my experience reading The Overstory could've gone down:
The first is a 5 star experience full of memorable characters, strong statements about nature, trees, environmentalism, and how humans are destroying the planet with our greed and need for more. With gorgeous writing and a clear love of trees woven throughout.
The other is my actual experience.
The second was a grandiose story that could've been told in 400-450 pages, where the last 150-200 pages were the most interesting of the whole novel (which are the parts I read in 2022).
Each section is represented by a part of the tree, and the Roots section is essentially 10 intros of 10 characters. The constant starting and re-starting made for a difficult entry into the novel as each character existed completely separately from the rest and only in subsequent sections were some of them connecting together.
With respect to the characters - they were often times well realized and fleshed out and yet other times they fell flat. The characters who received more page time in subsequent sections often felt more developed and less stereotypical. Some of the characters didn't really have an impact on the story because they so rarely interacted with anyone else in the novel. The majority of characters were also presumed white - only 2 (from my 2020 recollection) were people of colour - a Chinese-American woman (who later
However, the nature writing was gorgeous and the love of trees obvious - I loved learning details about various trees and sharing the experiences of the characters. Nicholas and Olivia's experiences living in Mimas (a mature redwood tree) were some of my favourite scenes in the book.
I think there were a lot of strong messages in here about the power of trees and the importance of environmental activism and protecting our natural resources for their own sakes. However, the novel felt a little too bloated due to all the characters attempting to generate these messages.
And this final point is more due to marketing... I was expecting more speculative fiction elements of the trees literally talking to the characters and more change happening to save the trees. However, this was a novel incredibly grounded in reality and only hints of some characters 'hearing' what the trees were saying - which could be easily explained as a normal psychological phenomenon rather than the speculative element I was expecting. This is very much a work of literary fiction and I think some of the marketing did not emphasize that piece enough.
Overall, I'm glad I finally read it - I think the nature writing was great, and Powers knows how to tell a story. But his stories don't need to be this long with this many characters.
Finishing it did keep me distracted during a very stressful weekend and for that I'll have fondness for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
indrabindra's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I'm not sure what I was expecting but this turned out differently. Poetic prose with clearly well researched facts dispersed throughout. I found character dialogue rather clunky, but the plot was captivating. Heavy handed with the mellowdrama to my taste. I don't think this is the "environmental fable" everyone says it is. It's a good story about trees and people, but it is not all-encompassing. Did not appreciate the endings for most of the characters, but I respect that ending a book is tricky.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism and Cancer
raelong12's review
emotional
informative
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
prettyfunctional's review
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Violence, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death of parent, Confinement, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident and Sexual content