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mavemarie's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I had hoped to be moved by this book as a whole, but only found that magic in (albeit many) disjointed parts. This book is written for a timeline that is not for humans, and I don't think that's a fault, but ultimately left me floating and wanting for something I didn't receive. There is magic here. True and moving content, but not on the same level as Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass.
I didn't feel like any of the eight(??) storylines ended in a remotely satisfying way, but that they could have and should have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Police brutality
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Excrement, Violence, Grief, Toxic relationship, Gore, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury
bazer63's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Reading through this book is a bit of work but it is worth the effort. The way the plot threads weave together into a tragedy both fantastical and utterly mundane is wonderful. I have never read another book like it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Police brutality
Minor: Child abuse and Blood
emmonsannae's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
2.0
This is one of those books that is objectively excellent but just didn’t work for me. I thought the craftsmanship of the novel was superb, and I really enjoyed R.W.’s style. I like that the book forces you to ask a lot of questions about its purpose and the way that purpose is accomplished. But when I finished the book, I realized that I didn’t especially enjoy reading it. I think there were some sub-themes that didn’t agree with me, which made it hard to buy in by the ending (which requires a lot from its readers).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Police brutality
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death, Grief, and Suicide attempt
elizlizabeth's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I feel that Powers is an excellent short story writer. I really loved the first part of this book because of how engaging and emotive the character introductions were. The concept of the book is pretty cool: Roots has the introductions, Trunk where they all meet, Crown where they split, and Seeds as a sort of epilogue. However, in the execution the plot felt overly dramatic and the author kept either repeating or negating the character arcs to introduce conflict. This is a book I would've loved if nothing of substance happened, but in its effort to be jaw dropping it became trite and dated.
I was expecting a well-reaearched ode to trees and the inextricable paths that join us to them and the first part IS that. I am just disappointed that it didn't continued in the same vein. Roots is so good that it can even stand on its own, so I will cherish those stories and forget the rest.
I was expecting a well-reaearched ode to trees and the inextricable paths that join us to them and the first part IS that. I am just disappointed that it didn't continued in the same vein. Roots is so good that it can even stand on its own, so I will cherish those stories and forget the rest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Ableism and Miscarriage
dragongirl271's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Child abuse, Bullying, Sexual violence, Police brutality, War, Death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
pedanther's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
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: Chronic illness, Confinement, Excrement, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Terminal illness, Infertility, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Dementia, Misogyny, Racism, Ableism, and Bullying
Minor: Drug use, Colonisation, Vomit, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Child death
gkgkgk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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
This book tore me up. It's perfect. 6 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Infidelity
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Confinement, Excrement, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Forced institutionalization
loveisabird's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
beautifully written and absolutely makes me want to cry about trees and the planet a lot. and makes me wish i was brave enough to dedicate my life to saving them.
but, i don’t really love where the all the characters ended up by the conclusion. not saying they all should have gotten unambiguously happy endings, but some more narratively satisfying endings for more of them would have been nice. not really sure what i’m supposed to take away from all of these specific peoples’ struggles, i guess!
but, i don’t really love where the all the characters ended up by the conclusion. not saying they all should have gotten unambiguously happy endings, but some more narratively satisfying endings for more of them would have been nice. not really sure what i’m supposed to take away from all of these specific peoples’ struggles, i guess!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Police brutality
moa's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
i feel like i just experienced all of human history and i need to lie down
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Suicide attempt
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