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kelly_e's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
Title: Greenwood
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."
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."
Content Warnings
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
overdoselinesiunderline's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Greenwood is one of those rare books that many avid readers covet - where the writing is gorgeous, the construction of the story nearly flawless, with a just right balance of character driven and plot driven narrative, all combining to give you that “I don’t want to stop reading but I also don’t want this book to end” feeling.
The structure is beyond clever but without any of the eye-rolling, show-offy quality that some books with unusual structures inspire. We meet many characters in stories that nest one inside the other beginning in 2038, moving back in time to 1908 and back out again to end where we began. With each jump back in time we meet different members of the Greenwood clan and the people they love and save and flee from. Just about every stop in time was as compelling as the others. Impressive.
So it’s a saga about a family whose history is intimately tied to the woods. It’s also about the destruction of old-growth forests and the environment at large and the ways in which humanity creates, ignores, justifies, mourns, and might stop that destruction.
There’s hope in this story. But not so much that you’d find it false. It’s cautionary and completely absorbing. I could read whole novels about each one of the main players. A true beauty of a book.
The structure is beyond clever but without any of the eye-rolling, show-offy quality that some books with unusual structures inspire. We meet many characters in stories that nest one inside the other beginning in 2038, moving back in time to 1908 and back out again to end where we began. With each jump back in time we meet different members of the Greenwood clan and the people they love and save and flee from. Just about every stop in time was as compelling as the others. Impressive.
So it’s a saga about a family whose history is intimately tied to the woods. It’s also about the destruction of old-growth forests and the environment at large and the ways in which humanity creates, ignores, justifies, mourns, and might stop that destruction.
There’s hope in this story. But not so much that you’d find it false. It’s cautionary and completely absorbing. I could read whole novels about each one of the main players. A true beauty of a book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, and Homophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty and Infertility
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