Reviews

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

dhensley002's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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? No

4.0

Well written. Great story. Felt a connection to main characters.

reillsreads's review

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5.0

One of the best books I've ever read. Love Rich and Colleen and was not expecting the ending.

destinydeeter's review

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3.0

It was a little slow for me at first but I was so invested in this family and their story but the end of it. Prepare to have your heart broken

kleonard's review

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5.0

This is going to make a great movie. Through careful use of language and gesture, author Davidson creates life in a small logging settlement in the 1970s, from the loggers' terminology (there are a few too many references to "big pumpkins," though) to the danger of the business to how the industry affected the families of employees. As the protagonists slowly come to understand how harmful the industry is, they must also grapple with everyday life in a poor and underserved community. The beginning felt slow to me, and I had almost just written off Rich as an asshole and the writing as repetitive before I pushed myself to continue and found that all of the characters' development was being beautifully crafted within a dense network of relationships and histories. This isn't just a great read: it could also serve as a model writers to study.

kangaruthie's review

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4.0

This book takes place in the 70s and follows a logging community in Northern California. The main tension is between the families who rely on logging for a living and the new environmentalist movement pushing against the industry. I thought the author did a good job portraying the nuances of characters’ motivations and fears on both sides of the aisle. The writing was very dense - the prose was often richly descriptive and beautiful, but it was sometimes hard to understand what exactly was going on in the plot. I also had a difficult time keeping track of all of the characters. I didn’t love the ending and the book overall felt too long, but it still had some interesting perspective to offer.

jenmooremo's review

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emotional 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

5.0

elizj____'s review

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4.0

i was feeling a little jaded about my Book of the Month backlist, and have plowed through some real stinkers trying to cut that stack down. This one was a pleasant surprise! Way better writing than I’ve been used to from BOTM authors lately. A super compelling story with high stakes and relatable characters. 

flowergrrl's review

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was a slow read, which could be an internal me problem—I'm not sure that the text was especially dense. But by the end, I was won over by the book's thoughtful rendering of a complex set of personalities. This book made me rethink my environmental tenets, which is no faint praise!

shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition

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This is the story of a late 70s, California logging community told through the eyes of Rich, his wife Colleen and their 5 year old son, Chubb. Most of the men in the community have never known any employment except logging - primarily redwood logging. The logging company has changed hands and developed some questionable tactics including some new aerial spraying. Colleen is an unofficial mid-wife and the number of miscarriages and birth defects in the community seems to be rising. Colleen herself has suffered a number of miscarriages though she desperately wants another child. The loggers want to keep logging, the government wants to develop park land, environmental groups want the herbiscide spraying to stop and all the parties involved have their secret motivations. The conflict invades Rich and Colleen's little family as well as the larger community. It took me a few chapters but I did begin to care about the characters and the outcome of the conflict.

tabiloo's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0


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