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A review by bookmarkedbybritt
Greenwood by Michael Christie
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
“ Maybe trees do have souls. Which makes wood a kind of flesh. And perhaps instruments of wooden construction sound so pleasing to our ears for this reason: the choral shimmer of a guitar; the heartbeat thump of drums; the mournful wail of violins—we love them because they sound like us.”
Michael Christie, Greenwood
Never in my life could I have imagined that I would be so impacted by a book about trees. Greenwood by Michael Christie is an exceptional environmental fiction told as a complex layering of stories from the Greenwood family over several generations. This was a complex and subtle story, really building in drama until a very satisfying end.
This book had such incredible attention to detail; from the introductory graphic showing us the progression of the family’s story as it followed the rings of a tree to the small ways that trees continued to be woven into every detail. The love and value placed on books and how their many pages mimic the many layers of growth. The song of musical instruments to amplify the song of the forest. The reclamation of fallen wood to show that a forest has value, standing or not. Simply, it was beautiful.
From the story perspective, I could not get enough of the 1934 tree ring. Watching the Greenwood brothers in their separate journeys of self in parallel to the story of the trees that surrounded them, built them, even, was incredibly moving. Everett will always have my heart and his character growth is what really made this book for me.
The only way I can describe this book in a way that makes sense to me is how I felt when I read it. I felt the same awe and grandeur as I did standing among the silent giants of the Canadian pine wood forests here in AB, BC or the NWT. This book, at the end, was a love letter to nature and I truly hope you all give it a go.
Michael Christie, Greenwood
Never in my life could I have imagined that I would be so impacted by a book about trees. Greenwood by Michael Christie is an exceptional environmental fiction told as a complex layering of stories from the Greenwood family over several generations. This was a complex and subtle story, really building in drama until a very satisfying end.
This book had such incredible attention to detail; from the introductory graphic showing us the progression of the family’s story as it followed the rings of a tree to the small ways that trees continued to be woven into every detail. The love and value placed on books and how their many pages mimic the many layers of growth. The song of musical instruments to amplify the song of the forest. The reclamation of fallen wood to show that a forest has value, standing or not. Simply, it was beautiful.
From the story perspective, I could not get enough of the 1934 tree ring. Watching the Greenwood brothers in their separate journeys of self in parallel to the story of the trees that surrounded them, built them, even, was incredibly moving. Everett will always have my heart and his character growth is what really made this book for me.
The only way I can describe this book in a way that makes sense to me is how I felt when I read it. I felt the same awe and grandeur as I did standing among the silent giants of the Canadian pine wood forests here in AB, BC or the NWT. This book, at the end, was a love letter to nature and I truly hope you all give it a go.