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A review by cultchahack
The Overstory by Richard Powers
5.0
"What do all good stories do? They kill you a little. They turn you into something you weren't."
This story killed me a little. It rebuilt my understanding of the world around me. It's one of those fundamental reads that might change you profoundly.
The Overstory won a Pulitzer in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Booker. It's a fictional narrative from which plants and trees weave their way into the lives of the main characters. At the same time as achieving compelling characters that are rich in depth, Richard Powers infuses his novel with philosophy, psychology and sociology around an ecological backbone. This gives it an almost nonfictional informative style, imparting what seems like sage and eternal wisdom. The themes entwine so completely that the result is a stunningly comprehensive look at humanity's relationship with each other and the natural world.
Nicholas Hoel, Mimi Ma, Adam Appich, Ray Brinkman, Dorothy Cazaly, Douglas Pavlicek, Neelay Mehta, Patricia Westerford, and Olivia Vandergriff are characters that emerge through various offshoots or unlikely beginnings of storyline. Each has majestically touching moments as individual stories. However, these stories are not so individual as they seem. They grow and interact with a surprising ease considering how disparate they appear. Whether thematically or narratively, they all share a common passion for the nature and engage in a bittersweet fight to protect it.
Never have I found myself circling so many quotations and feeling their effects so deeply. I'm evangelical about this book. If you know me I'll probably preach at you in the near future.
Quite simply one of the best books I've ever read. 6 stars.
This story killed me a little. It rebuilt my understanding of the world around me. It's one of those fundamental reads that might change you profoundly.
The Overstory won a Pulitzer in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Booker. It's a fictional narrative from which plants and trees weave their way into the lives of the main characters. At the same time as achieving compelling characters that are rich in depth, Richard Powers infuses his novel with philosophy, psychology and sociology around an ecological backbone. This gives it an almost nonfictional informative style, imparting what seems like sage and eternal wisdom. The themes entwine so completely that the result is a stunningly comprehensive look at humanity's relationship with each other and the natural world.
Nicholas Hoel, Mimi Ma, Adam Appich, Ray Brinkman, Dorothy Cazaly, Douglas Pavlicek, Neelay Mehta, Patricia Westerford, and Olivia Vandergriff are characters that emerge through various offshoots or unlikely beginnings of storyline. Each has majestically touching moments as individual stories. However, these stories are not so individual as they seem. They grow and interact with a surprising ease considering how disparate they appear. Whether thematically or narratively, they all share a common passion for the nature and engage in a bittersweet fight to protect it.
Never have I found myself circling so many quotations and feeling their effects so deeply. I'm evangelical about this book. If you know me I'll probably preach at you in the near future.
Quite simply one of the best books I've ever read. 6 stars.