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A review by linesiunderline
Greenwood by Michael Christie
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