The Overstory (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Richard Powers
Product Details
Web ID: 14352414A MUST read
Best book of 2018. Reread recently. Amazing author. Highly recommended
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New all time favorite
So inspiring, honest, and precise. Beautifully written, every word is exact and serene. Such a beautiful read.
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Themes and quotes
Five themes of the book include: The interconnectedness of all living things and how humans impact the natural world. The importance of preserving and protecting the environment for future generations. The power of activism and the role of individuals in making a difference. The concept of time and how it shapes our understanding of the world around us. The tension between human progress and the preservation of natural resources. Some notable quotes include: "The world doesn't just disappear when you look away. It's still there, a billion things happening all at once." "The trees were talking to one another, sending chemical messages through the air, underground fungi networking with neighbors, roots seeking out the roots of other species to trade nutrients and water." "Trees are the best things that ever happen to a piece of ground. They keep it cool in summer, warm in winter, and prevent erosion." "It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision." "We are all just stories in the end. Just make yours a good one, okay?"
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Changed the way I think
This book is a masterpiece. I can't stop thinking about the characters, the story, and most importantly, the trees. Please read this book. It has made me see trees, nature, what we are doing to the world in a new way that I never could have imagined otherwise. I see the trees, and I ache for them. I ache for the wilderness that has all but disappeared. Everyone should read this book. We must embrace the wilderness. By continuing to destroy the planet we will only destroy ourselves.
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It's Fiction - Unexpectedly
If I haven't made it abundantly clear before on Goodreads, I am a devoted fan of trees. I probably worshipped in oak groves in a previous life. So, I thought a book about trees would be really satisfying. I was not expecting a NOVEL w/ trees as a unifying theme. "The Overstory" appears to have stellar reviews, but I admit to disappointment in the novel. I'm trying not to let my disappointment in it being a novel and not a non-fiction book about trees affect my rating, but... The book is divided nicely, w/ divisions such as "roots," "trunks," "crown," and "seeds" dividing up the story lines. The book begins w/ vignettes about multiple characters. This feels disjointed, and maybe just a book about different characters and their relationship w/ trees? But no, further sections unite the disparate stories of disparate characters into a more cohesive whole as most of the characters join in the fight to save forests from destruction, mostly by lumber companies. I admire the courage of folks who fight lumber companies and their law enforcement enablers, and some of the book's protagonists who fight to protect forests have plot lines that end badly, as do most of the trees they are trying to save. That is just heartbreaking, as is the statistic I read recently that approximately 20% of California's redwoods have been destroyed in the past two years of wildfires. So, a solid 3 stars for an unexpected book, from which I am mostly taking away sadness for the randomness of life, and the rapaciousness of human beings.
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Synchronicity brought me to "The Overstory."
I am on my third reading of "The Overstory." I have never come across a book that satisfies all facets of what I seek when deciding to read any work. This work, "The Overstory," is a transcendent work of literary genius. How can it even be classified? Yes, it's a novel, but it is also a definitive work of science, storytelling, philosophy, and spirituality. Powers' writing is magnificent. It is dense, precise, soul filling, and needs to be savored. Hence, the need for multiple readings. For me it is a masterpiece: poetic, jubilant, sorrowful, searching. It is a call to action, a call to contemplation, a call to rivet one in the moment for the most serious consideration of what it means to respect and co-exist with all living things on this Earth. In my opinion, Its agenda is to reach your soul, to elevate your mind, and bring you to a place where all distractions are put aside in order for you to focus on what is most relevant in your spiritual and philosophical journey. The scope of this work is beyond words, and Richard Powers will bring you there by the very passages he writes. He was definitely in the secret place of the most high when he wrote this.
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Big and impressive. A book to treasure.
<b>The Short of It:</b> This work of fiction is bigger than the trees and people it’s about. It is impossible for me to explain the magnitude of this work but I shall try. The Overstory is comprised of seemingly independent stories that eventually become entwined for a finale that I personally didn’t see coming. Each story is in some way about nature and trees and the importance of their place in the world we live in. What they represent, how we can’t live without them, and in one story, how they speak to us. In the telling of this story, we meet a young woman who, after surviving an accident, begins to hear voices instructing her to leave everything behind and to just head out onto the road. Go where? She isn’t sure but while following these voices, she meets a person who is on his own quest for answers and together they head out on a journey that will change their lives. In other stories, we meet a married couple who is unable to have children, a young man who is sentenced to a wheelchair but who finds fame in the video games he creates, a young woman who struggles to find purpose after her father commits suicide. There’s even more but it’s best if you go into the story blind. You must experience it for yourself. I found myself totally immersed in these stories and they had me yearning for fresh air and sunshine. I will never look at a tree in the same way again and if you shy away from short fiction do not shy away from this book because it is absolutely a novel, not just a collection of similar stories. At 500+ pages The Overstory is a commitment but if you love the outdoors or if you’re like me and have found an appreciation for the outdoors since this pandemic hit, you will find yourself treasuring this novel. I read it in two days and when I turned that last page I sat there stroking its cover for a full five minutes. So much to think about.
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Beautiful but long winded.
I almost gave up on this book. I love books has many story lines and then ties them together - however there were several moments where the tree references were just too much. I understood the metaphors but the poetic language continued on and on - it was, at times, redundant. I'm glad I finished it - the stories tied into each other in unexpected ways and I loved the ending - but I could have cut a good quarter out of the book and it would have had the same effect.
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