THE OVERSTORY
by
Richard Powers
The Overstory, an opus about trees by
Richard Powers, is the winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. And, it is
an incredible reading experience.
Powers’s
twelfth novel is divided into four sections: Roots, Trunk, Crown, and Seeds. In
Roots, we are introduced to nine disparate individuals whose commonality is
that each has experiences, albeit unique, with trees. Although we all know
trees, these individuals Know trees. As we progress through Trunk, Crown, and
Seeds, we learn about their knowledge and follow them as their lives overlap in
their pursuits to save the trees.
When I
began The Overstory, working my way
through Roots, I did not particularly care for this book. I felt like I was
reading a series of short stories where the only uniting factor was some
experience or other involving a tree. I am not a lover of short story, and I
feared the entire 500 plus pages was such a compilation. Happily, I was wrong.
That initial learning of the disparate backstories of these individuals is
crucial to the remainder of the book. As soon as I realized this – as soon as
the pieces began to fit together – I started to fall in love with this book.
And, that love deepened with the turning of each page.
By the time I completed The Overstory, I was dumbstruck and
awestruck. Powers has done a wonderful job weaving together this masterful work
about trees.
The Overstory is more than just a
Pulitzer-quality book; it is an unmatched reading experience that I highly
recommend.
