Reviews

Greenwood by Michael Christie

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denarodeadalus's review against another edition

3.0

I feel duped. I wanted an epic postmodern family saga in the vein of Faulkner, Mann, Marquez, but got an over familiar, commercially saturated “page turner” with some redeemable bits of prose and tree allegories, although with characters who always feel somewhat……….wooden.

loribree83's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

5.0

Absolutely fantastic, beautifully written book! A book to read slow and savor.

"Every tree is help up by its own history, the very bones of its ancestors. And since the journal came to her, Jake has gained a new awareness of how her own life is being held up by unseen layers, girded by lives that came before her own."

"What if a family isn't a tree at all? Jake thinks as they walk in silence. What if it's more like a forest? A collection of individuals pooling their resources through intertwined roots, sheltering one another from wind and weather and drought--just like Greenwood Island's trees have done for centuries."

smileytessa's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

5.0

kgraham10's review against another edition

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4.0

Multi-generational saga about one family's relationship to forestry, logging, botany, and woodworking over a span of > 100 years.

Engaging storytelling especially about the two brothers during WWI and the depression and dust bowl eras.

My main critique is that the women are not nearly as well developed characters as Harris, Everett, Liam, or Harvey Lomax. Euphemia gets a few chapters from her journal, Willow gets a few chapters where she is a martyr but we don't get her inner thoughts and childhood development, and Jacinta is only described in a few chapters and she doesn't really feel liked a unique person. Similarly, Liam Feeney is not very developed. However, the book is qui

pjancy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

10_4tina's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. This is the best fiction book I have read in a while. It was so excellent.

Admittedly, it took me a bit to get into it at the start. Like looking at individual trees, the first few branches of the story seemed ordinary. But as the story built and the layers deepened, it pulled me in and left me craving each next layer or curve.

The characters have an edge to them, some grit that somehow made them more winsome. The different generations of characters are woven together intricately and the unraveling of the story is truly beautiful. The story centers on beginnings and endings in a reflective way that helps readers consider where they come from and where they're going, what they inherited and what they'll leave behind.

A line that struck me:
Willow treated her uncle more like a diary by correspondence than a real, living pen-pal.