A review by screamdogreads
Barkskins, by Annie Proulx
4.5
"You see, Charles, it is a tree. Your life and fate are bound to trees. You will become the man of the forests who will stand by my side."
One of my favorite things when it comes to the books that I read, is when nature becomes the central focus. By this, I don't mean just brilliant nature writing, or just pretty descriptions of nature itself. It's more the feeling you get when nature is so profoundly important to the tale, that it almost becomes a character of its own. Here, the forests and the trees are just as important, if not more so, than any of the characters we follow.
Barkskins is absolutely epic in its scale. Spanning three centuries, multiple generations of families, and told across several continents, this novel offers one of the most immersive reading experiences I have ever had. Simply put, this novel is spectacular, and while it may be tempting to blaze through it due to its hefty size, this is one of those books that you must savor.
One of my favorite things when it comes to the books that I read, is when nature becomes the central focus. By this, I don't mean just brilliant nature writing, or just pretty descriptions of nature itself. It's more the feeling you get when nature is so profoundly important to the tale, that it almost becomes a character of its own. Here, the forests and the trees are just as important, if not more so, than any of the characters we follow.
Barkskins is absolutely epic in its scale. Spanning three centuries, multiple generations of families, and told across several continents, this novel offers one of the most immersive reading experiences I have ever had. Simply put, this novel is spectacular, and while it may be tempting to blaze through it due to its hefty size, this is one of those books that you must savor.
"Not for the first time he saw the acquisitive hunger of Duke & Sons was so great they intended to clear the continent. And he was helping them. He hated the American clear-cut despoliation, the insane wastage of sound and valuable wood, the destruction of the soil, the gullying and erosion, the ruin of the forest world with no thought for the future. The choppers considered the supply to be endless, there was always another forest."
Ultimately, this is a novel about the importance of having a connection to the land we walk upon. While the detailed discussion of the world's timber industry might not speak to all readers, I certainly found myself enthralled by the delicacy and tenderness with which Proulx writes about the world around her.
"Nothing is everlasting. Nothing. Not forests, not mountains."