My latest read was Greenwood by Michael Christie, a Canadian author. It is a multigenerational family story with a focus on nature and ecology, especially trees. It starts in a dystopian future in 2038 but soon travels back to follow the previous generations of the Greenwood family.
In 2038, Jacinda (Jake) Greenwood, is a dendrologist (a botanist who specializes in trees) but is working in a low paid job as a tour guide. At that point in time, the earth is plagued with dust storms, caused by the Great Withering, a wave of fungal blights and insect infestations that destroyed most of the trees. Jake is employed by a park with one of the world's last remaining forests (on an island off the coast of British Columbia). The story then goes back to 2008 and Liam Greenwood, Jake's father, a carpenter. Jake and Liam had never met. Next the story moves to 1974 and Willow Greenwood, Liam's mother. She is an environmental activist, protesting against the destruction of forests.
Willow's father, Harris Greenwood, is a wealthy man who made his fortune cutting down forests for wood for many purposes. A large part of the story focuses on Everett Greenwood, Harris's brother, who rescues an abandoned baby and makes his way back to his brother, after many years of separation.
I found this to be a wonderful if strange book. There were so many characters that at times I felt like I did not get to know some of them very well, but I became emotionally involved in the outcomes of their actions and the crucial moments of their lives, and I cared a lot about them. Some of the important characters outside of the family were very well defined, especially Harvey Bennett Lomax, who is following Everett as he travels across Canada with the baby, and Temple Van Horne, a female farm owner that Everett meets along the way. This book gives a great picture of many areas in Canada during the time period covered.
The story is mostly told in present tense. I did not even notice that until I was at least 100 pages into the book, so it seems that I am adapting to reading books written in present tense.
This book was nominated for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada in 2020, and it won. But I have yet to figure out why it was considered crime fiction. There are crimes that take place, and mysteries that run through the story, but it is not like any other crime fiction I have read. It is a great read in any case.
One caution: More than one reviewer noted that the beginning and end of the book, set in 2038 and featuring Jake Greenwood, were much less compelling than the much larger middle sections covering 1908 to 2008. I agree, but I only mention that because some people might stop reading the book based on the first section, and the rest of the book has so much to offer.
I first heard about Greenwood at Bill Selnes' blog, Mysteries and More in Saskatchewan. Also see this post on his email exchange with the author.
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Publisher: Hogarth, 2019
Length: 501 pages
Format: Hardcover
Setting: Canada (British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and more)
Genre: General Fiction
Source: On my TBR piles since 2020.
16 comments:
Hi Tracy, I enjoy multigenerational novels and Greenwood sounds good. It's not too far into the future 2038 so that one can relate to the characters and what they are experiencing. I also like the idea of starting the book in 2038 and then doing the saga backwards. You get to see how the character at the start of the book was formed by the people and decisions that came before him.
I am glad you enjoyed Greenwood. It is a remarkable book more in the nature of a family saga than conventional crime fiction. While unconventional for mystery fiction I consider it a great book. It is a book that leaves the reader thinking, especially about trees. Thanks for the kind words.
This sounds really interesting, and I like the way it is constructed, too. I do think your warning about the first section is important because I doubt that I'm the only reader who has become more and more willing to give up on books that aren't working for them. I've abandoned something like 15-20 books already this year, most of them no more than 40 pages in, so that's good to know. Like you, I'm a little bewildered by the crime novel award it won, but a prize is a prize, so congrats to the author.
This sounds like a book my book group would like.
This book has an interesting premise, Tracy. And the characters do sound interesting. I can see how you'd have invested yourself in them. It sounds as though there's an ecological message in the novel, but that it's not 'preach-y.' And that can be a very good thing.
Kathy, I haven't read many multigenerational novels, but this one makes me want to try more of them. The structure of this novel was perfect (for me anyway), going from the future back to 1908, and then progressing back to 2038. The relationships of each parent to the child and how it shaped them was very interesting (and sad at times).
Bill, I am so glad that you made me aware of this book, even though it did take me awhile to get around to reading it. I always have to brace myself to read books of this length. This one was definitely not overlong. I have always loved trees (and birds) but don't really know that much about either. Maybe an influence from my father.
Sam, the construction of the book was one of my favorite aspects of this book. I did wonder whether to include that note about the first part; I was afraid it would seem like a criticism. But I felt it was important to point out.
Thinking about the crime fiction aspect, I guess this book could be considered crime fiction just as Bleak House can be evaluated that way. Both of the books have an investigator / detective involved, but the focus is not really on the crime. And I am sure he deserved the award.
Patti, I think this would be a very good book for a book group. So many things to debate / discuss: climate change, the style of writing, the characters and relationships. It is longish though.
Margot, that is a good point. This is a message book but it never felt like it was being forced on the reader, and it gave plenty of pros and cons of the issues. And the story within is interesting on it own. Relationships between parents and children and the long-term effects they have always interest me.
This sounds quite unusual. I've just finished, Outlandish by Nick Hunt which you saw me mention in my last post. Part of that features the primeval forest in Poland and the struggle to preserve it against those who want to exploit it. It makes for sobering reading so the premise of Greenwood is scarily relevant.
Greenwood is a very unusual book and that is part of why I liked it. Outlandish also sounds very good. I think I would like to read it, and I have also pointed it out to Glen. Beautiful cover design too, and a good length.
It's a sign of good writing that you didn't really notice it being written in present tense.
I agree, Lark, and the writing was very good. The only section that was not written in present tense was written in the voice of a Greek chorus of townspeople, and that was very interesting and changed the focus.
Great review, Tracy, and I enjoyed Bill's interaction with the author. I do like family sagas and there aren't enough books with Canadian settings. As I think I mentioned, I was disappointed when I was in a Toronto bookstore and there wasn't a Canadian author section or any kind of recommendations (I did find one I should read soon).
My nephew is leaving next week to work in Banff for the ski season and I am thinking of going to meet up with him in Calgary or Vancouver. I bet I will find something fun to read!
Constance, Glad you enjoyed Bill's email exchange with Michael Christie. Bill often writes great follow-up posts to his reviews.
I do remember your visit to Toronto and the trip to the bookstore. I am envious, I have never been to Canada. But then the only northeastern state I have been to is Connecticut and that was for a convention for work, 45 years ago.
I do hope you meet up with your nephew in Canada and have some good book store visits.
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