THE OVERSTORY by Richard Powers

This novel is mainly about trees, but there are some human characters as well.  The author introduces the people in the first third of the book, and I was pleased that the table of contents provides a list of the main characters with page numbers for their sections.  Most of these characters’ lives intersect in a protest against the harvesting of giant redwoods for lumber.  In fact, two people spend over a year in the top of one such tree. The characters run the gamut—a property attorney, a video game entrepreneur, a college student or two, a botanist, and more.  They fall in love with each other and with trees and ultimately face consequences for an act of rebellion that has tragic collateral damage.  The real revelation, though, is that trees protect one another as well as the rest of the planet.  The people, on the other hand, are not always so protective of one another and eventually have to make some very tough decisions in the face of betrayal.  The primary challenges with reading this book are its length, its pace, and characters that are sometimes hard to recall.  The last 100 pages or so are the most suspenseful and have to do more with human interactions and failings than with trees.  The writing is beautiful and profound but often dense and even ponderous when the author is waxing eloquent about trees.  That said, this is an important book, as deforestation is one of the many contributors to global warming, not to mention more obvious disasters, such as mudslides.  More trees could in fact help reverse climate change, as they absorb carbon dioxide.  Even if this book does not inspire you to dissidence, I guarantee it will inspire you to look at trees with a lot more appreciation.