Greenwood

A novel of a family tree in a dying forest

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 17 Oct 2019 | Archive Date 30 Nov 2020

Talking about this book? Use #Greenwood #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

‘The truth is that all family lines, from the highest to the lowest, originate somewhere, on some particular day. Even the grandest trees must’ve once been seeds spun helpless on the wind, and then just meek saplings nosing up from the soil.’

2034. On a remote island off the Pacific coast of British Columbia stands the Greenwood Arboreal Cathedral, one of the world’s last forests. Wealthy tourists flock from all corners of the dust-choked globe to see the spectacle and remember what once was. But even as they breathe in the fresh air and pose for photographs amidst the greenery, ranger Jake knows that the forest is dying, though her bosses won’t admit it.

1908. Two passenger locomotives meet head-on. The only survivors are two young boys, who take refuge in a trapper’s cabin in a forest on the edge of town. In fourteen years, one of them, now a recluse, will find an abandoned baby in that same forest — another child of Greenwood — setting off a series of events that will change the course of his life, and the lives of those around him.

Structured like the rings of a tree, this remarkable novel moves from the future to the present to the past, and back again, to tell the story of one family and their enduring connection to the place that brought them together.

‘The truth is that all family lines, from the highest to the lowest, originate somewhere, on some particular day. Even the grandest trees must’ve once been seeds spun helpless on the wind, and then...


A Note From the Publisher

- An epic, sweeping literary saga for readers of Cloud Atlas and The Goldfinch.
- Michael Christie is an acclaimed, award-nominated Canadian author, whose previous novel was called ‘Exceptional’ (The Sunday Times), ‘Lyrical’ (Philipp Meyer), and ‘Impeccable’ (The New York Times Book Review).

- An epic, sweeping literary saga for readers of Cloud Atlas and The Goldfinch.
- Michael Christie is an acclaimed, award-nominated Canadian author, whose previous novel was called ‘Exceptional’...


Advance Praise

‘This book is why we read books. Why we need books. Wildly inventive, structurally elegant, deeply felt, and so very wise. Greenwood is Michael Christie's best work ever, and that’s saying something.’


Alexander MacLeod, author of Light Lifting

‘This book is why we read books. Why we need books. Wildly inventive, structurally elegant, deeply felt, and so very wise. Greenwood is Michael Christie's best work ever, and that’s saying...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781925693430
PRICE US$23.99 (USD)
PAGES 512

Available on NetGalley

Send to Kindle (EPUB)

Average rating from 6 members


Featured Reviews

It’s 2038 and Jacinda “Jake” Greenwood, a former botanist overburdened by a heavy student loan, is working as a tourist guide in the Greenwood Arboreal Cathedral. That island with its giant Douglas firs, is one of the very few areas of the planet where greenery survived the Withering, an event that saw the disappearance of plants all over the world, due to the climate change lowering plants’ resistance to fungal infections. During one of her usual tours, however, a concerned Jake notices that the oldest firs are starting to show early signs of the disease, and soon after her former boyfriend (now a lawyer) reconnects with her to inform that Jake can actually claim the island the Arboreal Cathedral as her rightful property.
From 2038 we then travel through time: we go back to 2008, 1974, 1934, 1908 and then we move forward again until we reach 2038. Each time we spend some time with different generations of the Greenwood family. We meet Harris and Everett, two brothers by chance… and just by chance, one will become a tycoon, founder of a lumber empire, and the other will live as a vagrant across a Canada swept by the crisis and the Dust Bowl. Later on we meet Willow, Harris’s daughter, an environmental activist who in spite of her father will donate all her inheritance to a hippie collective; and Liam, Jacinda’s father, a carpenter working with reclaimed wood.
It’s a family saga where trees – particularly the Douglas firs of Greenwood island – are always present... a story that we follow like the growth rings of a tree in a trunk section. Ecology and the ecosystem protection is one of the main theme of this novel, but there’s a lot more than that. The story challenges us to define what is family, and we are presented with characters who deals the best and worst that life can offer love and kindness, but also betrayals, PTSD and drug addiction. The story grew a lot on me over time, as I’m always very biased when I witness acts of true generosity and kindness in a novel, and in Greenwood we encounter some examples of them. The author does that using a fluent prose, with some lyrical lines – like when Jake comments “This tree is older than the language I’m thinking in”).
Greenwood is one of those novels that stays with you even after you’re read the final word; I’ll definitely miss some of the characters – Everett among all.
Whether you’re interested in trees and ecology, or in family sagas, this book is for you! Highly recommended!

Was this review helpful?

Greenwood by Michael Christie is a multi-generational saga about genetic families and created families, blended with the interconnectedness of long-lived magnificent trees and also their exploitation by humans. I loved it.

The structure of the book, moving like the rings of a tree from the near future back in time to 1908 then moving forward again to the near future, was innovative and really helped explain the characters’ context and motivation.

A thoroughly recommended read.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Was this review helpful?

Great story, great writing, very indulging. I loved this book. I'd definitely read from the writer again.

Thanks so much to NG and the publisher for this copy.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book!

I seem to have read a few eco fiction books recently - this is the best so far.

Beginning in the near future, with the world in the grips of the "Withering" (doesn't sound good does it?) the story rewinds into the early 20th century with a multi generational story that spans Canada east to west and back again.

Michael Christie weaves a tight story, with characters you believe in and hope the best for, but your hopes are often dashed as each succumb to their fates.

You'll be transported to old growth forests, logging moguls manor houses and box cars with the hobo's. You can almost smell the sap from the Douglas firs - highly recommended, it would make a great movie!

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: