Author: Michael Christie
Year of release: 2020
Publisher Scribe Publications
Genre Historical Fiction, General Fiction
Release date: February 4th 2020
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Synopsis
2038. 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, guide 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 twenty-six years, one of them, now a recluse, will find an abandoned baby – 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.
Review
2038 off the Pacific Coast of B.C, stands the Greenwood Arboreal Cathedral which happens to be one of the world’s last forests. Wealthy tourists come from all over the globe to see Mother Nature’s final attraction and capture what was once so widely visible to the human race.
1908 two passenger trains collide head on there are just two survivors, young boys that come to be known to the locals that have decided to take them in as the ‘Greenwood boys’. The journey’s Everett and Harris embark on. Their formative years will make an impact on generations and the landscape for the years that follow.
Greenwood what an alternative perspectives triumph. One families story told over four generations, the time I spent within these pages will stay with me. I really felt I was able to gain full access into the lives and the mindset of each of the characters, which only added to my ever growing affection for the story.
“How intimately a book is related to the tree and it’s rings, she thinks. The layers of time, preserved, for all to examine.”
― Michael Christie, Greenwood
Everett Greenwood made for a great character no matter what people on the outside thought of him, he did what he had to do even if at times it would’ve been easier to walk away. I respected him so much more for his flaws it only adds to the story I really felt connected to him through-out this book.
I could easily share so much more when it comes to Greenwood and it’s hard not to expose all the roots of this book but I would hate to spoil it for any future readers.
Author Michael Christie has taken such care to craft a world in which the reader can’t help but feel that they are themselves at home amongst the sequoia and Fir trees. I felt the magnetic pull to join Willow’s campaign and guarantee that the human race present and future will be able to admire forests for years to come, rather then facing environmental devastation.
The author has taken great care to include plenty of detail within these pages and although this made Greenwood feel never ending at different periods in the book, Christie has taken meticulous care to tie in all the loose ends albeit at different times in the book. Despite its mammoth size Greenwood manages to keep moving forward, I think this is in large part thanks to the long list of characters used to tell this story.
“The best time to plant a tree is always twenty years ago. And the second-best time is always now.” Chinese Proverb
If I had to add any improvements in this book it would have to be finding who was narrating the 1908 time period having this information did not change anything plot-line wise; if you are considering grabbing a copy I think it would have been nice to put a name to the narrator is all.
All the roads taken in this book lead back to the trees, the effort made to tie in most of the little things made me the reader appreciate a book of this size a great deal more. All 490 pages of this book was needed to capture this story.
This readers recommendation This was a delightful read and I’m highly recommending it, if you loved titles such as Where the Crawdads Sing, The Child Act, All the Light We Cannot See or simply have an interest in Mother Nature, and character based stories be sure to add this to your bookshelf. If you have a need for a bigger print may I suggest this title would perhaps be more suitable to seek out a digital option, a fantastic read none the less.