This book did not work for me on just about every level, but the part I found most distressing was the cherry picking from Judi Bari's life (http://www.judibari.org/) for the vague character of Mother N and the omission of the incredible labor organizing she did that was foundationally tied to her incredible environmental organizing.

I also didn't find the depiction of trees particularly powerful, especially in contrast to Sue Burke's brilliant novel [b:Semiosis|35018907|Semiosis (Semiosis Duology, #1)|Sue Burke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494613337l/35018907._SY75_.jpg|56303145] exploring and demonstrating the very same perspective, and also much more about human society. Everything about this book is superior to Overstory--plot, characters, presentation of plant worlds/life, social organization, interrogations of philosophical questions, and more. ( )

I loved this book. There is so much there. While there are nine characters that are followed through this book, the main character is the trees and the environment. I learned so much about trees and how they communicate with each other. This book is very timely. I liked how the story was told through the eyes and actions of the people. But I have to admit I had many questions as to who were the terrorists? Seeing the two sides--environmentalists vs. corporations--I came down on the side of the environmentalists. I could see where they came from. They were not trying to hurt anyone. I am not so sure of the corporations and police. The story ends where it began--in Iowa. Excellent book that everyone should read. ( )

Fascinating story structure. Wide range of characters. The right kind of distressing for every earthling ready to care about the environment. ( )

Long and intertwining stories...worth the efffort! ( )

I had really hoped for this Pulitzer Prize winning novel to be 5 stars. But it never got there for me. At first it surprised me by not being a novel, but several seemingly unrelated short stories (except each one is about trees). The writing also seemed oddly perfunctory for such an artistic endeavor. I stuck with it and they grew on me.
Then the author started weaving those stories and their characters together into a more engaging epic. Here we go, I thought. Except we didn't go. At least not quickly. Perhaps the author intended the stately pace of his prose to reflect the history-spanning subject of the story: trees. They do not move or think (in the eyes of the story) quickly, relative to human experience. Yet the characters in the novel discover that they do both.
Thus, the book is actually a science fiction story. We have been surrounded by aliens all this time and did not realize it. The trees, and the rest of life on Planet Earth that they are linked to, preceded us and will succeed us. Perhaps they even harbor a bit of sentience, even if we do not understand it. Or they don't. It doesn't matter. It is still life.
For me, all of that would be the foundation of a 5-star story. Especially when it includes eco-warriors and computer geniuses and unrecognized artists. But I have to knock off a half star for the writing being just a bit too artsy and drawn out. And take off another half star for being printed in a font that's just too small for such dense prose (trying to pack 128,000 words into 500 pages). I feel enlightened for reading this book. But it was more of a chore than it probably should have been. ( )