I haven’t read a book that was so well put together as The Overstory by Richard Powers, in a long time. When I finished it, I was speechless and felt I had to jot down my thoughts on the book straight away. So here are those thoughts.
The Overstory tells the story of several different characters who have very different backgrounds but all live somewhere in the US. The first few chapters introduce the backgrounds of all of these characters, and their life stories – and all share two similarities: they are all in some ways outsiders; and they all have some sort of relationship with trees.
The characters are all either immigrants or from immigrant families, or they have some sort of disability which positions them as outsiders to the majority of people near whom they grow up. The way in which disability and trauma is dealt with here seems fairly subtle. Powers rarely, if ever, actually mentions a disability by name, but we see the ways in which their disability affects their life. For instance, one character suffers severe trauma early on in his life, and throughout the book we can see the role that this plays in all his decisions. What I love about the portrayal of disability here is the way in which the characters are so fully rounded, and the reader is shown the subtle and less subtle ways in which disability effects a person, without it being either ignored or centred as the key personality characteristic for that character.
Because the first few chapters are all so disconnected, it took time for me to get into the book. I loved the writing style and the way in which each story was sketched, but it seemed as if the whole book was going to be separate short stories – which was okay but, judging by the length of the book, felt to be too many stories.
But I was so wrong. Gradually, throughout the book, the character’s stories intertwine, but this happens in such an organic way that it didn’t feel at all forced, as it does in other books with similar constructions. The thing that unites the characters is their fight for environmental justice and, throughout the book, each of the characters ends up involved in some way or other with an ever more radicalising environmental justice movement. For some of the characters, this is not such a surprise but, for others, this is a big step away from their role in society.
The latter half of the book shows the despondent path into very radical environmental justice action which, when I first picked up this book, I did not expect at all. And whilst some may not agree with the tactics used by the characters, we are all carried along on a journey of disappointment after disappointment, which leads the characters to take the decisions that they do. It shows very clearly – and humanises the people and motivations behind some of the actions that many may consider unethical – but does not justify them. Rather, it demonstrates the process of getting there. Alongside this, there is the growing realisation that it is too late to save nature. Nothing will get in the way of the capitalisation of nature. And we see how each character has to come to terms with this realisation.
When I picked up this book, I never imagined the direction it would take, and every turn was completely unexpected, whilst still being organically and beautifully written. It provides a commentary on outsider status (through trauma, disability and ethnicity, etc.) as well as a commentary on the ever relevant fight for environmental justice. We also see clearly the power of the state and the police to enforce whatever will provide the most profit (legal or illegal) for those in control.
Although it is quite a long read, and maybe a slow starter, I would highly, highly recommend reading this book. It is so well-crafted and I have not read anything like it for a very long time.
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