I must confess, I am no ardent environmentalist. I am very sympathetic towards causes and policies which manage the environment sustainably, even at the expense of economics. However, perhaps because of my Christianity, I find the aligning of human spirituality and nature somewhat strange. When I am in nature, I see the footprints of God. I definitely do not take a step further and worship nature.
Powers’ book seems to take us along that path. It puts the life of trees on the order of human life. I can respect this viewpoint and seek to learn in understanding it. Even further, I can find common ground with it, especially in terms of environmental policy in government. While this book did not offend me, it made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. Powers seems to acknowledge this discomfiture throughout the book; indeed, to a certain degree, he revels in it. He wants us humans to acknowledge that we are not the center of the universe.
This work is masterfully laid out as a series of intertwined short stories centered around trees. (Indeed, this book might be said to be written from the point-of-view of trees.) These stories evolve on top of each other and interact with each other, much as trees in a forest work together to maintain the whole biome. Powers’ brilliance is on display again and again. With a modern touch, one of the storylines centers on the life that computer programming is giving the universe and compares the unfolding field of artificial intelligence to the interdependent lives of trees.
To be successful, the reader of this book must approach its topic with an open mind. If the reader grants Powers this trust to lead us intellectually where human confidence might be shaken, she/he will find an ingenious work that makes us see the world differently. On a certain level, Powers wants us to see this work as a dystopia of human lives so that we will see the world as a dystopia as well. Obviously, this is powerful, high-brow stuff. Fortunately, Powers has the skill to pull it off. I am left with an uncomfortable question: Do we, as readers, have the skill to listen to him?
The Overstory: A Novel
by Richard Powers
Copyright (c) 2018
ISBN13 9780393356687
Page Count: 502
Genre: Fiction, Environmentalism
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