Loyal Blues Book Club with Evviva

Questions:

1. How do the early experiences of the characters with trees shape their identities and life choices? Consider the significance of these connections in the broader context of the novel.

2. Richard Powers uses a rich, descriptive writing style that interweaves history into the narrative. Why do you think he choose to begin with the Chestnut tree? How does his use of language affect your perception of the characters’ relationship with trees and nature?

3. The theme of interconnectedness is introduced early in the novel. How do the initial chapters set the stage for exploring the intersections of human lives and the natural world?

Links:

History of the American Chestnut Tree from the American Chestnut Foundation.

The Demise and Potential Revival of the American Chestnut, by Kate Morgan, Sierra Magazine, February 25, 2021.

The Heroes of This Novel Are Centuries Old and 300 Feet Tall, by Barbara Kingsolver, The New York Times, April 9, 2018.

The Novel That Asks, ‘What Went Wrong With Mankind?', by Nathaniel Rich, The Atlantic, June 2018.

Questions:

1. How did you perceive the change in tone and pacing when moving from Roots to Trunk?

2. Consider the characters of Patricia Westerford and Olivia Vandergriff. Do you think their introduction at the end of this part of the book is purposeful? How do their backgrounds and initial motivations shape their relationship with nature?

3. On page 215 Nick says he feels like he’s “landed in a druid tree cult” and goes on to name some of the many different cultures that have venerated trees. How do you feel spiritually has been presented in the book thus far, particularly the connection between spirituality and nature?

Links:

Richard Powers on What We Do to the Earth and What It Does to Us, by Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, September 9, 2024.

‘Mother Trees’ Are Intelligent: They Learn and Remember, by Richard Schiffman, Scientific American, May 4, 2021.

Questions:

1. While a central theme of this book is certainly the interconnectedness of everything, nearly all of characters go through periods of profound isolation. Consider how this isolation and detachment from society affects their personal growth and their relationships with others and the world around them. What do you think Powers is trying to say through his characters' experiences of being an outsider?

2. This chapter depicts several violent interactions between Mimi and Doug and police. They both understand this risk and continue to protest anyway. How do you think this sort of personal sacrifice effects these characters, and more generally, how do actions like this effect social or political movements?

3. Consider the character of Neelay and his creation of a virtual world. How might engagement with virtual worlds reveal deeper truths about human desires, limitations, and the quest for understanding complex realities? How do you see that playing out in the Overstory so far?

Links:

Timber Wars Podcast, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Bishop, Katherine. "Police Arrest 44 in Redwood Protest.” New York Times. June 21, 1990.

Higginbottom, Justin. "Activists embark on second tree-sit protest on BLM land in southern Oregon." Jefferson Public Radio. June 6, 2024.

Jones, Benji. "Should we cut down trees to save them? The answer is complicated." Vox. January 12, 2024.  

Stein, Mark. "Redwood Summer." LA Times. September 2, 1990.

Questions:

1. Adam McCay came to study the psychology of protestors and ended up one himself. Why do you think he choose this path? How did his professor’s bystander experiment affect him, and how should we interpret that affect more broadly as a way to understand the novel?

2. When Nick returns to his family farm, he finds that the chestnut tree has been cut down, but growing from the stump are dozens of fresh chestnut shoots. Initially excited, he quickly remembers that they too will soon be blighted. “They’ll die and rise again, over and over, just often enough to keep the deadly blight alive and vigorous.” (406) What do you think Powers is saying here?

3. Consider on Oliva’s actual death in The Overstory and how it brings a close to the main section of the book. Reflecting on the major themes of the novel, how could her death symbolize this transition?

Links:

de la Cruz, Ben. "A photographer captures life in America’s last remaining old-growth forests. The Picture Show: Photo Stories from NPR. September 3, 2024.

Wolfe, Matthew. "The Rise and Fall of America’s Environmentalist Underground." New York Times Magazine. May 26, 2022.

Questions:

1. The act of naming within the novel serves as a profound metaphor for control and identity. How do the characters' chosen names alter their destinies and relationships to nature? From different perspectives, does this rebirth through naming empower them, or does it fictionally distance them from reality and genuine self-understanding?

2. Consider how the author presents the passage of time within The Overstory. While the novel itself spans multiple decades and lifetimes, and characters experience significant changes – this passage of time is a mere blip in the lifespan of a redwood tree, or a forest. How does facing this idea effect each of the characters? What do you think the author is trying to explain?

3. What you make from a tree should be at least as miraculous as what you cut down” this line, delivered by Patricia Westerford, is deeply rooted in how the characters understand the natural world, and an instinct within them to protect it. Consider how the world would be different if people followed this rule

Links:

Flock, Elizabeth. Loved ‘The Overstory’? Richard Powers recommends 26 other books on trees. PBS News. November 29, 2019.