The Trees

Percival Everett · ★★★★★

Prompted by the film American Fiction, which I really enjoyed, I decided to pick up an Everett book at random and more or less go into it blindly. I am so happy I did and I am blown away by so many different things at once: the writer's humor, the intriguing beginning, the tension throughout the novel, and the final frustration, which imo is perfect. It is interesting to read a work with such ambition told as though its prose were written from an outline for a screenplay. Perhaps that's The Trees or perhaps that's Percival Everett, I will surely find out as I absolutely devour this man's oeuvre in months to come, but the effect was that this novel felt heavily influenced by cinematic storytelling and less by literary influence, and yet the influence is very much there. Everett is a clever and unassuming writer but there is an outrage and frustration under the surface that seethes. I spent most of this novel in a state of tension and dread and I've spent most of my time since thinking of this novel with discomfort and anger - not at the novel but at its subject. That I read this as an expat with no plans to return to the States is not nothing and has greatly influenced my reading. There is a core of exasperation at the center of this story that conveys its characters as both extremely patient and unfortunately oppressed. How they react to this feeling differentiates them, but their baseline experiences are shared. Please do not be put off by what may seem my negative reaction. This is a genuinely entertaining, thoughtful, and provocative book and it is absolutely worth your time. It also has very short chapters, which for anyone raising little interrupters is a huge plus. An easy 5 stars.