The Overstory
A Novel
by Richard Powers
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More Recommenders
“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Source →Recommended by 12 notable people, including Bill Gates and Sophie Bakalar
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Reading Profile
Should I read this?
A literary novel that interlaces multiple human stories over centuries, all orbiting around trees and the natural world. The reading pace is slow, lyrical, and demands attention, but rewards those who love richly layered narratives. What works best is its deep, almost spiritual evocation of tree life and a call to environmental consciousness. However, the novel’s sprawling cast and sometimes preachy activism can feel exhausting, and the middle sections may drag as connections slowly emerge. It’s immersive for the patient, alienating for the plot-driven.
Read this if...
- •A nature writer stuck in a creative rut, needing a narrative that decenters humans to spark fresh metaphors for their own forest-ecology essay collection.
- •An environmental science teacher planning a climate change unit, seeking a novel that personalizes the long-term stakes for students who dismiss data as abstract.
- •A recent empty-nester confronting a quieter home, wanting a meditative, tree-paced book to soften the transition by mirroring nature’s slow, layered rhythms.
Skip this if...
- •You’ll likely put it down when the narrative shifts to yet another character’s backstory just as you started caring about the previous one.
- •Skip if you prefer tight, plot-driven stories; the structure meanders like roots, and the payoff is thematic rather than suspenseful.
- •Annoying if you find overt environmental messaging preachy, as the book consistently elevates tree-consciousness above human concerns.
The Overstory is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of?and paean to?the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers?s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentiethcentury Timber Wa...
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:hard
Audience Fit
- A nature writer stuck in a creative rut, needing a narrative that decenters humans to spark fresh metaphors for their own forest-ecology essay collection.
- An environmental science teacher planning a climate change unit, seeking a novel that personalizes the long-term stakes for students who dismiss data as abstract.
- A recent empty-nester confronting a quieter home, wanting a meditative, tree-paced book to soften the transition by mirroring nature’s slow, layered rhythms.
- You’ll likely put it down when the narrative shifts to yet another character’s backstory just as you started caring about the previous one.
- Skip if you prefer tight, plot-driven stories; the structure meanders like roots, and the payoff is thematic rather than suspenseful.
- Annoying if you find overt environmental messaging preachy, as the book consistently elevates tree-consciousness above human concerns.
Check formats, pricing, and availability options for Kindle, physical print, or audiobooks directly.
View available editions on AmazonKey themes
Why recommended
Recommended by 17 sources and appears in Tree, Environment, and Books Recommended by Bill Gates.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Sophie Bakalar
“@AllegraJordan1 Read the book The Overstory!!!!!! | @MorgainePen1 So important a book | @mcnees Such an amazing book | @moribell I loved this book. | @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. | It was a wonder. It opened as if it were a short story collection, more than a dozen stories about people and their relationship to trees, weaving in the deep science of trees and the history of our understanding of their complexity. Then gradually, the stories begin to coalesce and connect. A remarkable novel. I love books that teach as they entertain. I learned a lot of science from this one! | Reading this amazing book about trees, a novel filled with stories and information about trees, and really enjoying it | The best two books I’ve read in years... Should be mandatory reading...”
Appears In
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Consider The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. Recommended by 24 sources.
“This novel starts as a mystery rooted in a woman’s tragic experience during China’s Cultural Revolution, then spirals into a high-concept alien contact story built on intricate physics and game theory. The useful part lies in its audacious imagination: a three-body solar system, a virtual reality game, and a shocking revelation about humanity’s place in the universe. The limiting part may be its cold, analytical style and flat characters; emotion takes a backseat to ideas, and the scientific digressions can feel like lectures. It’s a slow burn that rewards intellectual curiosity but might alienate those craving warmth or narrative immediacy.”
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How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.