This is a crazy book… almost halfway through and liking it and not really having any idea what it’s actually about!
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Hahaha it’s so weirdly intimate and also kind of bonkers. @onmeltedwings I think we’ll have a fun discussion
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Finished the book two nights ago, completely agree with you @Sarah, it’s such an intimate book, in a lot of different ways. Like few other writers (in my opinion), Moshfegh seems to be able to fully immerse you inside someone’s head in such a short amount of time. Really looking forward to the discussion on this one, the book is pretty crazy… hope people like it!
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I finished it last night and spent some time this morning trying to find some discussion questions. I don’t see that the spreadsheet at the top has any area for this book just yet, not sure how or who should do that.
But here is a good set of questions (SPOILERS, obviously): https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2016/eileen-by-ottessa-moshfegh/
I really enjoyed it and think it’s going to be a fun if crazy discussion!
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It’s Bookmarks arrival day! The six of these and the four The Golfers Journal receipt days are 10 of my favorites all year!
Not sure if any of you other book sickos subscribe, but highly recommend this.
Their review concept is pretty simple and straight forward. Great tabs on award winners. Good long form stories about authors and book categories (pandemic reads this issue). Rock solid cover art.
For much as I enjoy reading books, I enjoy reading ABOUT the books a touch more.
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I used to grab those from my mother who subscribed and always liked it. Not sure why I’ve never subscribed myself…it’s great, I agree
Thanks for sharing these, they are very good questions and topics. I will be interested to see which book people prefer between this one and My Year of Rest and Relaxation if they have read it.
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If enough have read both the discussion around the comparison is super interesting. I’m noticing tons of overlap. Otessa Moshfegh must just be a odd duck (and I say that lovingly)
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Hi all, are we confirmed for next Wednesday for The Overstory? Not sure if we made a final commitment to that. Looking forward to it!
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As I wasn’t sure I could make the turn around for The Overstory I skipped that one, hope y’all have fun! Very excited for Eileen.
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Yes, next Wednesday is The Overstory, and September 30 is Elieen.
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Perfect for me!
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Put the dates in the thread title.
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Here are some questions for Overstory - hidden for spoilers!!
Summary
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Why do you think Richard Powers chose the title “The Overstory”?
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What was your experience with trees as a child, and what has it been as an adult? Have trees shaped your life in any meaningful way? Do you have a favorite tree?
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Adam initially builds his career on studying the faults in human brains, such as confirmation bias and the conflation of correlation with causality. Meanwhile, Douglas is convinced that humans’ greatest flaw is mistaking agreement for truth. What questions does this book ask about human failings?
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What does Powers mean when he describes humans as “trapped in blinkered bodies”?
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What do you make of the voices Olivia hears, and her sense of conviction that “the most wondrous products of four billion years of life” need our help?
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Which character’s story do you identify with the most, and why?
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It is a difficult moment for Douglas when he learns that all of his years of planting trees have only allowed companies to increase its annual allowable cut. How did this book make you think differently, if at all, about clear-cutting? Do you see it happening in your own community?
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What are you learning about trees that you didn’t know before? Did some of Patricia’s research surprise you, either about the “giving trees” or the ways dead trees contribute to forests? Did any of it change the way you see trees?
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Patricia describes trees and humans as being “at war” over land and water and the atmosphere, and that she can see “which side will lose by winning.” What does she mean by that?
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The book is divided into four parts: “Roots,” “Trunk,” “Crown,” and “Seeds.” What is the significance of each section? Were you surprised when the stories began to intertwine?
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Our book club just finished reading “We the Corporations,” a book about the ways corporations have gained many of the same rights as individuals. In “The Overstory,” Ray is moved and upset by a legal argument that suggests trees should also share those rights. Do you agree?
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Were you surprised by the lengths that Adam, Olivia, Nicholas, Mimi and Douglas went to try to wake people up to the destruction of forests? What did you think of their tactics?
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What have you read in the news lately that mirrors the stories in “The Overstory”? How is “The Overstory” playing out in real life in your own community?
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What is the significance of the worlds Neelay creates within his game, “Mastery”?
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What was your opinion of “direct action” as a means of effective activism before the book? What is your opinion after reading it? Do you think it should play a role in addressing the destruction of our planet?
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Toward the end of the book, Dorothy is arrested for her determination to let her yard grow wild. Did this book change how you see your own backyard?
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As the book closes, Mimi seems to say that the world as it has been is ending and a new one will begin. Does that ring true to you? How does that make you feel?
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Richard Powers writes: “The best arguments in the world won’t change a person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.” Do you agree? Did any part of this story change your mind?
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The Overstory is split into four sections: Roots, Trunk, Crown, and Seeds. How do those sections reflect the thematic numerous concerns of the novel—that human development (in the micro and macro) mimics growth in the “natural world,” that human beings are deeply, intimately bound to nature?
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Follow-up to Question 1: The Hoel family keeps a photographic record of the American chestnut tree in their field. In what way does this photographic record of the tree’s life mirror the family’s own life?
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Of the novel’s nine opening stories, which do you find most engaging? Is that because you find the characters more compelling …or the storyline itself … or can’t the two be separated?
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What do you make of Patricia Westerford’s statement:
You and the tree in your backyard come from a common ancestor. A billion and a half years ago, the two of you parted ways. But even now, after an immense journey in separate directions, that tree and you still share a quarter of your genes.
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Westover also says, “Forests panic people. Too much going on there. Humans need a sky.” Do you panic in deep forests? (Forests are different than the lovely shaded groves and glens where we love to picnic.)
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How does the author treat eco-warriors: are they the novel’s heroes? Does he seem sympathetic to their causes … or impatient with their stridency? What is your attitude toward eco-warriors, both the ones in the novel and the ones in real life?
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Some reviewers claim that characters in The Overstory get short-shrift, that they are subsumed by the book’s ideas. Others say the book’s characters are convincing and invested with humanity. Which view do you agree with? Do the characters come alive for you, are they multifaceted, possessing emotional depth? Or do you see them as fairly one-dimensional, serving primarily as the embodiment of ideas?
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Has Powers novel changed the way you look at trees? Have you previously read, for instance, The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, or Annie Proulx’s novel, Barkskins?
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What might the title, Overstory, signify? What is the pun at its heart?
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What of this observation on the part of the lawyer who turns to novels for solace but then seems to question their value?
To be human is to confuse a satisfying story with a meaningful one.… The world is failing precisely because no novel can make the contest for the world seem as compelling as the struggles between a few lost people.
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Can we start the bookclub at 6:00 PST? I have a fantasy football draft starting at 7:00 which I’m trying to move (it was scheduled for Thursday and they just changed it) but if we start at 6:00 that would work for me
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Works for me!
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Cool. I’ve pushed the draft back to 7:30 PST so that should work as long as others are good with the 6:00 PST start time!
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I’m keeping noted Wednesday’s calendar-clear so time is flexible here. Good to go with whatever works.
8 central should be good for me this week. Great list of questions, helped me remember more of the book since it’s been a while.
Bring your movie casting takes!
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