The Trees
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- Create Date：2022-09-07 08:52:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Percival Everett
- ISBN：164445064X
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Summary
Percival Everett’s The Trees is a page-turner that opens with a series of brutal murders in the rural town of Money， Mississippi。 When a pair of detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation arrive， they meet expected resistance from the local sheriff， his deputy， the coroner， and a string of racist White townsfolk。 The murders present a puzzle， for at each crime scene there is a second dead body: that of a man who resembles Emmett Till。
The detectives suspect that these are killings of retribution， but soon discover that eerily similar murders are taking place all over the country。 Something truly strange is afoot。 As the bodies pile up， the MBI detectives seek answers from a local root doctor who has been documenting every lynching in the country for years， uncovering a history that refuses to be buried。 In this bold， provocative book， Everett takes direct aim at racism and police violence， and does so in fast-paced style that ensures the reader can’t look away。 The Trees is an enormously powerful novel of lasting importance from an author with his finger on America’s pulse。
The detectives suspect that these are killings of retribution， but soon discover that eerily similar murders are taking place all over the country。 Something truly strange is afoot。 As the bodies pile up， the MBI detectives seek answers from a local root doctor who has been documenting every lynching in the country for years， uncovering a history that refuses to be buried。 In this bold， provocative book， Everett takes direct aim at racism and police violence， and does so in fast-paced style that ensures the reader can’t look away。 The Trees is an enormously powerful novel of lasting importance from an author with his finger on America’s pulse。
Reviews
Breanna
，
I’m honestly shocked at how much love this book has received。 I loved all of the other Booker long list novels but the merits of this one really baffle me。 It is repetitive with the same exact scenes being described nearly ever chapter。 It has no subtlety or nuance at all。 Every single character was empty and expressionless。 Many reviewers comment on the humor， but at no moment did I laugh or even have the inkling to smile。 And the end， it slips into a very unbecoming supernatural novel that is I’m honestly shocked at how much love this book has received。 I loved all of the other Booker long list novels but the merits of this one really baffle me。 It is repetitive with the same exact scenes being described nearly ever chapter。 It has no subtlety or nuance at all。 Every single character was empty and expressionless。 Many reviewers comment on the humor， but at no moment did I laugh or even have the inkling to smile。 And the end， it slips into a very unbecoming supernatural novel that is incredibly out of place with the storyline and plot up unto that point。 I won’t say the worst novel I’ve ever read， but certainly the worst I’ve read in many years。 The only positive comment I can end with is that the pace is at least quick， and the chapters short so you can get through it relatively fast if you’re like me and have trouble DNFing。 。。。more
Vlad
，
（3。5）
Dave Schaafsma
，
"What the f。 。 。。。？"--the most common refrain in this book after anyone encounters yet another murderLynching （and Laughter） and LossMy third Man Booker 2022 long list novel， actually read in 2022， unprecedented for me， and read because I knew I would read it。 I also read Audrey Magee's The Colony， which I also liked very much， and Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These， which I also liked， but less （though I became a fan of her work along the way， nevertheless）。 The Trees is a kind of literary "What the f。 。 。。。？"--the most common refrain in this book after anyone encounters yet another murderLynching （and Laughter） and LossMy third Man Booker 2022 long list novel， actually read in 2022， unprecedented for me， and read because I knew I would read it。 I also read Audrey Magee's The Colony， which I also liked very much， and Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These， which I also liked， but less （though I became a fan of her work along the way， nevertheless）。 The Trees is a kind of literary high wire act about lynching that also （remarkably） makes you laugh aloud。 Of course， there are many books that are about deadly serious topics that also make you laugh; I think of Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow or Joseph Heller's Catch 22。 The Trees opens in a kind of rollicking tone with the brutal murder in Money， Mississippi of two men， a while man and a black man。 And because it could be disturbing， I won't tell you any specifics about the murder， though it happens again and again and again throughout the book。 So it's a kind of mystery， and a kind of racial history， as （I guess I have to say spoiler alert， but the theory is present from the beginning） that the ghost of Emmitt Till or other men who have been lynched （or "lynched" as in murdered because of their race or sexual identity or religion） may be rising up to finally act in justice for those that have never had it。 Some features:*A lot of very funny joking around about small town Mississippi cops and KKK members; this is the thing: There is rage and satire that go hand in hand in this book。 There is rage and laughter about Donald Trump， too， for instance， as it is set during the time of his presidency*There's a feisty 105 year-old black woman who has kept files on each and every person lynched in the US of A* One chapter just reads， "What the f。 。 。。？！"*Another chapter is just the old woman's list of the names of lynched people， most of them men， but makes clear the book casts a wider net than"just" （though it is mostly） black men。 So many kinds of violence to people who are different！*In another chapter we learn of the locations of these lynchings so we could be reminded that lynchings took place in the northern states， too。The effect of the book is kind of dizzyingly profound， a both hilarious and horrifying novel。 Powerful， crude （one repeated aspect of the murders， a particular kind of mutilation， is played for both laughs and horror！）， just great。 Billie Holiday's 1959 video recording of "Strange Fruit":https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=-DGY9。。。 。。。more
Girish
，
Percival Everett's book is tough to categorise as it switches between mystery to satire to a call for revolution。 It takes on the American racist history through current day gruesome murders。Money， Mississippi - ironically named is the site of two gruesome murders in a white family。 Both locations a （disappearing） black corpse of the same person is found with the balls of the white man in his hands。 The MIB sends over two wisecracking black detectives who investigate and find the crime scene is Percival Everett's book is tough to categorise as it switches between mystery to satire to a call for revolution。 It takes on the American racist history through current day gruesome murders。Money， Mississippi - ironically named is the site of two gruesome murders in a white family。 Both locations a （disappearing） black corpse of the same person is found with the balls of the white man in his hands。 The MIB sends over two wisecracking black detectives who investigate and find the crime scene is history itself with a connection to the lynched black men in history and the KKK。 Soon similar news starts coming from across America - blacks， Asians， red Indians killing white men who have committed crime。The book is hard hitting for the violence it suggests and a chapter dedicated only to names of men who have been lynched since 1913。 The dialogues also unearth the racism in today's country。 Like when the agents get stopped by a white cop， they worry they might get shot or how police killings are modern day lynching。 I did not see the snowball ending coming and maybe i felt a bit uneasy with the blatant hatred in words。 I remembered the final debate from the "Great debaters" where the winning argument is in a choice between violence and civil disobedience。 You should pray they choose the latter。A bash in the head to get your attention。 。。。more
Henk
，
A wild ride of a book that is surprisingly funny despite the topic of lynching being central to the narrative。 Combined with an excellent ear for dialogue， this was a joy to readThe world has become six gallons of shit in a one gallon bucketPropulsive and funny， I hope this book makes the Booker Prize 2022 shortlist！ More thoughts to follow 🌲 🌳
Tracey
，
Wow。 4。5 stars。
Abigail
，
So clever， so experimental， so satirical， so powerful。
Jax R
，
Mama Z， a sharp， charming yet intimidating centenarian， has gathered the stories of every lynching since she was born in 1913， her father’s being the first of seven thousand and six。 “In all the files I read，” Mama Z said， “Not one person had to pay。” Damon， a professor and friend of a young woman who says she’s Mama Z’s great-great-granddaughter， pores through the files， recording the names by hand on a legal pad。 The list， page and pages long。 “When I write the names they become real again。 It Mama Z， a sharp， charming yet intimidating centenarian， has gathered the stories of every lynching since she was born in 1913， her father’s being the first of seven thousand and six。 “In all the files I read，” Mama Z said， “Not one person had to pay。” Damon， a professor and friend of a young woman who says she’s Mama Z’s great-great-granddaughter， pores through the files， recording the names by hand on a legal pad。 The list， page and pages long。 “When I write the names they become real again。 It’s almost like they get a few more seconds here，” he tells Mama Z。 This simple statement will shoulder a plot point that will take a full read to realize。 This remembering， the cruel inhumanity， the barbarity of lynching is what this novel is about。 And karma， getting what one gives。 It is told murder-by-murder as those who practiced this evil “sport，” as Mama Z calls it， and their offspring， meet Emmett Till’s fate。 One reviewer called it a “chilling indictment of unpunished evil。” That， it is。 Others focus on implementation: the “heavy handed use of satire，” “absurdist tone，” and how the “tone of narration” eroded the reviewer’s interest in the story。 Not all felt that way。 One praised Everett for “bringing to life those who inhabit smaller communities in rural America。” Now， it’s important that we respect others opinions， and I truly do。 But OMG， did she really say that？ These comments and similar ones bear consideration， as this book carries a higher， supremely more important message from which the broad-sweep stereotyping that one might pick at could distract。 This novel references a period and place where horrific brutality was met with indifference for decades， and racism is being called out as the sick and malevolent evil that it is。 But will Everett’s hard charge and the sweeping characterizations of certain classes risk readers shutting down before getting to what is truly being said？ Or prevent them from enjoying the wild ride that is this book？ Perceval Everett’s style is highly acclaimed and justly so。 It is difficult to stop reading this imaginative and tautly paced work when it’s time to cash it in for the night。 So， let’s take a look at some of the complaints。 The novel’s opening has been described as a biting hillbilly comedy。 I must admit， there are laugh out loud moments， fair or not。 But one might flinch， especially if a southerner or Mississippian in particular， as he describes modern-day Mississippi characters as morbidly obese， crass， ignorant， indolent racists popping puss-filled pimples off one another’s back and crudely lusting for Fox News personalities。 “Well， it’s chock-full of know-nothing peckerwoods stuck in prewar nineteenth century and living proof that inbreeding does not lead to extinction，” one character will say。 It is unquestionable that racism and bigotry are still alive in that state， other states， the country， where I live， where you live。 That fact need not be handled with kid gloves。 It goes without saying that the characters who participated in or supported lynching are fair game。 But are these blanket characterizations of modern-day Mississippi denizens fair？ Clearly， the comeback for all things wrong with the state encircles the entirety of its envisioned citizens: “M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-P-P-I。” As in， ‘nuff said。 Mississippians， not I， must speak to that， but I will stand by those who， like me， had a small town， let’s say “southern-adjacent” childhood and find racism the repugnant evil scourge of both past and modern-day America that it is。 And this tack is not limited to the southern belt。 Asians Ho， Chi， and Minh greet one another in that order just in case， one assumes， it is unclear that they are being grouped as Vietnamese。 Then there’s the embittered beer and mustard midwestern meatpacker replaced by cheap—yes， south-of-the-border—labor and the Chicagoan cadaver processor， nipple-scrubber Ditka and his coworkers who desecrate human remains， using them for sport。 Of course it’s not sacrilege， this other-Ditka and his buddies’ behavior！ “They’re dead！ Dead。 Dead。 Dead。” you idiot！ Chicagoans know the difference。 I came in with different expectations， as others did， and admittedly had a cringing sense that things were going a bit too far， chapter after chapter， as the jabs kept coming。 No matter the discomfort。 Everett has created something that no other could。 This book， despite its barbs and defiance of things one must not do these days， will resonate and settle for a very long time。 Let’s give Everett his due: the man is idiosyncratic but brilliantly so。 He has spurred us to ruminate， dissect， opine， and through this， we can never forget—thousands were killed in a brutal and monstrous way。 Reminding readers of the torture and murder of Emmett Till in 1950s Mississippi is well chosen as Everett argues: “The image of the boy in his open casket awakened the nation to the horror of lynching。 At least the White nation。 The horror that was lynching was called life by Black America。 The killers， Roy Bryant and J。W。 Milam， were acquitted by an all-White jury。” And， I might add， they were paid a staggering sum by Look Magazine for their story。 。。。more
Justine S
，
Wow， I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come！ Do not DNF this before the 50% mark thinking it is a police procedural or buddy cop story and not what you thought it would be。 It shifts gears part way through。 Though the dialogue and dark humour are fantastic throughout， the second half of the book really goes to another level。 Everett’s writing is very accessible and his use of humour to strike a balance with the seriousness of the subject matter of lynching （both pre-civil rig Wow， I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come！ Do not DNF this before the 50% mark thinking it is a police procedural or buddy cop story and not what you thought it would be。 It shifts gears part way through。 Though the dialogue and dark humour are fantastic throughout， the second half of the book really goes to another level。 Everett’s writing is very accessible and his use of humour to strike a balance with the seriousness of the subject matter of lynching （both pre-civil rights and more recent forms） is outstanding。Thought-provoking， hilarious， horrific， brilliant。 。。。more
Jude （HeyJudeReads） Fricano
，
Am I the only one who found the sarcasm， cynicism and humor absolutely laugh-out-loud？ Percival Everett is genius in his character development and piecing this story together。 IT is bold in the face of lynching and white supremacy and sarcastic all in the same paragraph。 I flew through the pages， unable to get enough of the story！I've seen it on many shortlist predictions， so perhaps in a few hours we'll see the results！ Am I the only one who found the sarcasm， cynicism and humor absolutely laugh-out-loud？ Percival Everett is genius in his character development and piecing this story together。 IT is bold in the face of lynching and white supremacy and sarcastic all in the same paragraph。 I flew through the pages， unable to get enough of the story！I've seen it on many shortlist predictions， so perhaps in a few hours we'll see the results！ 。。。more
Jaclyn
，
Everett uses satire to take aim at racism， police violence and white supremacy。 He does not flinch。 Satire， when executed well as it is here， is so incredibly effective。 It frees the writer to really let loose and Everett does exactly that in this this revenge fantasy。 This will bring to mind another Booker winner The Sellout but also Delicious Foods and We Cast a Shadow。 I loved it。
Frances Starn
，
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 for me！ Loved this one。 No spoilers， I just recommend you read it。
Theresa
，
I'm going to go against popular and critical opinion here， and say this book just didn't work。 The premise is bold and original: a comedy in which African American （and a few Chinese） lynching victims return to life long enough to lynch white racist Americans。 I was ready to give the author four stars for the premise alone， but the more I read， the more tiresome I found the humor。 I chuckled a few times （the Phyllis Wheatley Endowed Chair joke was hilarious）， but most of the jokes seemed lifted I'm going to go against popular and critical opinion here， and say this book just didn't work。 The premise is bold and original: a comedy in which African American （and a few Chinese） lynching victims return to life long enough to lynch white racist Americans。 I was ready to give the author four stars for the premise alone， but the more I read， the more tiresome I found the humor。 I chuckled a few times （the Phyllis Wheatley Endowed Chair joke was hilarious）， but most of the jokes seemed lifted from Facebook memes。 The racist white characters were grotesque stereotypes--dumb， fat （and there's a lot of fat shaming in this book）， ugly， ignorant， and blatantly racist。 Do people like this exist？ Sure。 But I feel like I've seen these kinds of people portrayed thousands of times by now and the author of this book didn't do anything to add to this。 As the book progressed， I found myself getting more and more bored。 It's just page after page of white crackers with funny names （ie Dr。 Reverend Fondle） who say disgustingly racist things and then are castrated and lynched by a long-dead lynching victim。 A little dumb cop humor is thrown in， too， to break things up。 Additionally this book lets most liberal white readers （like myself） off the hook because we don't see ourselves in the characters portrayed here。 It really plays to our comfy view of the world: racists are white， southern， fat， dumb。 Not people like us。 Racists are "others。" If the targets in this book were say， affluent white soccer moms with BLM signs in their front yards this book would be much more interesting。 。。。more
Emily M
，
4。5 starsThe Trees does for lynching what Milkman did for the Troubles， Slaughterhouse-5 for the bombing of Dresden， To the Lighthouse for World War I; that is to say， it approaches an atrocity from an entirely new angle， with an entirely new tone， that highlights the shock for those who have grown numb。 It’s easy to write a wrist-slitty book about death， betrayal， societal breakdown， yet these depictions are， finally， a bit like watching videos about children starving in Africa。 The mind become 4。5 starsThe Trees does for lynching what Milkman did for the Troubles， Slaughterhouse-5 for the bombing of Dresden， To the Lighthouse for World War I; that is to say， it approaches an atrocity from an entirely new angle， with an entirely new tone， that highlights the shock for those who have grown numb。 It’s easy to write a wrist-slitty book about death， betrayal， societal breakdown， yet these depictions are， finally， a bit like watching videos about children starving in Africa。 The mind becomes desensitized by the enormity of the problem and the unrelenting darkness of the tone。So here’s the book about lynching we didn’t know we needed – a blistering， genre-bending cop comedy that takes us along on an elaborate revenge fantasy， and ultimately asks what our moral response should be。 Two black cops in modern-day America – educated， well-spoken professionals who can’t help being a bit embarrassed to be cops – are sent to Money， Mississippi to investigate a series of absurd murders that tie back to the horrific 1955 real-life murder of Black teenager Emmett Till。 There’s a cast of unabashedly stereotyped racist white Americans， and heroic， though often bloodthirsty Black and Asian characters。 And Everett throws everything but the kitchen sink into the mix – buddy movies， zombie tropes， blues music， a range of comedy styles， some dreadful puns – to create a colourful， bombastic rage of a noise about something deadly serious。It's not perfect。 If I had to read one more quip about testicles I was done， but this was a truly startling， original and important piece of writing。And he absolutely nails the ending。 。。。more
Linda
，
Looking forward to reading more of Percival Everett！
Marty Fried
，
I've discovered some interesting information about this book。。。 some of the characters were real people， including Emmett Till， the 14 year old black boy from Chicago who was brutally beaten and killed in 1955 while visiting the real town of Money， Mississippi。 He supposedly whistled at a white woman; apparently， whistling while black is/was a crime in that part of the country。 Interesting recent article: Wikipedia articleNow that I've finished the book， I'm not quite sure what to make of it。 I I've discovered some interesting information about this book。。。 some of the characters were real people， including Emmett Till， the 14 year old black boy from Chicago who was brutally beaten and killed in 1955 while visiting the real town of Money， Mississippi。 He supposedly whistled at a white woman; apparently， whistling while black is/was a crime in that part of the country。 Interesting recent article: Wikipedia articleNow that I've finished the book， I'm not quite sure what to make of it。 It started off laughing-out-loud funny， unless you're a racist redneck， in which case you might wonder what's so funny。The story starts in Money， Mississippi， and the characters should probably more accurately be called caricatures， as in extremely dumb， racist， poor， uneducated rednecks。 The first few we meet are the descendants of the two men who admittedly killed Emmett Till in 1955。 The mother of one was the actual woman who accused The poor boy of whistling at her。 This might have been somewhat true， as he was always clowning around with his friends， so may have done this more to them than to her。 But still， a black simply being friendly to a white woman was enough for severe punishment or lynching。The old woman rode around in a Sam's Club cart， not bought there but on permanent loan。 Her son was between jobs， but as his wife so astutely puts it， that would imply more than one job， which her husband has never had。 He lost his one job， a truck driver for the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain when he fell asleep and drove his truck off the Bridge。 It dangled there for hours until he was rescued and the truck then fell into the river， with about 40 cans of beer spilling from the cab， while he climbed out holding a can， all caught on CNN， Fox， and Youtube。A relative， the 2nd man who was tried and not convicted of killing Emmett Till was named Junior Junior， because his father had been called Junior。Then there are the made-up names， which the author must really enjoy making up。 There's Deputy Sheriff Delroy Digby and Braden Brady， each dumber than the other。 The Sheriff， Red Jetty， is probably the most intelligent of the citizens of Money， which isn't a very high bar。 But he doesn't let his intelligence get in the way very often。 There's an ME named Helvetica Quip， who had a husband named Ferris New who skipped town， and Helvetica was happy she didn't take his name， which would sound like a font， but one too boring for her。 In Orange County， there are two detective partners， Hal Chi and Daryl Ho。 At one point， they meet up with another cop from Riverside， whose name is Minh。 They introduce themselves: "Ho。" "Chi。" "Minh。"The town's restaurant is called "The Dinah"， not because there was ever anyone named Dinah but because the original owner couldn't spell。 It's packed every day from 5:00 to 6:30 because everyone is trying to beat the dinner rush。 After 6:30， the place is mostly empty except for those too late to beat the dinner rush。Anyway， there's lots of humorous conversations， including between the black investigators from Mississippi Bureau of Investigation who get sent there to figure out what's going on， and a female FBI investigator Herberto Hind， often called Herbert （also black）， and a part black waitress。 Of course， they hit it off well with the locals who have never interacted with blacks in any way other than subservient positions and don't know whether to cooperate or shoot them。Then the story starts sounding like a zombie apocalypse， with "dead Negroes" supposedly killing the good White citizens， very brutally， and often the same dead black man is found at more than one scene。 It gets crazier and crazier， but mixed into the humor and craziness is the serious message about the many lynchings that have taken place over the years， usually unpunished。And then it ends。 。。。more
Silje
，
4，5
Tensy （bookdoyen）
，
Ah Percival Everett， you never fail to surprise me with each new novel。 Your writing is perpetually interesting and each plot an original。 This satirical novel had me laughing out loud at the same time it had me cringing with anger。 How does he do it？ Two Mississippi Bureau agents， Ed and Jim who happen to be black， are sent to Money， MI to investigate a gruesome murder。 Money is the kind of town that is "chock-full of know-nothing peckerwoods stuck in the pre-war nineteenth century and living p Ah Percival Everett， you never fail to surprise me with each new novel。 Your writing is perpetually interesting and each plot an original。 This satirical novel had me laughing out loud at the same time it had me cringing with anger。 How does he do it？ Two Mississippi Bureau agents， Ed and Jim who happen to be black， are sent to Money， MI to investigate a gruesome murder。 Money is the kind of town that is "chock-full of know-nothing peckerwoods stuck in the pre-war nineteenth century and living proof that inbreeding does not lead to extinction。" That sentence is a jewel as are many others in this book。 The Trees makes us confront the racial politics of our time and prevalence of lynchings in our history。 。。。more
Bruce
，
I finished this book easily。 It was readable with very short chapters， but I felt like it was really two or three books in one。I liked the first part: a story that clearly referenced the Emmet Till murder and the open casket event in Chicago in 1955。 It's an imagined revenge on Milam and Bryant， Emmet's killers， but not on the killers themselves but on their descendants。 We believe that the sins of the father should not should not extend to the son。 This book says otherwise， if only because the I finished this book easily。 It was readable with very short chapters， but I felt like it was really two or three books in one。I liked the first part: a story that clearly referenced the Emmet Till murder and the open casket event in Chicago in 1955。 It's an imagined revenge on Milam and Bryant， Emmet's killers， but not on the killers themselves but on their descendants。 We believe that the sins of the father should not should not extend to the son。 This book says otherwise， if only because the racial animus of these families （and white Mississippi in general） continues to the present time。But then the book devolves into a crazy zombie story， and it lost me。 Copycat murders all over the country。 This large part of the book is even harder to believe and morally indefensible （IMO）。 I'm pretty sure I recognized the underlying bitter humor， but it really isn't enough to carry a story。 。。。more
Melissa
，
This is a book about lynching。 At times， though， it was laugh out loud funny。 Short， but ultimately moving。
Kris
，
OMG OMG OMG What did I just read？ A brilliant middle finger to white supremacy。
Jeff
，
Powerful and thought provoking。 Some truly great characters such as FBI Agent Hickory Spitz。 The oldest living active agent， he worked with J Edgar Hoover。 "He still had a badge and a gun but could barely wipe his own ass。 He smelled of shit， Aqua Velva， and pimento cheese。 Can't find a better description than that。 The book is worth the read on that alone never mind the evisceration of Donald J tRump。 Powerful and thought provoking。 Some truly great characters such as FBI Agent Hickory Spitz。 The oldest living active agent， he worked with J Edgar Hoover。 "He still had a badge and a gun but could barely wipe his own ass。 He smelled of shit， Aqua Velva， and pimento cheese。 Can't find a better description than that。 The book is worth the read on that alone never mind the evisceration of Donald J tRump。 。。。more
G L
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4。5 - hilarious and horrible in equal measures， the balance only a true master could strike
Lexy
，
Holy hell。
Peter Doherty
，
Well having just finished reading this I don’t quite know what to say。 However:The narrative is wonderful and full of amazing named characters and bitingly funny。 It reads as a murder mystery - to begin - but graduates in to a documentation of America’s dark racist past and I suppose it’s appalling racist present。 I loved this book but I wonder how many will go with the contentious plot as it unfolds into a meta fiction that encompasses not just the hypocrisy of American democracy but in my opin Well having just finished reading this I don’t quite know what to say。 However:The narrative is wonderful and full of amazing named characters and bitingly funny。 It reads as a murder mystery - to begin - but graduates in to a documentation of America’s dark racist past and I suppose it’s appalling racist present。 I loved this book but I wonder how many will go with the contentious plot as it unfolds into a meta fiction that encompasses not just the hypocrisy of American democracy but in my opinion also the hypocrisy of Western cultural democracy itself？ 。。。more
CharleY
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4。75* rounded up。 Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize。“Everybody talks about genocides around the world， but when the killing is slow and spread over a hundred years， no one notices。 Where there are no mass graves。 No one notices。 American outrage is always for show。 It has a shelf life。”Money， Mississippi。An oxymoronic name for a dead-end town。 The start of a series of gruesome murders。Everett paints a picture of the sort of communities that easily foster the kind of radical racism we see with 4。75* rounded up。 Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize。“Everybody talks about genocides around the world， but when the killing is slow and spread over a hundred years， no one notices。 Where there are no mass graves。 No one notices。 American outrage is always for show。 It has a shelf life。”Money， Mississippi。An oxymoronic name for a dead-end town。 The start of a series of gruesome murders。Everett paints a picture of the sort of communities that easily foster the kind of radical racism we see with the Ku Klux Clan and other white supremacist groups: A general state of hopelessness and dissatisfaction; miserable people whose only release is to afflict their misery on someone else。 Even those who disapprove of the white supremacists don’t care enough – and perhaps have enough of their own problems – to stop them。These murders are just the beginning。 As more and more characters join the fray， as the killings switch from isolated murders to overt massacres， it seems Everett is sounding a warning bell。 One act of resistance – the first murders – sparks a revolt all over the US， particularly in the south。 Violence met with violence。 While the ever expanding cast of characters did make for some confusing reading， I think it was successful in showing the extent of outrage over racial violence in the US。————————————————————————————————“When I write the names they become real， not just statistics。 When I write the names they become real again。 It’s almost like they get a few more seconds here。”“There are many unknown males。 Those were hard to write down just like the names。”“Unknown Male is a name… In a way， it’s more of a name than any of the others。 A little more than life was taken from them。”There is a particularly powerful part where Everett lists the real life victims of lynching。 Pages and pages worth。 Everett’s fictional character， Damon Nathan Thruff， is perhaps a surrogate for Everett himself– the one who records， who puts names to paper; the one who makes the victims exist again。 Throughout the novel， there are many references to real life historical events and people who exist（ed） in real life。 Emmett Till， a 14 year old boy who was lynched in 1955 after being falsely accused of inappropriate contact with a white woman， Carolyn Bryant。 One particular orange president and his famous tagline， “Make America great again”。 ————————————————————————————————Everett writes with his characteristic wit and flair。 Satire and humour deftly woven in to make a difficult subject matter more approachable， while still leaving you with an appropriate level of discomfort。 He also makes reference to many contemporary issues in the US， probably more than I have even identified。 Police brutality and racial bias。 Whether people of colour should be a part of problematic law enforcement agencies。In fact， so strong is the message that I felt it sometimes came in the way of the storytelling。 For example， the inclusion of Asians in the lynching victims and eventually the mob of attackers， as well as the comically named Ho， Chi and Minh， was presumably included to emphasise that racial violence was directed against more than black people。 But beyond the cursory mentions， their issues never really got developed the same way the black characters’ did。 In my opinion， their inclusion was awkward and the story would have better flow had they been left out。Nonetheless I found this to be a great book and a worthy addition to the Booker longlist。 It is the first of Percival Everett’s books that I’ve read， but now it certainly won’t be my last。 。。。more
Trey Hall
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Page-turner detective mystery， crime drama/comedy， racial justice reckoning。 Sort of Jack Reacher meets Django Unchained。 And long-listed for the Booker: suffice it to say an unconventional member of that list。
Jaime Hopkins
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Enjoyed the first half。 The satire was entertaining。 The last half felt scattered。 I was expecting something more deep/moving and it ended up being more comical/sci-fi。
Marge
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My second book by one of my new favorite authors I discovered this year， Percival Everett。 This just won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction which recognizes books that have made important contributions to understanding racism。 It's another genre-defying experience。 Everett is so consistently surprising， his agent once begged him to try repeating himself - advice he continues to ignore。 I'll be thinking about this book for awhile after finishing it。 My second book by one of my new favorite authors I discovered this year， Percival Everett。 This just won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction which recognizes books that have made important contributions to understanding racism。 It's another genre-defying experience。 Everett is so consistently surprising， his agent once begged him to try repeating himself - advice he continues to ignore。 I'll be thinking about this book for awhile after finishing it。 。。。more
Linda Rae
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We're in Money， Mississippi and some crazy， murderous sh*t is going down。The writing is stunning， the book moves at an incredibly fast pace， the characters are brought to life not only with their words but their absurd names （Junior's son is called Junior Junior， and his son is Triple J。 Then there's Pick L。 Dill and Hot Mama Yeller）。 On top of all of this absudity is the blatant， careless racism that pervades almost every white person's speech and actions。 So when the state and feds send in bla We're in Money， Mississippi and some crazy， murderous sh*t is going down。The writing is stunning， the book moves at an incredibly fast pace， the characters are brought to life not only with their words but their absurd names （Junior's son is called Junior Junior， and his son is Triple J。 Then there's Pick L。 Dill and Hot Mama Yeller）。 On top of all of this absudity is the blatant， careless racism that pervades almost every white person's speech and actions。 So when the state and feds send in black officers to dig in， things get even more intense， bizarre and crazy。I almost gave this 5 stars but things kind of broke down for me in the end with the addition of some supernatural elements。I really hope Jordan Peele makes a movie out of this！！Also shocked， surprised and happy that this made the Booker Long List。 Quite a departure from their usual selections。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Trees
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Trees&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Trees&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0