The Trees

A Novel

By: Percival Everett

Narrated by: Bill Andrew Quinn

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

An uncanny literary thriller addressing the painful legacy of lynching in the US, by the author of Telephone

Percival Everett's The Trees is a must-listen 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. The Trees is an enormously powerful novel of lasting importance from an author with his finger on America's pulse.

©2021 Percival Everett (P)2022 Tantor

Worthwhile

The narrator is simply fabulous. The first 75% of the novel is fantastic, but I found later sections labored and weaker in conception. Everett is a master of blending genres; not many fiction writers can move so smoothly between police procedural, humor, history, and horror. The white characters are simplistic and one-dimensional, which weakens the narrative, at least for me.

Wow

Flips the script in a very poignant way. The humor is dark, and softens the blows.

Gold

Truly something else. A novel unlike any I’ve ever read. Electric. Funny. Dark. Real. Nuanced.

5 STARS

Absolutely loved it. What a high wire act, combining history, satire, straight-up comedy, tragedy and horror, into a story as tight as a drum. I was amazed by the pendulum swings of style. Absolute 10/10

Extraordinary

Reading top notch
Story funny poignant and deeply moving
A totally refreshing approach to racism in the usa

Bizarre and Delightful

Percival Everett is amazing. This book is…many things, to say the least! But an enjoyable read. The audio actor is great.

Wild. Redemptive. Hilarious. Gory. LOL funny. Shocking.

Wowza. What a story. What a storyteller. Loved the characters. Names. And the sheer gravity of this book in raising awareness of mass murders — genocide — that is largely not considered on a day to day basis by most people in this country. And would be being considered now were it not for courageous Civil Rights leaders of the last century and current groups demanding that truths be told. Bryan Stevenson being being Chief among them in his writings and museums and work for Justice, and many more including Black Lives Matter, Nicole Hannah Jones, Ibram
X Kendi, Resmaa Menakem, Tarana Burke, Mary Trump, Heather Cox Richardson, Isabel Wilkerson, and many others truth tellers I’ll think of as I post this.
Glad we are in a time when truths can be told. Yearn for reparations and end of systemic racism and oppression that makes real change slower than the repair of a backed up sewage pipe or broken water system in Black, rural MS, AL, LA, GA, FL, etc.

It is a good story with a few twists.

I thought the overall story was enjoyable to follow. The narration was okay for most of the book, but nearing the end I didn’t feel that the intensity of the story was matched very well. I think this particular novel might be better to read so you can develop your own character voices.

This story calls for character gymnastics

The story was a mix of historical truths and fiction. The narrator had many characters to navigate and did so seamlessly.

Fast and furious

Dialogue, events…all of it was unexpected and yet spot on! Highly recommend this book and look forward to more from author