What is this book about?
Nine Americans arrive at a shared concern for threatened forests through very different encounters with trees. Richard Powers brings these lives together in The Overstory, a novel about environmental activism and the relationship between people and the natural world. Its narrative moves beyond a single linear life story to connect the characters’ experiences.
First published in 2018, it was shortlisted for that year’s Booker Prize and won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Those results distinguish a Booker nomination from a Pulitzer win for the same book.
Source: The Overstory
Book-club discussion
Suggested questions based on the book’s premise and form.
- How does following several lives change the scale of the environmental story?
- How do the characters’ experiences with trees inform their choices?
Award recognition
Fiction| Year | Book / recipient | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Richard Powers | The Booker Prize | shortlistedSource |
| 2019 | Richard Powers | PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction | shortlistedSource |
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