Author: Amy Casey

The Cut Line by Carolina Pihelgas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What a beautiful little piece of literary fiction. I read it in translation, so I always assume that even with the most talented translator, there will still be a few shadows and reflections missed, but that said, I really felt this book. I felt the slow, mundane, nonlinear struggle to trust and heal. I felt the spirit of the house that provided comfort while still holding on to old secrets. I definitely felt the singular power of a garden–even a weedy one–to help one go on living, despite gunshots, despite forever war. A few standout images stopped me in my tracks.



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The Overstory by Richard Powers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I knew this book would eventually come for me. I picked it up and put it down at bookstores so many times, but recently an acquaintance put it directly into my hands, so I knew it was time. Heavy, mesmerizing, built tree ring by tree ring, OVERSTORY reminds us of how swiftly change comes, how irreversible harm can be, how time moves both torrentially and imperceptibly, and how human lives are interlocked with forests in ways we are still reaching to understand. Powers’ message is clear: the precious diversity of trees is something we ignore at our peril and surrender to as part of the path to transcendence and survival as a species. (Before you scoff, check: are you leaning against, standing upon, eating from, reading from, or breathing from something made by a tree?)



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