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The Trees

By: Percival Everett
Narrated by: Bill Andrew Quinn
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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
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What listeners say about The Trees

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Haunting

A deeply unsettling story that needs to be heard. For a non American listener it maybe takes a while to get you eat tuned to the delivery, but it's worth it. Whip smart in points and deeply worrying in others.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent Novel

You have to be ready for some violence, & very racist attitudes & language - not ‘gratuitous’ though, I’d say. If your a Trump supporter or denizen of the USA ‘deep south’ be ready for what you might, by now, be thinking of as stereotyping. Sorry! A short but fantastic novel that says some needful things & is always going off in unexpected directions.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking and disturbing

Not sure how I feel about this novel. Bits I loved, some made me laugh out loud and some made me feel very uncomfortable.
But overall definitely worth a credit.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The impact of unresolved racial crimes

There is a current cost to the unresolved racial crimes committed. We are given important insight to this in a both funny and serious way.

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Very good book

A great story, fab twists and great narration. The topic of under reported murder of black peoples over multiple decades is eye opening and shocking, though not news to me. I guess that’s the take home message, why is this period of history ignored? Too shameful to recall and deal with.

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Seriously thought provoking within OTT characters

Some people may be upset with deep south and American language. if you can see the cartoon nature of the characters and language then there are uncomfortable questions for us to address.
But I ain't no scholar.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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just the best - a great very original book

This was a great very original book really funny. The detectives are hilarious. A book with a profound message nevertheless

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A challenging book.

This is a difficult one to review because some areas I loved and others I found quite difficult.

The story is overall quite confusing and convoluted with multiple characters who are never really developed, I didnt feel attached to anybody in the book. The plot itself moves especially in the second half frantically around the U.S and is hard to follow at times with new locations and new characters put into the mix. The book is also written in a style that didn't really appeal to me, I is a distinctive style but a bit jarring in audio form Jim said Ed said etc etc.

The good however was very good the message and the overall tone were fantastic and at times moving. The horror of lynching is put forward in a modern and heartfelt way.

The humour was brilliant in some places especially at the end poking fun at Politicians and Generals. However at the start laughing at redneck poor people felt a bit disconcerting. Yes these people are stupid, racist and funny but they are products of a system that has made them stupid and racist.

Narration was good.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Couldn’t cope with narration and had to download the book

Loved the book, the notion of a black comedy about lynching is hard to fathom but excellently constructed. The narration failed to deliver humour or drama.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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This would make a great comic book

Interesting and definitely amusing idea that starts and finishes strong but the middle becomes quite repetitive and oh boy could it feel like a slog at times. Narration sounds like an AI voice at times, a lot of characters sound very similar - would like to see this adapted though!

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