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The Trees

A Novel

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About this listen

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 Crime Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Fiction Murder Witty Social justice Suspense Detective Mississippi
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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.

A challenging book.

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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.

Excellent Novel

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This tackled a difficult subject from a quirky, wry and sometimes humorous angle. I did not find the characters difficult to follow or the narrative confusing like some other reviewers - I think you just have to pay sufficient attention! The narration was just fine.

Original and thought provoking

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This book is absolutely fantastic. Everyone should be made to read it. The narration is also perfect. Never have I listed to an audio book and immediately wanted to hear it again, but that is exactly what I am going to do!

You must read this

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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.

The impact of unresolved racial crimes

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