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The Trees
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Bill Andrew Quinn
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
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The Trees
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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.
What listeners say about The Trees
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Angus
- 02-07-24
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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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Y o Y
- 12-03-23
One real message, otherwise incoherent
As a story I regard this as jumbled and incomplete. It feels like a book that tries too much and doesn’t deliver on any front apart from highlighted historic racist atrocities.
There were a few funny lines and the playing with peoples names was clever if a little overused.
It’s not a bad book and certainly better than I could write however I cannot see what the fuss is other than messaging that will appeal to some demographics and one side of the ongoing culture apocalypse. To Kill a Mockingbird it ain’t
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KMV
- 27-12-23
The past remains present in determining the future.
Remarkable book. I have Bill Nighy to thank for mentioning that he was hoping for this book as his Xmas gift when he stood in for Iggy Pop on BBC Radio 6 Music.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Becky
- 04-02-24
Clever and cutting
A really compelling read - keeps pace so well. First time reading Percival Everett and massively impressed. Narration brilliantly done too.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ricci
- 18-11-22
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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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Booky
- 27-11-22
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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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-09-22
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 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- 01-10-23
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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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- josh
- 20-12-23
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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Janet
- 21-09-22
A beautiful American Black comedic tragedy
Witty political fantasy using the strange fruit that hangs from the trees as a focal point for a murder (or should I say murders) mystery that could only happen in the American south. How could you laugh? But I did. Clever and entertaining.
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3 people found this helpful