Greenwood: A Story

A compelling family saga by one of Canada's most acclaimed novelists, Greenwood chronicles the rise and fall of a family, its secrets, and inherited crimes. Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Publishers Weekly praises it as a "rugged, riveting novel" that will satisfy fans of Richard Powers' The Overstory.

Told through shifting narratives, the story spans generations and follows characters such as Jacinda (Jake) Greenwood, a storyteller and liar guiding ultra-rich vacationers in a dwindling forest in 2038. Liam Greenwood, a carpenter recovering from a workplace fall in 2008, and Willow Greenwood, released from jail in 1974 after participating in environmental protests, also play central roles. In 1934, Everett Greenwood finds himself entangled in a web of crime, secrets, and betrayal at his maple-syrup camp, ultimately impacting his family for decades.

The narrative is woven together with the steady, silent pulse of trees, serving as a guiding metaphor for withering, weathering, and survival. Greenwood is described as a "shining, intricate clockwork of a novel," with Christie's effortless sentences mirroring the rain-soaked and sun-dappled story of the bonds and breaking points of money, love, wood, and blood.

Overall, the novel captures the hopeful yet impossible task of growing toward the light, delivering a captivating and richly detailed tale of a family's journey through the trials of time.

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