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The Trees  By  cover art

The Trees

By: Percival Everett
Narrated by: Bill Andrew Quinn
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Publisher's 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

What listeners say about The Trees

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Gold

Truly something else. A novel unlike any I’ve ever read. Electric. Funny. Dark. Real. Nuanced.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wow

Flips the script in a very poignant way. The humor is dark, and softens the blows.

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Wild. Redemptive. Hilarious. Gory. LOL funny. Shocking.

Wowza. What a story. What a storyteller. Loved the characters. Names. And the sheer gravity of this book in raising awareness of mass murders — genocide — that is largely not considered on a day to day basis by most people in this country. And would be being considered now were it not for courageous Civil Rights leaders of the last century and current groups demanding that truths be told. Bryan Stevenson being being Chief among them in his writings and museums and work for Justice, and many more including Black Lives Matter, Nicole Hannah Jones, Ibram
X Kendi, Resmaa Menakem, Tarana Burke, Mary Trump, Heather Cox Richardson, Isabel Wilkerson, and many others truth tellers I’ll think of as I post this.
Glad we are in a time when truths can be told. Yearn for reparations and end of systemic racism and oppression that makes real change slower than the repair of a backed up sewage pipe or broken water system in Black, rural MS, AL, LA, GA, FL, etc.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Very disappointing performance of a weird and angry book.

Odd amalgam of fury and grotesque humor. I totally get why, but wish it had been both better written and performed by someone with more skill at reading aloud.

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Extraordinary

Reading top notch
Story funny poignant and deeply moving
A totally refreshing approach to racism in the usa

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Bizarre and Delightful

Percival Everett is amazing. This book is…many things, to say the least! But an enjoyable read. The audio actor is great.

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Revenge is a dessert best served cold!

A must read for any African American descendents in the US whose ancestors were abused, mistreated, and murdered.

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  • 08-25-22

truly excellent

Historians will identify the events quickly. Important take on recent revelations of an infamous case.

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Definitely not for everyone

But I loved it. Mr. Quinn sounds like a bit like Morgan Freeman, and I thought he was terrific. Don’t read this if you equate being “woke” with being educated, empathetic, and aware of some of the horrors of American history.

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    2 out of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book but...

*Spoiler alert* This book started out strong! It was engaging and funny. But then it got weird. It seemed like the book was based on reality since the characters tried to find logical explanations for the supernatural events. I went along for the ride, awaiting a big finale. The ending seemed so abrupt. It felt like the author wrote the book and didn't have a complete story arc or ending in mind. There was no explanation for why the spirits of those lynched came back to life or why they had convened en masse to this town and across the country. Was it simply for revenge? I really wanted to like this book, but it was a huge disappointment.

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