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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.
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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
- 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
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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
- Tan Clover (TDKent)
- 07-01-23
Superb
Everett is caustic, satirical and brilliant.
This is my first experience of his work.. where the hell have I been?
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 05-10-22
Not so impressed
I really wanted to like this book, but actually I'm surprised by the positive reviews and general acclaim it has garnered. I tend to regard the word literary, in the context of the phrase 'literary thriller' as synonymous with 'bad', and this is no exception. The subject is terrible and needs constant and unremitting examination - we must never let ourselves forget what happened in the American South. But I don't see this book with its ludicrous premise, thin and stereotyped characterisation and clunky humour, as being a worthy example of the way to memorialise it.
While the narrator brings the flavour of the South to his reading, his characterisation is terrible. Throughout the book, one is never sure until there is a clue in the text whether a new character is black or white. Everyone speaks the same, except on the occasions when the plot takes us outside Mississippi, when the attempts to render a non-Southern accents are comic.
Nearly four hours in, finding no particular progress in the plot or startling insights, I'm afraid I gave up.
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4 people found this helpful
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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
- Howard8754
- 30-03-24
Entertaining
It was entertaining, great dialogue (but sweary), fast paced, funny😊 An insight into tragic history. I didn't want it to end or the conclusion wasn't satisfying - I'm not sure which.
it was sometimes hard to discern which character was speaking🤔
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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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aqasa Nu
- 08-01-23
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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. I. Mace
- 25-02-23
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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 06-02-23
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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jammidad
- 19-06-23
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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