The Trees (Everett novel) explained

The Trees
Author:Percival Everett
Country:United States
Language:English
Genre:Literary fiction
Publisher:Graywolf Press (US)
Influx Press (UK)
Media Type:Print, ebook, kindle, audiobook
Pages:308 pp
Isbn:9781644450642
Dewey:813/.54
Congress:PS3555.V34 T74 2021
Oclc:1268220252
Preceded By:Telephone
Followed By:Dr. No
Pub Date:September 21, 2021 (US)March 17, 2022 (UK)
Award:Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award
Isbn Note:
(paperback 1st ed)

The Trees is a 2021 novel by American author Percival Everett, published by Graywolf Press.

Set predominantly in the small town of Money, Mississippi, the novel follows a series of murders that seem to follow identical patterns.

Summary

In Money, Mississippi, a white man called Junior Junior is found dead in his own home with the body of an unknown Black man beside him. When the bodies are taken to the morgue, it is soon discovered that the body of the unknown Black man has disappeared. The body is found again in the home of Junior Junior's cousin, Wheat, who has also been murdered. Shortly after, the body of the Black man disappears again.

Two Black detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Ed Morgan and Jim Davis, are sent to Money to investigate the situation. Ed and Jim go to a local bar frequented by the Black community of Money where they discover that both Junior and Wheat are relatives of Carolyn Bryant, a white woman who accused the teenage Emmett Till of making sexual advances at her leading to his lynching and death. Ed and Jim believe that the disappearing body bears a striking resemblance to Emmett Till's battered body.

More bodies begin to pile up around the country. Each features one or more white men who have been castrated with the bodies of Black or Asian men beside them. Ed and Jim are able to find the identity of the Black man found at the original crime scene. They trace it to a company that sells bodies for research. They also begin to suspect Gertrude Penstock, a white-passing waitress they met in Money, and her 105 year old great-grandmother Mama Z are involved in the original murders.

Unbeknown to Ed and Jim, this is revealed to be true as Gertrude and a group of like-minded Black individuals had orchestrated the deaths of Wheat and Junior Junior as retaliation for their fathers' part in murdering Emmett Till. However they are baffled by the other murders.

Reports of the other murders reveal that large groups of Black and Asian men who appear impervious to bullets, have started duplicating the murders orchestrated by Mama Z and Gertrude.

Writing and development

To write the novel, Everett researched lynching in the United States.[1] For this research, Everett purchased books dealing with elements of lynching, enough to incidentally develop a "lynching section in [his] library".[1] Everett attributes the humor in his novels, including in The Trees, to the influence of Mark Twain.[2] [3]

Reception and accolades

Reception

The novel received mostly favorable reviews.[4] Mary F. Corey, in a positive review published by the Los Angeles Review of Books, wrote that the novel included a "Twainian level of wit and meanness".[5] Joyce Carol Oates called it "[r]eally profound writing...about subjects of great tragic and political significance.[6] Carole V. Bell, in a review published by NPR, also praised the novel, writing that the book is a "combination of whodunnit, horror, humor and razor blade sharp insight".[7]

Awards and honors

Awards for The Trees! Year !! Award !! Category !! Result !!
2022Fiction [8]
Fiction [9]
— [10]
— [11] [12] [13]
Fiction [14] [15]
Fiction [16] [17]
Fiction [18] [19]
— [20] [21]
— [22]
The Morning News Tournament of Books—
PEN/Faulkner Award— [23]
— [24] [25]
2023International Dublin Literary Award—[26]

Notes and References

  1. News: Yeh . James . An Interview with Percival Everett . 28 July 2022 . Believer Magazine . 1 December 2021 . August 1, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220801114206/https://culture.org/interview-percival-everett-james-yeh/ . live .
  2. News: Qian . Jianan . Art Makes Us Better: The Millions Interviews Percival Everett . 28 July 2022 . The Millions . 9 June 2022 . July 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220728210948/https://themillions.com/2022/06/art-makes-us-better-the-millions-interviews-percival-everett.html . live .
  3. News: Simon . Scott . Percival Everett's Novel 'The Trees' Parses Through Race's Part In A Southern Murder . 28 July 2022 . NPR.org . 18 September 2021 . en . July 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220728211129/https://www.npr.org/2021/09/18/1038533170/percival-everetts-novel-the-trees-parses-through-races-part-in-a-southern-murder . live .
  4. Web site: The Trees . Book Marks . Literary Hub . 28 July 2022 . October 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221002061036/https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/the-trees-2/ . live .
  5. News: Corey . Mary F. . Los Angeles Review of Books . 28 July 2022 . 3 February 2022 . en . July 28, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220728211736/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/confederate-dunces-on-percival-everetts-the-trees/ . live .
  6. Oates . Joyce Carol . Joyce Carol Oates Doesn't Prefer Blondes . 26 September 2022 . The New Yorker . 25 September 2022 . en . September 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220926210944/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/joyce-carol-oates-doesnt-prefer-blondes . live .
  7. News: Bell . Carole V. . Percival Everett's Latest Grounds Racial Allegory In History, Horror And Blood . 4 August 2022 . NPR . 22 September 2021 . en . August 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220804191152/https://www.npr.org/2021/09/22/1039434714/percival-everett-the-trees-review . live .
  8. Web site: The Trees . September 16, 2022 . September 20, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163410/https://www.anisfield-wolf.org/winners/the-trees/ . live .
  9. Web site: blackshsi . 2022-05-05 . BCALA Literary Awards . 2024-11-13 . Black Caucus American Library Association . en-US.
  10. Web site: 2022-11-23 . Awards: Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse, Toronto Book Winners . 2024-04-30 . . February 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230203023635/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4366 . live .
  11. News: Bari . Shahidha . 6 September 2022 . 'I've no idea how we'll pick a winner': the challenge of a spectacular Booker shortlist . 6 September 2022 . . en . September 6, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220906222514/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/06/ive-no-idea-how-well-pick-a-winner-the-challenge-of-a-spectacular-booker-shortlist . live .
  12. Bayley . Sian . 26 July 2022 . Booker Prize longlist dominated by indies as judges pick youngest and oldest ever nominees . 1 August 2022 . . July 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220726230651/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/booker-prize-longlist-dominated-by-indies-as-judges-pick-youngest-and-oldest-ever-nominees . live .
  13. News: Segal . Corinne . 26 July 2022 . Here's the 2022 Booker Prize longlist. . 26 July 2022 . Literary Hub . July 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220727203328/https://lithub.com/heres-the-2022-booker-prize-longlist/ . live .
  14. Web site: 2022-06-27 . Awards: Firecracker Winners . 2022-06-28 . Shelf Awareness.
  15. Web site: Schaub . Michael . 2022-06-24 . CLMP Announces Firecracker Award Winners . 2022-06-28 . Kirkus Reviews . en.
  16. Web site: I'm a Fan . 18 September 2024 . Foyles.
  17. Web site: Foyles names works by Patel, Halliday and Said as Books of the Year . 2024-09-18 . The Bookseller . En.
  18. Web site: 2022-10-28 . Shara McCallum wins the 2022 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Poetry . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230331004423/https://www.peepaltreepress.com/blog/news-authors/shara-mccallum-wins-2022-hurstonwright-legacy-award-poetry . March 31, 2023 . 2024-04-29 . Peepal Tree Press.
  19. Web site: The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230331061640/https://aalbc.com/books/hw-award-winning-books.php . March 31, 2023 . 2024-04-29 . . en.
  20. Web site: Schaub . Michael . 2022-03-07 . Finalists for Joyce Carol Oates Prize Announced . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240528010332/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/finalists-for-joyce-carol-oates-prize-announced/ . 2024-05-28 . 2022-03-07 . . en.
  21. Web site: 2022-03-04 . Awards: Joyce Carol Oates, PEN/Faulkner Fiction Finalists . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240528010333/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4182 . 2024-05-28 . 2024-05-27 . Shelf Awareness.
  22. Web site: Four Finalists Announced for Second Maya Angelou Book Award Kansas City Public Library . 2024-11-13 . kclibrary.org . en.
  23. Web site: Past Winners & Finalists . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131221031240/http://www.penfaulkner.org/award-for-fiction/past-award-winners-finalists/ . December 21, 2013 . October 27, 2022 . PEN/Faulkner.
  24. News: Smith . Eliza . March 1, 2022 . Here are the winners of the 2022 PEN America Literary Awards. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220303221307/https://lithub.com/here-are-the-winners-of-the-2022-pen-america-literary-awards/ . March 3, 2022 . March 4, 2022 . Literary Hub.
  25. Web site: Stewart . Sophia . January 26, 2022 . PEN America Announces Finalists for 2022 Literary Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221205143333/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/88384-pen-america-announces-finalists-for-2022-literary-awards.html . 2022-12-05 . 2023-03-06 . . en.
  26. Web site: 2023-03-28 . Dublin Literary Award shortlist announced . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230526054004/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/03/28/228737/dublin-literary-award-shortlist-announced-2/ . 26 May 2023 . 2023-05-26 . Books+Publishing.

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