I loved the PNW forest setting of this novel in the 1970s - the descriptions of the landscapes and nature were spot on and so vivid. If you like a slow, character driven nature-focused novels (which I normally do), then this will be a hit, but to me it felt overly slow at times, taking way too long to build up the plot, then never reaching a satisfying conclusion.

Overall I did enjoy the journey, but didn't ultimately feel it was worth the almost 500 pages with major points of the plot left unresolved. The writing was ver good, especially for a debut, and I look forward to seeing what the author puts out in the future.

Damnation Spring is a novel about families in the Pacific Northwest working in the logging industry. The main Protagonists are the Gundersons, Rich, Colleen, his much younger wife, and their 5 year old son, Chub. I loved the book when the chapters were about them, their struggles with infertility, environmental threats and communication issues caused by Rich’s withholding information about a large land purchase he made. In addition to the Gundersons, I enjoyed reading about the women Colleen supported as a part time midwife, Lark, an eccentric elderly man whom the Gundersons fed and looked after, was also an interesting character. He charged tourists for information and use I f his outdoor “restrooms”. He also sold them statues of Sasquatch which he carved.
The whole first third of the book dragged for me, with repetition and lots of names of characters that I had trouble following. While I enjoyed the book once I got into it, I felt like it could have been shortened and tightened up a bit.
#DamnationAlley. #NetGalley

This book is a great example of a timely and intriguing story told in a way that makes it all but inaccessible. The writing, in places, is luminous and poetic, but it is too often bogged down by an excessive amount of detail and jargon connected to the logging industry which are not necessary, and add nothing to the story. Other details, like
Rich's toothache and the skull found at a logging site, are repeated, making them feel important, but there is never a connection made between them and the rest of the story. The characters are pretty unlikeable, and the number of times new characters are dropped into the story with no real introduction or any way for the reader to place them in any kind of context makes the reading difficult and frustrating. Overall, a disappointing novel that could have benefitted from some serious editing.

Though this book is about working class loggers in the 1970s - their struggles, their forests, their day-to-day lives - the real stories told in Damnation Spring are about loss.

With every tree that falls, the characters in this quiet, delicately-told story each come to terms with where their choices have brought them and what decisions they must make to get to the futures they want.

There was so much detail in this story I felt like I was standing in front of the Redwoods - a character in and of themselves, and worthy of the intense descriptions they were given - wondering how on earth I could possibly take in their true majesty.

And I feel like Damnation Spring is like the majestic Redwood: it is a book to be read more than once, and each time, more beauty will be revealed.

This is a well written book but it is so tough to get into. I am still reading it and its taken me over a month whereas I usually take a day to read a book. Ive heard it gets better at the halfway but I just can't get there. Im giving it 3 stars since I didnt finish but its been so tough to finish.

Edited:
Well I finished and it was so good. Wow did it take a long time to get into and I’m surprised but it was worth it. Loved the characters relationships specially Colleen and Chubb and I was invested and on the edge of my seat at points. Upping to 4 stars.

Excellent story! Totally engrossing!. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down!

Rich is a logger in the 1970s who makes his living felling trees. Workers are getting laid off and it is a difficult life. His wife, Colleen, wants another baby, but is discouraged and sad after multiple miscarriages, and she isn't alone. As a midwife, she has seen many women nearby suffer miscarriages as well. Which begs the question: could it have something to do with the herbicide that is constantly sprayed in town?

I wanted to enjoy this book, but between the heavy subject matter and technical logging terms and descriptions, it just was not for me. It was difficult to get through at times. I do think that my mother-in-law would enjoy this, though, and I will be recommending it to her.

Damnation Spring is a book I went into blindly, I just knew I needed something different and I liked the cover. It turned out to be unlike anything I have ever read and it was brilliant.

Set amongst the coastal redwoods of a Northern California mining community, the story revolves around Colleen, a midwife and her husband, Rick a fourth generation logger. Both want to build a better life for their son. So when Rick has an opportunity to buy a grove of old growth redwoods he sees the answer to their problems.

But soon the environmentalists become involved. They suspect the chemicals used on the trees are the cause of the many many babies being born with deformities, the rise in miscarriages and the plethora of dead animals being found in the area. Rick’s own wife, Colleen has been the subject of multiple miscarriages. Rick and Colleen are soon at war with each other and may possibly lose the family they had wanted to protect.

I loved this book. The prose is exquisite and the story is heartfelt and moving and the realization of how fragile a family can be will make the reader feel a visceral heartbreak. Juxtaposing this with the fragility of nature means this book delivers a double whammy. That these ancient enormous trees could become extinct gives the reader a lot to think about. This is a thoughtful novel that doesn’t provide answers but rather encourages introspection. This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I was very disappointed in this book. My expectations were too high after all the glowing reviews i read. I liked the story although the logging descriptions were a little too much. I did find the story realistic for the place and time and i enjoyed the characters. I think the experience for me would have been better if it had been about 250-300 pages. Obviously, I’m in the minority on this one. Thanks #netgalley for the ARC.

I REALLY wanted to like this book and at times, I sort of did. The first 50% was just a lot of very slow set up and maybe too many descriptions of wood/trees and excessive logging terms. Around 80% in, it seemed to pick up and it stopped being a chore to read but then at the end, I found myself just dealing with a lot of loose ends. Issues seemed to be introduced and then dropped randomly. The writing was choppy. Multiple times, I went backwards to see if I missed a page because the paragraph after what I had just read didn’t seem to flow.

I still look forward to reading this book--unfortunately I only had it for a day before it was archived.

Oof. This was good.

First of all, massive content warning for pregnancy/infant loss. If this is a topic you struggle to read about, this book is absolutely not for you.

Rich and Colleen Gundersen live in the redwood forest where Rich is a fourth-generation logger. Colleen is a midwife of sorts, helping local women give birth. It’s clear that the people in this area live in poverty, and are very dependent on the logging company not only for jobs but also for free food, subsidized healthcare, etc. Through the everyday lives of various people, you get a sense of issues like environmentalism, tribal rights, poisonous herbicides, forest preservation/stewardship - there are many factions fighting over the future use of the land.

The writing in this book is immersive - the author describes sights, sounds, smells and does it well enough that you feel you are there in the redwood forest. I also appreciated the focus on daily life and mundane activities, as this offered insight into characters’ feelings and motivations.

I don’t want to say much more for fear of spoilers, but this book would be great for book clubs as there is a wealth of topics to spark discussion.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Damnation Spring is about family, it’s about love and loss, it’s about the redwood timber industry, and so much more. Each chapter is narrated by a different character from the story: Rich, husband, father, multi-generation logger; Colleen, wife, mother, sister, midwife; and Chubb, 5 year old son of Rich and Colleen, inquisitive, and sweet. I fell in love with these characters and the tragedy, heartbreak, and love contained within this story. I found myself on the edge of my seat numerous times with all the twists and turns in the plot.

The depiction of deforestation, water contamination from herbicides that were sprayed (causing illness, cancer, and birth defects), and the lived experiences of the Yurok Tribe in the Klamath area of California were expertly woven throughout Davidson’s novel. While this story takes place in the 1970’s, the issues raised within this book are still relevant today. I highly recommend this book.

"Damnation Spring" is the story of a small family immersed in the redwood logging industry in California in the 1970's. I found it to be an excellent read and can be enjoyed for the fine quality of writing and a good story. But there is so much more depth to this book. Historically I found it both enlightening as to the dangers of logging these mammoth trees, as well as the environmental consequences of doing so. I found myself disturbed that it seems that we have learned so little about the value of forests in the last 50 years. I also found that this book does a wonderful job of presenting themes of "honesty' and 'trust" from both individual relationships and corporate/employee standpoints.
Overall, a very engrossing, solidly written, and enjoyable book.

This is going to make a great movie. Through careful use of language and gesture, author Davidson creates life in a small logging settlement in the 1970s, from the loggers' terminology (there are a few too many references to "big pumpkins," though) to the danger of the business to how the industry affected the families of employees. As the protagonists slowly come to understand how harmful the industry is, they must also grapple with everyday life in a poor and underserved community. The beginning felt slow to me, and I had almost just written off Rich as an asshole and the writing as repetitive before I pushed myself to continue and found that all of the characters' development was being beautifully crafted within a dense network of relationships and histories. This isn't just a great read: it could also serve as a model writers to study.

4* only because it took me a while to get immersed into the storyline. This is such a well-written story about a family in a small Pacific Northwest logging town. Set in 1977, the author touches upon lots of topics: the environment, pesticides, indigenous people. But at its heart, it's about families trying to survive while making tough life-affecting decisions in this town where the logging company runs the show. Once I hit the halfway mark, I flew through the rest of the book. But, oh boy, I was not expecting that ending.
Thank you to #NetGalley and #Scribner for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Beautifully written love story about family, place, and difficult decisions. Suggested for those who love books like the Grapes of Wrath and Four Winds. I loved the shifting points of view and the usage of time passing in this novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like others, I wasn’t able to finish this book. The first quarter of the books dragged so much with overly detailed and almost academic information about the logging industry.

A gripping emotional story about family, loss, and the impact of our environment - both around us and inside of us. I was captivated by the cover and the pages inside did not disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

This is a story that takes place in a logging town on the California coast in 1977-1978. It’s told by multiple POV’s: Colleen, Rich and Chub.

Colleen is an unofficial midwife, Rich is a fourth generation logger and Chub is their young son. Colleen desperately wants more children, but she has had eight miscarriages in the past. Rich secretly spends their savings on nearby land in hopes for a better future, and Chub is a kindergartener. Everything changes when Colleen’s old boyfriend, Daniel, comes to town. Danial is a biologist and collects data on the pesticides sprayed around the community. Colleen challenges the logging company and starts questioning the sickness of the people in the town and the reasons for her multiple miscarriages. Colleen and Rich find themselves on opposite sides of the issue, but they must put their beliefs aside to protect their family.

This was a story about family, community and environmental issues. I enjoyed the premise of the plot and all the characters, but it was way too slow for me. There was a lot of built up of the setting with it being a logging town, so much so I felt like nothing happened for the first 100 pages. Once it picked up it was interesting to see the views of the people and their thoughts on the pesticides. If you enjoy slow burn, atmospheric reads with family drama then this one is for you!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review.