This novel was extremely immersive and moving. It was a nice book to sit down and take my time with over the weekend. Parts of it did drag on a bit, but overall it was an engrossing read. Thank you Netgally for providing me with an e-Arc for my review.

Rich Gundersen is following in his family’s footsteps, felling giant redwoods on California’s coast. The work is dangerous and getting worse. Rich dreams of owning his own land to work and leaving it to his only child and son, Chub.

Rich and his wife, Colleen, have known their share of heartbreak and hard times. Colleen is a self-taught midwife and desperately wants another child of her own but after 8 miscarriages, Rich is not on the same page.

In the 70’s the whole “Save the Trees” campaign was in full swing, pitting the lumber companies against the activists. Unfortunately, the lumber company and most of its employees have very few scruples or sympathy for the activists or the residents.

When Colleen begins delivering more and more babies with hideous birth defects, no one wants to hear her concerns or the concerns of an environmentalist. Even after proving they are polluting the water supply and causing cancer and deaths, they don’t care.

Trying hard to hang on to a way of life that has come to an end, Rich is now lying to his wife and people are getting hurt.

This was a good premise. I personally could not connect with Rich. He was really closed off to anything except his own wants. And Colleen, who just turned a blind eye until she could no longer stand silent.

That said this is a good look at large corporations that cut corners and pollute the same land that makes them rich.


NetGalley/ August 3rd, 2021 by Scribner

A logging community in the 1970's Pacific Northwest becomes deeply divided over environmental concerns, an epidemic of birth defects and miscarriages, and destruction of the beautiful creek that runs through the forest. The writing was so beautiful and realistic that I was carried into the story. It starts off a little rough but once I found a groove, I had trouble putting it down. I loved the main characters; their heartbreaks hurt my heart too. Damnation Spring will stay with me for a long time.

"We had a baby in November . Eamon Paul. I was in labor eleven hours with him and when he came out, the top of his skull was missing. All these people here, they know. They came to see, like he was a circus animal. He came too.” She pointed to Mr. Sanderson in his bright yellow shirt. “He brought us this.” She held up an envelope. “He sat at our kitchen table and said he was sorry for our loss. Sorry. We can all see there’s hardly any fish left in our river. Maybe that’s the dams, I don’t know. Maybe it’s logging, or ocean fishing. Or maybe the sprays are killing the fish. Are they making us sick too? Are they giving people cancer? Are they eating the brains out of our babies’ heads? You’re all thinking it, but no one has the guts to ask.”

This book is a gritty, sometimes dark, and very realistic look at rural life in California. We mostly follow a small family consisting of Colleen, her husband Rich, and their son Chub. Colleen is a midwife who has been forced to watch woman after woman deliver babies born with horrible defects. She herself has had 8 miscarriages. She and the other townspeople are told that their water is being poisoned, that is what is killing the babies. But they are in a town built on logging. Her husband works for the logging company, climbing trees. Many of the people who depend on Sanderson, the logging company, want to ignore the potential risks and continue on. Their reluctance is understandable, because they will not be able to make a living without the company, no matter the harm they are causing.

As many other reviewers have noted already, there is too much focus on logging and other side stories that are not particularly interesting. The heart of the story is Colleen and her pain, and yet the story diverts from that so many times.

Thank you netgalley and Scribner for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An environmental novel of immense proportions. This books had elements of family drama, greed, the economic effects of logging, environmental poisoning, conservation and so much more. So many topics to discuss and think about.

I did have a hard time getting into this book as it skipped around so much. The thing I really liked was that it brought to light issues about the over use of toxins and chemicals that are used to kill weeds. The book was rather long and the ending really was not a good closure to the book and left some things hanging.

Ended up buying a copy of this book to read and I’m so glad I did. I loved the storytelling, the drama, the setting, the nature aspect - all of it worked for me. Lovely and can’t wait to talk to friends about it! Would be a great book club pick!

I haven't cried like this over a book in years. There were several parts that caught me off guard, including the ending, and it really hit me like a punch in the gut. Definitely not how I wanted the end to be, but it really leaned more towards a real-life ending instead of just a "story."
The book follows a couple, Rich and Colleen, and their young son Chub, during the 70's in California. Rich is one in several generations of loggers in his family, and Colleen is a stay-at-home parent to their young son Chub. Rich and Colleen's world is upended when they start being told that the pesticide spray the logging company, and county, are spraying to keep the area clear of invasive plants, can cause all sorts of health issues. The company turns people in town against each other, as they all fight over what they believe is the truth.
The book is based on true events that occurred in the logging community's history, which includes the use of pesticides that have the same ingredients as Agent Orange. I am no foreigner when it comes to the environment, and a lot of the movements that have gone on to protect it; however, I wasn't aware of this history and turmoil in the logging towns in our country. The book definitely made me look at things different ways to help see the big picture. I really enjoyed this book, and think it was an interesting storyline to take on! I now understand why so many have enjoyed, and recommend this book!

In 1976 and 1977, when I was in my early 20's, I lived and worked in the mountains, so I imagine the setting of this novel was more familiar to me than to most readers. The story is told by characters whose reactions to their circumstances seem as noble as they are human and true.

It's a magnificent book.

A complex, timely story that is beautifully written. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you're in the mood for a thought provoking look into the environment, relationships, family and community, this one's for you. It's literary fiction, so not a light or fast read, so be prepared to meander through it. This is a book to read slowly and enjoy the writing style, as Ash Davidson writes beautifully. It also really draws you into the atmospheric Pacific Northwest -- you can imagine that you are there among the majestic forest. The subject matter did get tough at a few points, including the ending, and some of the technical descriptions of logging did lose me. However, I really did want to find out what happened to Colleen and Rich, and stuck with it. I'm glad I did.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was unaware of anything about this book or the author before going into it. It took me quite awhile to let myself find any kind of connection to any of the characters or their plights and no matter how I much I tried to I just could not find a groove with the story in this book. And I cant really decide if it was the author I didn't connect with or if it was just the book and the story itself., This one was not for me

3.5 stars for this engrossing debut. I think i'm burnt out on the nature/environment trope that's becoming ever so popular and perhaps read one too many in a row to fully enjoy this one. Author kept tension tight and dialogue spot on which I appreciated. I did find it too long, which is never a good sign for me, as I do enjoy a longer tales.

I loved the premise of this book. As someone who is concerned with all of the toxins and chemicals in our every day items, this book seemed right up my alley. This book started out a little slow but I quickly became invested in Colleen's story of infertility. I found Rich's story about his work to be a little bit of a drag. I continued reading hoping for answers for the people and wanted to see what would happen for the families near this spring. I was also hoping for more definite answers and solutions upon the ending of this book. I did not feel like I got the closure that I needed to truly say that I loved this book.

3.5 stars as story did improve about two-thirds into the book. Set in the 1970s, it is told through the experiences of the two main characters, Rich and Colleen, a married couple who are struggling with issues that put them at odds with each other through much of the book. Rich is a lifetime logger and “company man” who depends on his employer to give him access to his own timber land bought by placing his family in deep debt without Colleen’s knowledge. In the meantime, Colleen is learning more about the effects of the herbicide the logging company uses to clear scrub brush. Fish are dying, animals are exhibiting deformities and worse, women are having miscarriages and still births including Colleen. Things turn really ugly when environmentalists attempt to stop the logging and Colleen and some of the other local residents are seen as “siding” with the protesters. While the story takes place 40-50 years ago, I saw the small community divisiveness as a small mirror for what is taking place in the US currently. The issues presented were interesting and still relevant today and the author did a good job dealing with marital and extended family strife. Other than Colleen, Rich and Chub, the only other likable character was Lark who was amusing and offered some comic relief to an otherwise depressing story. I found the first two thirds of the book pretty tedious and confusing, with way too many secondary characters that were hard to keep straight and too much time spent on boring descriptions of logging work, making the book longer than necessary. And no spoilers but the ending sucks (and I’m not a reader who always wants happy endings).
Warning: this book deals with animal cruelty and death, miscarriage, still birth and deformity in infants.

The Washington Post took the words right out of my brain and heart. Damnation Spring goes right there with Richard Powers' Overstory and Annie Proulx's Barkskins and I will add Jane Smiley's The Last Hundred Years Trilogy. These are 3 prolific cherished authors and Ash Davidson is debuting with this novel, Mother Earth is in increasing danger and stories such as these allow readers to comfort themselves while shedding early tears of nostalgia.

Ash Davidson's debut novel, Damnation Spring, comes highly anticipated but was unfortunately quite a disappointment for this reader. Her writing shows incredible promise as does her vision for telling a story. Unfortunately, the use of simile ends up too liberal, much like a glass of Southern-style sweet tea with much too much sugar.

I adored her ability to capture the masculine, blue-collar voice of the male protagonist and juxtapose that voice with that of his wife, a woman raw with the pain of several miscarriages and still birth. The story has promise - it's one about environmental and social impacts of the logging industry. Unfortunately the plot line became predictable early on in the book and it felt like someone kept grabbing my face to force me to look at the herbicide point. As someone who has been personally impacted by herbicides, I wanted so much to hear my family's struggle given the life it needs on page, I was saddened that it wasn't introduced a little more subtly to show the insidiousness of the issue.

Davidson is an author to watch for the future. Unfortunately, this debut is just not quite there for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC to read and review.

Wow this one was SUPER long. TOO long for me in fact as I DNF it. I was really excited to get my hands on this one I just knew it was going to be a favorite of mine. The writing wasn't "bad" but I just felt like it dragged on a lot and there was a lot of logging jargon too. I'm sad that I didn't love it. I encourage you to give it a try though perhaps this is right up your alley!

I wanted to like this book soooo much. It had such high hopes for my mind, like a brand néw crisp dollar bill.... but mine came out rumpled up & tough to decipher, I’m afraid. Frustrating character points, with a “been there done that” vibe.
Thank you for the opportunity!!

A terrible secret lies at the heart of Damnation ridge. The consequences are deadly. The loggers suspect, the businessmen bargain, the scientists investigate. It’s a brutal secret and a brutal business. Who will find redemption in Damnation Spring?