Damnation Spring is the story of a small logging town, and its struggles to continue a way of life that is fast disappearing.
Ash Davidson makes you fall in love with the characters, and you worry for their safety and welfare as they try to survive. This book is heart wrenching and deals with heavy content such as the environment, miscarriage, and infidelity.

I am quite surprised at the glowing reviews for this novel. I could only read about 1/3 before I gave up. Yes, the prose is flowery and beautifully descriptive, but there are so many descriptive passages that they overpower the story. There are so many characters that I had a difficult time distinguishing between them. I was intrigued by the storyline and the setting. To tell the story of a logging family and the trials of living that life is clearly a passion for the author, but sometimes the characters almost seem a sideline to the environmental agenda. Obviously other readers found the story much more compelling, I did not. I found it slow and sometimes even boring, and I have other books to read.

This might be one the saddest books I have read in quite a while. I enjoyed the story and the writing, but there is not one happy, redeeming moment to be had. I guess that is the point. Life was hard for loggers and their families. The author did her research about logging practices in 1970's northern California. That and the environmental impact of said practices were very interesting to me, but again...so sad.

I do recommend this novel, but be ready. Have a tissue or 2 nearby!

Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this book for my honest opinion.

SO SLOW. I don't like to DNF a book so I kept coming back to try to finish. And then the ending! WHAT ?!? The writing is too descriptive about things I did not care about and not enough detail in the things that really mattered. Lots of logging jargon, some environmental issues. The main female character has on opportunity to be strong but she really doesn't pull it off. Finally comes together at the end and you think they might get over the drama and live happily ever after ..but NO!

I purchased this book for sale in my online store. This author is very popular and the book was great! Thanks for the early copy!

I put this book down and picked it back up weeks or months later at least three times because I am simply incapable of abandoning a book. The descriptive style is well done, it’s just overwhelming in the most underwhelming way. I got lost in the technical details of logging and it seemed like the story didn’t actually pick up until the halfway mark. I have heard that the audiobook made it easier to follow the multiple narrators but I can’t speak to that. Let’s just say it was a long, scenic route that wasn’t worth it in the end. I couldn’t connect with Rich, Colleen, the logging community, or the setting (I’m a Florida girl, I belong to the swamps). The end left me feeling betrayed after hanging in there for so long.

Damnation Spring is an interesting read set about the logging industry. However, the book is a tome and the pace of the story is slow.

I was so excited to read this book, expecting a narrative to be in the vain of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. However, the plot is low to get started and the many beautiful setting details slow the action down even further. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

I struggled a bit to get into this book. I ended up listening on audio and I am glad I did. While I enjoyed the story, there were a lot of characters that made it difficult to keep up with. This book depicts a logging family in a logging community with rich history, but I feel like something was just missing. I really enjoyed the main characters Rich and Colleen and found them to be likable. This book was just okay for me.

Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for the #gifted copy.

Davidson character-driven first novel takes us into the heart and soul of Pacific NW logging country. She’s an exquisite writer and has a gift for spot-on metaphors. I look forward to more from her. I was not expecting the final outcome of the plot twists and turns. I received an early copy from Netgalley,, but ended up listening to the audiobook version. It’s a stunning presentation.

I'm going to steal this brief summary the author used to describe her book because it sums it up nicely:

Damnation Spring is about a very tall logger obsessed with a very tall tree, and his wife, a midwife who begins to suspect that herbicides the logging company uses might be poisoning their community.

First off, I'm upset with myself for waiting as long as I did to read this beautiful and heart-breaking story. Second, I can see how some readers may find the author's style off-putting; the amount of details she delves into can be distracting, but I found I quickly got used to the in-depth descriptions and appreciated the fine details included. Admittedly, the jargon and descriptions about logging tended to go over my head, but not enough to be a deal breaker.
I'm going to make a bold statement: this may be my favorite book that I read this year. Nothing I could say would adequately describe how deeply I fell in love with these characters (note: there are A LOT of peripheral but important characters in this book. My advice is to keep some notes on each of them - you're gonna meet a lot of folks from the small logging town who pop up quite a bit throughout the book). The story is an epic, sweeping, and somewhat uncomfortable intersection of how far people will go to protect their family, well-being, livelihoods, and way of life. Massively character driven and emotional, this book ripped out my heart and left me feeling a tremendous sense of loss upon turning the last page. These are characters who have been sewn into my heart and left me crying into my breakfast this morning.

It's worth noting that there are some major triggers around miscarriage, infant loss, and birth defects that recur multiple times throughout the book.

I'd highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy hefty character driven novels. Fans of Olive Kittering and The Heart's Invisible Furies come to mind. I'd encourage readers to give Damnation Spring at least 100 pages before deciding to quit if they are not immediately swept away. I read tons of reviews in which people DNF very early on which is so sad to me knowing the book on gets better and better, especially once you get used to the author's descriptive writing style.

Thank you immensely to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review. I'm sorry I'm so late but I promise to tell all the world just how incredible this book is. I will think about this story for a long time.

A thought-provoking work of literary fiction that dares to question how our livelihoods often damage our lives. As a native of an Appalachian coal camp town, I found so many parallels between my hometown experience and that of Ms Davidson’s characters. This book is, at times, quite emotional to read, but it’s a fascinating narrative.

This story follows the Gundersen family, Colleen, Rich and their son Chub, who are living in the a logging town on the coast of California in the 70’s. Rich is a logger and and makes his living felling trees, which is a precarious and dangerous profession. Colleen works as a midwife and desperately wants another child. As she has miscarriage after miscarriage, she begins to believe the logging companies use of herbicides are causing her and the other female townsfolk to experience these losses. Word spreads and everyone formulates and opinion and begins to take a stance on the issue. Relationships are tested. Conflict and tension are on the rise. Should health or economic gain take precedence? Is it feasible step aside from what provides for your family and what has been a family legacy for generations?

It sounded like such a promising and beautiful story. Unfortunately, the plot was weighed down with a lot of technicality, that for the average reader, was over the top and unnecessary. I do give credit to the author for their apparent extensive research that was put into this story, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. I just wanted the story not all the facts. Its pace is slow and this book is quite large coming in at 464 pages. I feel like a lot could have been cut out to make it more concise and enjoyable.

All in all, this wasn’t a win for me. However, what appeals to each of us is different. If you read the synopsis and it sounds interesting, I suggest you give it a go and decide for yourself!

Loved this! It was so heartfelt and emotional. It reminded me of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. So many intricate relationships with so much history amongst themselves. Every character was so well developed and each had their own quirks.

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson was a heavy book. While at first glance I thought it was for me, it ended up being slow and hard to read. I didn’t enjoy the characters or the subject matter of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book proposes the challenge between livelihood, family tradition and environment.
This book is set in the 1970"s , 50 years ago, but a real herald of things to come. A well told story with
true meaning. An enjoyable read.

This book was on my tbr for the longest time. So glad I finally read it. One of the best literally fiction where the characters are gradually but strongly developed. Colleen and Rich were beautifully described and the plot was powerful.

I recently attempted to reread this work, and I am glad that I did. The nuance in the story is fantastic, and the plot moves along nicely once you get past the first few chapters.

I can see why others enjoy this book and I am recommending it to my closest friends.

Damnation Spring is an example of a novel that started off with a strong premise but dragged along to an ending that did not need to happen.

After all the praise I've seen for this book, I was quite excited to get to it. The premise is right up my alley: a family drama against the backdrop of an environmental crisis, set in an iconic location. Initially, I was drawn in by Rich, Colleen, and Chub, their life in a working class logging community and their attempts to expand their family. Davidson's writing is engaging and kept me in the first half of the story.

However, as the book went on, it started to drag. I am not one to shy away from long, wordy books. But in the case of Damnation Spring, I felt bogged down by the unnecessary, repetitive details. The book is set over the course of several months, broken down into days. We get specific details of the Gunderson family's life and the lives of those around them but at a certain point you get drowned in the minutiae that doesn't add to the overall story. Not to mention the fact that I thought the book was about to end 3 different times before it ends with THAT ending.

I appreciated this book for the glimpse into the early environmental regulation of pesticides and the conservation of the redwood forests. I just think this book could have benefitted from some tighter editing to make the story more impactful.

DNF at 10%. I really tried but I feel like I just couldn't get into this one - I still have no sense of what this book is even about. The writing is fine and descriptions were so in depth, but I feel like there was no actual plot. I kept waiting for something to happen but nothing did and I just don't have it in me to give it more time.