While I found this a tad too long, it is my literal only knock on the book. Very beautiful writing and beautiful story. The love in this book will stay with me for a long time and so will all its themes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for this review.

Damnation Springs seems to be a book critics cannot quite agree on.
It is definitely a rather brainy read. There is a lot of very specific jargon (logging industry) involved, which can be a bit of a bog down. The pace of the book is slow. Nothing much happens in the first half, and if you are looking to be riveted by action, this is not the book for you.
It is more of a deep dive into a setting most of us likely know very little about, told in beautiful prose.
While I enjoyed it for what it was, it took me a rather long time to finish the 450+ pages, because I needed to be in the right mood, and only ready a little at a time. I will say, this is definitely not for everyone, but if you are ok with a slow build, a character driven story told in beautiful writing give it a try!

Damnation Spring is set in 1970's in a rural California logging town. The story is about several things, bust mostly focused on the logging industry, and the environment impact of that industry on the land and the people living in the town. Ash Davidson cultivated a very believable cast of characters from industry driven small towns. Logging and mining towns are often built on generations of families living and working in the same towns their entire lives. These sorts of town exist in their own insulated world built around a single livelihood, but the world changes and industries adapt to new cultural landscapes which threaten not just these jobs in rural America, but the place people have called home for much of their families history. So despite the horrific consequences towns people continued to fight against the banning of certain herbicides and logging regulations, because without logging, these towns just fade away. I liked this book, it was crass, graphic, chock full of triggers, and uncomfortable. This book captured so much of ethos of rural America, even though this book was set fifty years ago, so much of this sentiment is accurate today. I felt liked this book, I do not think it's for everyone, but Davidson wrote a story with sincerity and heart.

Trigger warnings: violence, miscarriage, birth complications, and adultery

This was beautiful and heartbreaking! The characters came alive, and I was sorry when to book ended. I took one star away, because some of Rich’s chapters seemed bogged down with all the logging terminology, but the remaining prose was haunting and poetic. I can’t wait for more from this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

I struggled to get into this. The writing was kind of dense and disjointed at times. I found myself having to re-read parts to understand what exactly was going on. Also felt like more action happened in the last 25% of the book which may have contributed to me having a hard time getting into it.

I would have enjoyed it more if I knew more about logging. There was so much foreign jargon and tons of characters that I got bogged down early. As the story unfolded I saw how rich the story was with all the characters so I would not cut that. It just would have painted a better picture in my head if I understood the logging terms.

The human part of this story is gutting at times. It would make a great movie!

I was really excited about this one because I was interested in learning more about the logging situation as wildfires continue to ravish the Western United States. It was a bit heavy at times on the logging details, but not enough for me to give up.

However, what was a dealbreaker for me, was the writing style. It felt very disjointed and, at times, very hard to follow and comprehend. It just lacked that finished quality that would have allowed me to sink into the plot and characters.

DNF - Did not finish. I decided not to keep reading this title because I did not connect with the writing or plot. Thank you, NetGalley and publisher for the early copy!

I was really looking forward to this debut novel - many interesting themes of right to work, the environment and the effects of herbicides on both people and nature, and a woman's rights. Set in the 1977 Damnation Spring tells the story of Rich and Colleen Gunderson and their son, Chub. Rich hails from a family of several generations of loggers, and dreams of buying a ridge to harvest some of the last Redwood trees in the area as a way to provide for his family. Colleen, Rich's wife, is struggling with her most recent pregnancy loss - one of many that she has suffered. As a midwife, she is also seeing alarming birth defects, frequent bloody noses, and more unexplained unnatural developments in local farms.
Rich makes a decision to purchase land to harvest trees without Colleen's knowledge - he is able to use their joint savings, and take a loan in his own name that affects their future as a family. Colleen meets up with a former high school love, who is now researching the water in Damnation Grove - testing for harmful herbicides and documenting birth defects and cancers. Their marriage, the town, and also local Native Americans begin to fracture with the knowledge that is gained about the Sanderson Logging Company's spraying practices.
Many of the characters, especially Eugene - Colleen's brother-in-law, were despicable. Many locals stubbornly focused on the economic effects of stopping logging, versus the long term effects of destroying the Redwoods and spraying the herbicides. It was difficult to see town's people ostracized and shunned for their belief in standing up to the lumber company. I did not enjoy a lot of these characters, even if I understood their motivations. A good book for book discussion - many topics to talk about.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy.

I was granted the digital copy after publication date and I already had the book out from my local library.

At this time, it is a DNF for me. The writing was really dense and too technical about logging. I may plan to try it again in the future.

The description of this book caught my attention as it sounded like an Erin Brockovich type plot, with a community economically dependent on an industry that was killing them.
This debut novel tells a story of a PNW community in the late 1970s. The main industry is lumber, with generation after generation felling the redwoods in the forest they love. The plot, while including the entire town in the story, focuses mainly on one family- their marital problems, money problems, and their struggles with miscarriage and child loss.
It comes to light that the herbicide used to clear the roads for company vehicles is much more harmful than the people were led to believe- resulting in the cancers and birth defects occurring within the community at an alarming rate.
The writing is remarkably successful in reflecting the motherly concern, the masculine need to provide, the childlike observance, all while fully realizing the time/place/and attitudes of the other members of the community.
You can't help but sympathize with the old-school loggers who don't want to be told their way of life is wrong. Their livelihood depends on this lumber industry after all, what are they supposed to do? At the same time, you're frustrated with them for not seeing the science (😑 *sigh*) and recognizing that change is to their own benefit.
I do think the pacing of the story was a little off. It's slow and some scenes felt reduntant, but ultimately the time and place feel so real that I can't criticize that element too much.
Also, I wish the ending gave me a better sense of closure on the medical elements of the story.

What an eye opening account of the hardships of the lives of lumberjacks and their families. The fact that this book was also set back at a time when the use and dangers of herbicides was relatively unknown was a learning curve for me. Ash Davidson did a phenomenal job of combining a fictional family and real life highs and lows of a very dangerous occupation. These are still actual problems that this way of making a living exist. I highly recommend this book.

This was a highly anticipated book for me. I grew up in the PNW and my parents worked in a tree planting co-op that got contracts from the Forest Service. Later on my dad was a forester who worked with many loggers. And my mom was a lay-midwife. So... I found this book premise intriguing from the start!

It is a slower read, with a lot of work left to the reader to put together what is going on. You're really dropped into a 1977 logging community - jargon, family ties, dirt roads, with folks who are hard working and trying to survive, and also who never left town or furthered their education after high school. When I found myself getting frustrated with the characters sometimes - i.e. not questioning the effects of the herbicide more, I reminded myself that their world was Damnation Ridge and they did what they knew, which was log. The highly educated local man who returned to study the water and the herbicide gets threatened, assaulted, and practically run out of town.

It's completely worth the read though. I stayed up way too late to finish the book when I got to the 70% point. These characters are real, whether you like them or not. And the way the story unfolds about the loggers, hippie environmentalists, park system, and the "company" is fascinating.

There are many sad and violent aspects of the book, with the miscarriages and birth defects, and with all the logging accidents (so many men killed young or permanently disabled...) and they are laid out very matter-of-factly.

I realized that Rich would only be 3 years younger than my grandfather who was born in 1921, and who was raised on a ranch and was very stoic, similar to Rich. I reminded myself of that when I would get frustrated with some of Rich's "old fashioned" thinking.

Really great debut novel by Ash Davidson.

This is the story of a family. Through the eyes of Rich Gunderson, his wife Colleen, and their young son Chub, the reader finds him- or herself transported to the Pacific Northwest, where ancient, towering redwoods provide an awe-inspiring backdrop. However, for many, the old growth trees are a source of livelihood: loggers and their families rely on the money their wood brings them. Yet the story is about more than one family; it is the tale of a way of life.

In alternating chapters, we experience the world through the eyes of each member of the Gunderson family. Rich, like his father and grandfather, earns his livelihood as a logger. He and his compatriots, feel nothing but disdain for the environmentalists who protest the loss of the trees.

Yet there is another concern: Colleen. Since she gave birth to Chub, she has not been able to carry a child to term. A midwife by profession, Colleen is present as relatives and neighbors become mothers—some time after time. Rich, not wanting to put his wife through the experience again, will not even consider trying for a baby. To Colleen’s consternation, it appears that Chub will remain an only child.

For his part, the youngster is enjoying a pleasant childhood—the area surrounding the Gunderson home, much of it untouched by humans, is his playground. He has no fear of getting lost, as Rich has taught him how to find his way back home.

Yet change is in the air. Rich has hit upon a plan he believes will provide financial security for his family, which he is keeping a secret from Colleen. The environmentalists are becoming more vocal and local leaders are listening. Lumber companies discourage any plant life that may compete with their redwoods by spraying herbicides that target only unwanted foliage, an action which proves bothersome to anyone outside at the time. As these forces come into play, life for those who live by the redwoods may never be the same again.

Ash Davidson’s look into the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest is nothing short of panoramic. The author takes readers into the minds and hearts of veteran loggers and young people alike. Her descriptions of the awesome landscape are so realistic one can visualize the immense trees laced by morning fog, hear the buzz of the saws that bring them down, and smell the scent of the forests. She has done her homework: the terminology, equipment, and process of tree felling provide an education into the complexities involved as they are seamlessly woven into the story.

Davidson’s skillful use of dialogue reflects the speech mannerisms of all characters. Her use of strong language is characteristic of the speech of the logging community, although it may be offensive to some readers. As such, the novel will probably be more appropriate for adults than young people. This difficulty aside, Davidson’s work is a valuable look at the realities of life for those who make a living from the trees, their families, and environmentally-conscious adversaries.

I absolutely loved this book. There is a richness to this book and I'm immersed with the Pacific Northwest. I love when a setting becomes a character of its own and the author can execute it along with the balance of the actual characters of the story. Ash has written an unforgettable debut novel that is an immersive experience for all the senses. There are various layers that I can unwrap like a present and I'm so absorbed in this book. The audiobook is phonemical and flows perfectly. Thank you Scribner.

Thanks to #scribner and #netgalley for a digital arc of #damnationspring. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a slow burn of a book. It took me awhile to get into the story. As others have noted, there's a lot of logging terminology used and never explained, but you figure it out if you stick with it. Davidson did a great job bringing the era (1970's) and the area (Northern California redwood country) to life. She shows you how a community can become so dependent on a specific industry and how tragic that can be for the individual families. There's a lot of sadness and loss in this book, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

A beautiful written debut novel.

I love few things more than a California forest. My childhood was spent among the Sequoias. A story about a family earning their livelihood off of the forest was right up0 my alley. The conflict between the need for lumber and the need to save our forests drew me in. This is a family desperate to hold on to a life that cannot continue in its present form. The characters deal with that fact along with the personal hardships of their existence. It was often depressing and ultimately fascinating.

Damnation Spring
by: Ash Davidson
Scribner
This novel by Ash Davidson is set in a Pacific Northwest logging town in the late 1970s. It is a debut novel of epic proportions, both in story and length. The book explores the connection of the Gunderson family to the Redwood Forest and the logging industry. The plot is deep, detailed and engrossing.
Thank you to Net Galley and Scribner for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to review.

Got a little Nicholas Sparks-like in terms of drama in the last 10%, but I loved the characters and the exploration of the intersection of environment, health, and livelihood. I definitely look forward to reading more of Ash Davidson's work in the future!

Thank you to Ash Davidson and Scribner for providing me with an early copy of this work through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Damnation Spring is available now.

I can’t tell you how much I loved this immersive, epic debut from Ash Davidson.
Spanning 1976-77, Damnation Spring tells a deeply human story of a Northern California logging town on the cusp of environmental change. Generations of the Gunderson family have lived on this land, and Rich and Colleen have hoped to raise a large family as well. Instead, they have one young son, but a number of miscarriages that have left them both heartbroken. Rich is in his fifties and knowing his days as a logger are numbered purchases a valuable acreage of redwoods which he hopes to harvest. But environmentalists and the park service are threatening to block Rich and save the land.
I was transported in to the forest and fell right in to the lives of Rich and Colleen. This story of a family and community watching their way of life disappear was conflicting and realistic. I loved this family. The characterizations are excellent and I felt like I really knew these people and understood them. There is suspense, joy, heartbreak, and conflict. It brought me to tears, but left me with hope. It’s a gorgeous debut.
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