Lioness

by Mark Powell

In the fall of 2018, a bomb goes off at a water-bottling plant in the mountains of southwest Virginia, an incident the FBI declares an act of ecoterrorism. Arrested at the scene is Chris Bright, a mountain hermit with a long history of activism. Unaccounted for—and presumed dead—is Mara Wood, an installation artist who in the last two years has lost her son and left her husband.

But Mara’s estranged husband David cannot quite believe she is dead, and as he goes about reconstructing the story of what happened, he begins to imagine an alternate narrative—one in which their son doesn’t die and his wife doesn’t leave him, one in which his wife doesn’t carry on a secret relationship with Chris Bright, a man bent on fighting back against the environmental despoliation of his Appalachian home. Lioness is a page-turning, heart-wrenching examination of extremism: What pushes people to act violently, and is that violence ever justified?

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary, Adult

304 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2022

About the author

Mark Powell is the author of six novels. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers’ Conferences, and in 2014 was a Fulbright Fellow to Slovakia. In 2009, he received the Chaffin Award for contributions to Appalachian literature. He holds degrees from Yale Divinity School, the University of South Carolina, and The Citadel. He lives in the mountains of North Carolina, where he teaches at Appalachian State University.

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

My goodness, for an excellent book this is a difficult review to write. Mainly because I'm still digesting parts of it, and also because there is so much going on and so many layers of interaction. As an example:

Home grown terrorists
Ecology of the Appalachian Mountains
How to blow things up and why
Loving a son
Losing a son
Corporate poisoning of the water
Poisoning of the planet
Spiritual mountain lions
Youth and old age
Art and artistic vision

See what I mean? Over and above all of that, the one sure thing I can say is that Mark Powell is a brilliant writer. Thank you Dave, for introducing him.

[Betsy Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most ingenious aspects of this epic story (by which I mean its bandwidth, not the 315-page length) is that the first person narrator, David, husband to a wife who turns out to be a lioness, is self-described as:

A man fascinated with his own reflection, as if aware that he went no deeper. My one skill had been adhesion: I'd clung to her. All of which signaled a certain pragmatism as surely as it signaled a lack of imagination, or worse still: a failure of discipline. He has no plan, no approach. [said by his wife] (225)

This complex story of the love between two differently wired people is woven into rage to defend the planet and all her inhabitants and their impotence to do so. The fact that it's told by a person who cannot act or simply lacks the inherent mojo to act—and knows it—makes it all the more heartbreaking.

And messy: the writing is free, sometimes verging into incoherence. Example: the insertion of a bit of a barely fleshed-out notes for a screenplay which almost felt as if Powell had worked on this book in another form and just decided not to waste it. And although many different realities are shown, in all but one, the characters feel authentic; in a final denoument scene with a character who represents the worst of American greed and obliviousness, the character embodying those qualities sounds more like a two-dimensional screed than a person, which, for me, knocked me out of the reality of the book.

Nevertheless, I liked the lyricism, albeit sometimes impenetrable, and I especially liked that neither of the main characters is "right." Nobody is a hero. Nobody wins.

Both the husband and wife suffer from depression at various times, but their trajectory out of it could not be more different. One becomes a narrator who can't take action when it is imperative, a man who compulsively investigates truth but cannot accept, let alone affect what truth is. And the other is a wild child without a plan, a woman insane with grief and rage, and thus completely self-destructive.

This is us! This is humanity. This is where we are right this very moment.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Mark Powell book but anxious to get to another. Only complaint, maybe too many things going on in one book.

[S.W. Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a spinning compass (“your GPS is wrong”), the non-linear narrative with its circular plot structure keeps spiraling around the target until it all comes together in a surreal epiphany. Lioness is next level literary craftsmanship!

[Savannah Paige Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant Appalachian novel—deep sense of place, a fascinating plot, strong character development, and a healthy dose of ecosabotage! Fabulous

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book kept popping up in many different ways, encouraging a read, and I never took the bait as it didn’t look like a book for me. A GR book club picked it up for a read so I decided to give it a try. Given all the reviews and how well loved it was by the book club, I think this is just a case of “not the right person for the book”. I couldn’t get behind any of the characters, felt it meandered back and forth across the same events, and I’m left with a bit of “what happened and what did I just read “? I’m an outlier for sure so don’t let this give you pause for reading the book - highly appreciated book by the book club. I did enjoy the descriptions and surroundings of places I have visited - Blowing Rock, Valle Crucis, etc. It’s beautiful country.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powell is a writer of immense talent, and Lioness is harrowing and heartfelt. Highly recommended for readers who admire tight plotting with authentic characters and accomplished prose.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bomb explodes at a water bottling plant in Virginia in 2018; the FBI suspect terrorism. Chris Bright, a hermit and an activist, is arrested for the crime. His accomplice, Mara Wood, supposedly died in the explosion. As the plot continues, Mara's estranged husband, David, believes she didn't die in the event. He imagines a narrative that his wife and son are still alive. What pushes people to become violent and believe that the violence is justified? Too much repetition and going back/forth between real and imagined events.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretentious, a bit hard to follow, but with moments of supreme beauty.

Can be a bit hard to follow, with time periods jumping around with no breaks in the writing. It spirals toward its culmination, at which point still major parts of the book are left to the imagination.

General basis is people who are angry about the state of the world, environmental catastrophe, protests etc, culminating in a bombing at a water bottling facility.

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poignant and at the same time it's 6 star pretentious. Intense writer of the natural world, and for all the rest he is solidly in the "life is shit and then you die" category for all the rest. Does teach/preach sequels that overcome both the characters and the story here. Not in the final running but makes the top ten for the "pessimism of the decade" group reads. Misery done as virtue achieved and idealized. UGH!

[bananajo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. It seemed, at first glance, to be a commentary on the state of the world regarding the environment, capitalism, and perhaps humanity in general. And that's in there, but it's also about relationships, grief, how well you can really know someone. The characters are all messy, and the narration weaves in a way that feels captivating. Perhaps intentionally, you don't find yourself rooting for anyone but just hoping.

(November 2025)

[Kel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel about loss and grief and radical acts. With art intertwined and failing to provide redemption. Set in the Appalachian mountains of NC and VA. Recommended, esp. for those local to area. And for artists. Stunning recognition that even overwhelming deeds (and personalities) can turn on ordinary details. All dies but also lives on.

[Dave Marsland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lioness is complex and fascinating; it is an unsettling account of how individuals process grief. David and Mara Wood both struggle in the aftermath of the death of their seven-year-old son and both seek different paths to redemption. An eco-thriller set in rural Appalachia, it spirals around secrets that are haunting and dangerous and emotionally devastating.

[Janisse Ray]

Mark Powell is one of the best novelists currently at working. I am watching his popularity grow, and it's a wonderful thing. What I liked about this book is that it's an environmental thriller, even a post-apocalyptic one. Setting is Florida.

[Larry Harty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised by this one. Fascinating story.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A significant masterpiece.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished the book in about two months it started off captivating and unique it’s unraveling of a story through a narrator reminiscing on both past, present and future throughout was clever, while maintaining some difficulty to follow at times. The ending felt seemingly rushed and the author giving a hidden long spiel about how the world is ending but how then it’s also worth living but then backtracking to the previous sentiment of the world being this messy dark void was rather exhausting to read toward the end but honestly realistic. Overall a nice filler book to read for summer to invoke some uprising thoughts of the world.