The Tree-Sitter: A Novel

by Suzanne Matson

A passionate and tensely pitched tale of first love and idealism set in the Oregon forests.

Julie Prince is a college student at the top of her class and seems destined for conventional success. But then she falls in love with Neil, a radical graduate student. At his urging she abandons her privileged East Coast life to tree-sit in the forests of Oregon. Julie at first regards the journey as a romantic field trip; soon, though, she finds herself increasingly moved by the lush magnificence of the endangered forest, and, like Neil, invested in its protection. As Neil veers toward militant acts of sabotage, Julie is forced to reassess her loyalties and How much damage is done by doing nothing? When is it wrong to do good too zealously? How can she choose between the person she loves and her own sense of righteousness? Exploring this edge, The Tree-Sitter is a riveting and beautifully executed novel about the price of love and idealism.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Romance

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jennifer W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's be honest, I picked this book because of its cover. There, I said it. I also picked it up because of its subject matter. For those who know me, I went to a little hippie college in the Northeast where a student was "weird" if they hadn't done something like tree sit. I vividly remember a good friend of mine being forcibly removed from a Home Depot for chaining himself to their lumber in protest of exactly the practices being described in the book. I, however, did not engage in these activities. I've always been a bit fascinated and repelled by those who do. I could relate to the characters in the book because they were people I knew at one point. Mole was any number of professors, as was Starling. Spiderman was some of my former classmates. Cathy was the rest of my professors. Was I Julie? Not hardly. I've never been so brave, or convicted, to do something like tree sit. Even if she followed it for naive reasons (c'mon, who hasn't gone along with a significant other on something that you wouldn't ordinarily do otherwise?), she did get up into that tree. That experience will change her for the rest of her life in ways that those of us who haven't done it can't understand. I think that was well conveyed in the story. I also think Julie's confusion over many things, her relationship with her mom, her relationship with Neil, how far do you go to protect something you love, etc... is very realistic, especially for her age. I enjoyed it.

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me count the ways of why I didn't like this book:

1) It sounds like something I would have written myself when I was 17 and felt very DEEP about things. And I have always been a lousy creative writer. So you can see what I thought about this.

2) It reminded me of Bridges Over Madison County for the young environmental activist set.

3) It was so bad that I skipped whole paragraphs just to get through it quickly.

4) I finished it just so I could put up this review.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm embarrassed to say that I really liked this book because it contains some really sexually explicit dialogue. (I shared the book with a friend of mine who teaches college English as a possible choice for her students--she was completely scandalized by the book.) But there is mother-daughter drama which always intrigues and enlightens me and I really enjoyed learning about the radical environmentalist movement.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading green for the book club.
Right now they're sitting in a tree.

[Susan Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this read. It might be because I read it while I was on holiday, uncharacteristically in a space in which time moved languorously. I loved the description of the forest canopy and its myriad of inhabitants. And the description of an ant farm and the life of an ant was captivating. I did say I was surprised. It is a story of a young woman exploring the beginning of her adult identity. I remember those days and the author did a fine job capturing that awakening.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was entertaining and an easy read. Some good life moments.
Not the best book I've read, but definitely not the worst. Some very poignant moments.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little surprised that this one is as leaning as low as it is (average 3.1) on Goodreads; I've read a lot worse, haha, and I thought it was an okay, if slightly idealistic, look at nature and love. (I admittedly read it because of the cover also.) (7.75)

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably picked this book up at the True Colors inventory sale. First, there is some awesome, beautiful writing in this book. As Julie, an east-coast native, travels west from the great plains:

...it came as a surprise to me, as we climbed and the stone began forming itself into towers and ridges, a skein of river unwinding to our left, the cattle thinning on the shrinking grasslands, how disoriented it made me feel. Paradoxically, I felt a ruse of homecoming at the same time I was registering its strangeness. So this is how it is, I thought. Like going back to a place half-dreamed or half-remembered.

Then the forest rose out of the stone. First a few trees dotting the rocky slopes, then a bunch of trees shouldering together, and then, without being able to pinpoint exactly when it happened, we were suddenly enfolded in shadowy green. The sky wasn't just everywhere anymore, in the slatternly way of the Plains states. It was something rarer, intricate and shaped, meeting the trees at their tips.

As a long-time activist, I am often extremely disappointed in novels about activism because they tend to be unbelievable and the characters stereotypes. This novel was an exception in many ways. Julie Prince is a convincing young woman struggling against family expectations and in the throes of first love. She follows her lover, Neil, to Oregon and up into the Old Growth forest to tree-sit. That is just the start of her journey.

Matson does a great job of showing the variety of people who come to activism, including a former logger whose experience and agility are a huge asset to the movement. When some of the activists, including Neil, turn to sabotage, the division between Julie and Neil becomes apparent. With Julie as the main character, and Neil's flaws becoming more and more apparent, the deck is stacked and the break up is foretold.

This book covers a period just before 9/11 and therefore does not chronicle the witch-hunt that eco-activists face today. For an up-to-date account, I recommend Will Potters, "Green is the New Red."

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I found this book by accident, while searching for another fictional title about tree sitters. I'm glad I found it.

More than Earth First! type environmental activism, this book is about a woman negotiating for her own space within the boundaries of two relationships, that with her mother and that with her first "great" lover, Neil. I found myself rooting for Julie to create distance between herself and both relationships while also understanding the heartbreak associated with doing so.

I loved the gray areas that Matson explores so willingly: gender roles in Julie and Neil's relationship, class issues between her and Neil, authenticity in a radical movement.

All in all, an interesting story about family love, great loves, and love of self.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it very much not only because of the plot, but how much romance there was in this book. I would recommend it to anyone who loves nature, loves romance, or even loves hearing breathtaking novels like this. One of the parts reminded me of Osama Bin Ladin and I thought that part was pretty good. If anyone loves a really good book and is interested, try this book because i thought it was pretty good on my opinion. I just hope that anyone who reads this book likes the book as much as i do.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got the book at a library book sale. Thought it might be interesting as my husband is a forester working for a logging company. Glad I only paid a buck for it. Unnecessary coarse language throughout. Not much depth to the characters. The only redeeming factor in this book was the author's showcasing the hypocrisy of some of the many left wing nuts in the movement who value the creation over human lives and the God-given right for people to make a living to provide for their families.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of disappointing. This sounded really interesting to me because trees! Environmentalism! Nature! But only a limited portion of the book was spent in nature, helping the cause, and the author went off on tangents about completely unnecessary subplots. It was also very slow to conclude. However, it did make some beautiful comparisons, and I learned more about activism. Good thing it was only a dollar at the book sale.

[lynne fireheart · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me almost a month to finish this book: I usually consume books within a few days, but this one, I tended to take extended breaks between chapters.

I suppose one might say the writing style failed to engage me, despite the appeal of the content: "tree-hugging: how far would you go?" and "figuring out boundaries of a rather co-dependent mother-daughter relationship".

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Random selection from the library. What I liked is that the main character is drawn in such a way that the reader can see her weaknesses in places she cannot. And, though there are some weaknesses, it is an interesting look at the question of what is terrorism, oddly.

[Rachael]

I didn't really enjoy it...the ethical dilemma of values and how far an environmentalist should go to maintaining them was interesting. but it wasn't really about that. It was slower than I liked, and I didn't really like any of the characters. It was fine.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A college girl falls in love and follows her beau to Oregon to protest clear-cutting.But there is a fine line between protesting and terrorism.Also between what we will and will not do for love.This book was good but short.It could have been fleshed out a lot more.

[Melissa Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

The language in this book is extraordinary--the story surprising and the narrator lives that conflicted love affair that is part of all of us.

[EmilyS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, I saw a lot of myself in it. Art history chick right out of college follows hot boy to California to protest logging of old growth forests. Wait, why didn't I do that?

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel that delve sinto how far people may go to save the planet wound around a story of an offbeat love affair.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decided to read this one next - based on events that happened here in my area.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish not my taste.

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set mainly in Oregon, this very interesting story is about Eco-terrorism.

[Jennifer Caley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book

[saaamkiiight]

Good start, but I got sidetracked. Want to read in the future!

[Valerie Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing depth of character and atmospheric detail but there was an emotional distance, almost academic in tone, that made it difficult for me to really connect.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't make me cry like her other book, but was still an enjoyable read.