I recently read Richard Powers' Pulizer Prize winning book "The Overstory." The title was poignant for multiple reasons--it's terminology refers to a layer of foliage in the trees--a common thread in how the book was divided into sections all based on tree terminology: Roots, Trunk, Crown, Seeds. But more than that was the over-arching story, the "over story" of how trees were vital to each of the 9 main character. Additionally, the trees themselves were one of its greatest characters in the book.I will say, my favorite character was in fact a tree--the American Chestnut. I enjoyed learning about both its true history and how that tree's history was woven into the fictional life of one of the main characters. As the characters came together, the initial part of the eco-activism storyline reminded me of my own time last summer in California's redwood forest and of Julia Butterfly Hill. An added piece of connection--I read much of the 500-page tome outside, under the trees of my own backyard.
These two book reviews and Richard Powers' website are great places to learn more.
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