This is truly a tedious read. The language employed is that of very old pioneer English, which makes it a real struggle to get through. I purchased the Kindle edition, hoping that the access to a digital dictionary while reading would ease the process. However, it was STILL extremely difficult to fathom what was being said.

Most of the words utilized in this book are not even included in any dictionary, leaving the reader constantly scratching their head. I initially intended to read part 2 (The Fields) and part 3 (The Town), but I highly doubt I will subject myself to such punishment.

Surprisingly, I never thought I would say this, but the 3 part movie series was far more entertaining than the book. The language and attitudes of the time period are, to say the least, very accurate. I managed to force my way through it, and I'm truly grateful that it's over.

I usually have a great love for historical fiction, but this particular one was just too dreadfully boring. The characters were so one dimensional and uninteresting. Vital details that could have assisted the reader in understanding the events were missing, and there was a distinct lack of depth of feeling and 'humanness' in the characters.

What actually happened to Sulie? Why did Louie Scurrah abandon Genny for her sister Achsa? Was it because Genny was barren? In my opinion, at the end of the book, I was left with far more questions than answers. It was rather like sitting down at a banquet table and eating, yet never feeling satisfied. I most definitely will not read this again.

Loved! 5 solid stars. The word that comes to mind when I think of this book is “simple”, but in a beautiful way. A family relocates from Pennsylvania to the Ohio Valley to start a new life. I have a passion for nature, hiking, and frolicking in the wilderness like a carefree deer. However, Richter's description of life in the heart of the woods in 1795 is both fascinating and terrifying. The density and desolation, the vastness and stifling atmosphere, and the way the sunlight scarcely touches the skin make you truly think about the harsh reality of living in such a place. Richter forces you to confront these aspects.

There is a lot of eeriness in the background of the story. The forest, or what lies within it, constantly looms over everything the characters do. Richter expertly portrays how it affects people in different ways. One particular passage that I really liked is the one about laying out the dead in Pennsylvania. The description of the snow drifting in and the bobcat's tracks on the corpse is both creepy and captivating.

I also loved the archaic dialogue and language that Richter uses, which is true to the era. It's clear that he did a lot of research to make it as authentic as possible. Overall, “The Trees” feels like an old, well-worn folk song. The plot lines aren't overly complicated, and the characters aren't overly complex, but you still become attached to them and invested in their fates. There are so many touching moments that are made even more poignant by Richter's turn of phrase.

“That’s how life was, death and birth, grub and harvest, rain and clearing, winter and summer. You had to take one with the other, for that’s the way it ran.”

Living in Ohio today, it is truly hard to envision a time when this land was completely covered with thick, dark forests.

These forests were so dense that they barely permitted the sun's rays to penetrate through.

However, that was indeed the case. People eventually arrived, armed with axes and determination.

They chopped down the trees with great effort, clearing the land bit by bit.

As they did so, they began to make their homes in this new and unfamiliar territory.

They overcame numerous challenges and hardships to establish a settlement and build a community.

Today, the forests that once dominated Ohio are mostly gone, replaced by cities, towns, and farmlands.

But the memory of those early days and the people who worked so hard to transform this land still lives on.

It serves as a reminder of the power of human perseverance and the ability to shape the environment to meet our needs.

The Trees by Conrad Richter was a book I chose to read after being influenced by David McCullough's positive description in Brave Companions. However, my experience with this first book of the trilogy was rather disappointing.

The plot follows the Luckett family's journey into the Ohio country. Worth Luckett, the father, is solely focused on shooting animals, which leads the family to leave their comfortable cabin in Pennsylvania. In Ohio, they build a cabin, but Worth resumes his maniacal pursuit of killing animals, and the family subsists entirely on meat.

The interpersonal family emotions in the book were surprisingly weak. I had expected a tightly-knit family united in their struggle against the wilderness, but instead, their family ties were not strong. The children showed little grief when their mother, Jary, died, and there seemed to be little affection or concern between the siblings.

Richter did a lot of research for the book, accurately portraying the vocabulary and speech mannerisms of the late 18th century. This added realism, but sometimes the dialogue was opaque and hard to interpret.

By the end of the book, Jary is dead, Worth has abandoned his family, and the other children have faced various hardships. Sayward seems to be the only one still sane and stable, but I have no intention of reading the rest of the trilogy. Instead, I may read McCullough's The Pioneers, which seems to cover the same topic better.

Overall, The Trees was not the book for me. While it had some redeeming qualities, such as the research and realism, the weak family emotions and lack of a clear plot made it a difficult read.

Magnificent.

That's how life was, a beautiful and complex cycle. There was death and birth, like the ebb and flow of the tides. The grub toiled in the soil, patiently waiting for the harvest. Rain would pour down, nourishing the earth, and then the clouds would part, revealing a clear sky. Winter would bring cold and darkness, but it was followed by the warmth and light of summer.

You had to take one with the other, for that's the way it ran. Life was not always easy, but it was always full of wonder and beauty. We had to learn to embrace both the good and the bad, to find meaning and purpose in the midst of it all.

As we look back on our lives, we can see the patterns and cycles that have shaped us. We can appreciate the moments of joy and the lessons learned from the hardships. And we can look forward to the future, knowing that it will bring new beginnings and new opportunities.

Magnificent indeed.

I absolutely loved this book!

It provides a truly beautiful and detailed description of what life was like for those who were the pioneers in the country's westward expansion.

It is truly remarkable to think about Ohio being considered the "northwest" of the US during that time period.

The author has done an excellent job of bringing this historical era to life through vivid language and engaging storytelling.

Whether you have a keen interest in history or simply enjoy a good read, this book is highly recommended.

It offers a unique perspective on a significant chapter in the nation's history and is sure to leave a lasting impression on the reader.

So, if you're looking for a captivating and informative book, look no further than this one.

A powerful and moving story unfolds, set in the "Northwest Territory" at the end of the eighteenth century, a region that would soon transform into the state of Ohio. The narrative is not only captivating but also enhanced by the remarkable way it is told. Conrad Richter penned this book in 1940, armed with a wealth of resources including books, manuscripts, diaries, and a vast amount of material. This enabled him to write the book in the language and perspective of that era, transporting readers back in time. As I delved into the pages, I was filled with the sense that I was sharing a small portion of the pioneering spirit and the arduous hardships endured by the characters. The wonderful female characters take center stage in this novel, which is part of a three-part series called "The Awakening Land Trilogy". I am certain that I will continue to explore this captivating series.

Oh!

The sweet, slow cadence of a strong, good woman transitioning from the deprivations of a hunter-gatherer society to an agricultural one lured me there through time to the Northwest territories of our own new country.

And the language! It was plain and stark, lacking the play and spin of our current speech. It was like a delft tool, used only when necessary to clear the air, just as their axes cleared the great trees around their cabin.

This is not a tale for everyone, but it seized me like a spring tonic. It filled me with a sense of wonder and curiosity about a bygone era.

The woman's journey, from the uncertainties of the hunter-gatherer life to the more settled ways of agriculture, was a remarkable one.

I could almost envision her working the land, tending to her crops, and building a life for herself and her family.

Her story was a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit, and it left a lasting impression on me.

Extraordinary achievement that transports a reader into a world that once was, but is no longer.

Even more impressive, if rather challenging for the reader, Conrad Richter's fiction not only preserves the physical and social reality of a time and place now lost, but in the telling has also preserved lost aspects of language itself. The dialect and words Richter uses, while still generally comprehensible, seem richly "historic" to a modern American English ear.

In fact, I ardently wish an annotated version, complete with commentary and definitions in the margin, had been available. I reckon such a thing would certainly enrich the reading experience for all and would, I suspect, preserve the book's longevity.

THE TREES begins in the late eighteenth century and features the lives of ordinary people encountering a virgin forested wilderness in what is today called Ohio.

When I commenced my reading journey of THE TREES, first published in 1940, I was aware that THE TREES is the first book of a trilogy called THE AWAKENING LAND. THE FIELDS was published in 1946 six years after THE TREES and THE TOWN appeared first in 1950.

I had no intention of reading beyond THE TREES.

Whoops! I couldn't help myself. I am already happily several chapters into THE FIELDS.

Conrad Richter's work is truly remarkable. His ability to bring to life a bygone era is astonishing. The detailed descriptions of the wilderness, the struggles of the settlers, and the unique language used all combine to create a vivid and immersive experience.

As I delved deeper into THE TREES, I found myself becoming more and more invested in the characters and their stories. I wanted to know what would happen to them as they faced the challenges of the new land.

And now, having moved on to THE FIELDS, I am eager to see how the story continues to unfold. Richter's writing has a way of captivating the reader and drawing them in, making it impossible to put the book down.

I highly recommend this trilogy to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or wants to explore a different time and place. It is a literary gem that should not be missed.

The Trees is Conrad Richter's initial novel within the "The Awakening Land" trilogy. In 1951, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the third novel in this series, The Town.

This book was highly recommended by my friend Charles, who has always shared my taste in movies and books. Last year, his recommendations of Lucifer's Hammer and The Mote in God's Eye were hits.

"Conrad Richter? The one who wrote The Light in the Forest?" I inquired doubtfully. I had read The Light in the Forest in sixth grade and didn't think much of it then (due to being forced to read it).

Even after reading a hundred pages of Trees, I wasn't overly impressed. It was okay, but it didn't seem like a typical "Charles" recommendation. Secondly, Richter's use of a backwoods dialogue, while likely realistic, often disrupted the narrative flow and disengaged me.

However, this book gradually grows on you. It presents an honest and non-romanticized portrayal of what frontier life must have been like for pioneers. They literally carved a path from the wilderness to the beginnings of civilization. Terrible things occur in the Ohio Valley forest to the Luckett family, led by the dependable eldest daughter, Sayward. They face hardship after hardship, and Sayward does all she can to keep the family together. The novel's strength lies in Sayward's steadfastness, Richter's skill in making something utterly shocking happen by simply slipping a simple sentence into a paragraph as if it's no big deal, and finally, in making the Trees themselves into menacing characters.

This ultimately turns out to be a fine novel that can stand alone. (I can say this as I've only read the first in the series.) However, the ending had a significant impact on me. After reading the final pages, knowing it's part one of a series called The Awakening Land seems much more profound. Everything that came before appears all the more honest and real, and it truly feels like the first step in the progression from wilderness to township.

AMAZING couldn't put it down.

This simple phrase truly encapsulates the power and allure of a particular something. It could be a captivating book that draws you in from the very first page, making it impossible to tear yourself away. Or perhaps it's a thrilling movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat, completely engrossed in the story.

Maybe it's a delicious meal that you savor with every bite, unable to stop until it's all gone. Whatever it is, the feeling of being unable to put it down is one that we all cherish.

It's that moment when you're so completely absorbed in something that everything else fades away. You lose track of time, forget about your surroundings, and are simply沉浸 in the experience.

AMAZING couldn't put it down - it's a feeling that we all strive for, and one that we remember long after the moment has passed.

A Persuasive Fiction about Life on the Ohio Frontier

Richter's work is a captivating and persuasive fiction that delves into the life on the Ohio frontier. He masterfully recreates the historical vernacular, which enriches the narrative and gives it a vivid and colorful hue. However, he is not simply flaunting his knowledge. It is evident that he has conducted in-depth research on this period in multiple aspects. The story he weaves is truly compelling, but in a way that mirrors real life. There are elements of drama, heartbreak, and humor, yet there are no exaggerated gunfights or preposterous frontier exploits. This authenticity makes it incredibly easy to imagine that the characters are not just fictional creations but perfectly real individuals, living and breathing in that bygone era. Richter's attention to detail and his ability to bring the past to life through his words make this a remarkable piece of fiction that offers a unique and engaging perspective on life on the Ohio frontier.