3.5-4 stars. there were definitely parts that i was a bit bored by, but the payoff was amazing. there are three story lines occurring: before a climate disaster, in the midst, and years after. somehow they came together so well with a beautiful blending of folklore, innovation, and catastrophe. 

speculative/environmental fiction (alice/alex maybe u guys should check this out)

Perfect for lovers of: Alexandra Kleeman's Something New Under the Sun, Yoss's A Planet for Rent, Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, or Richard Powers's The Overstory. :)

“But not every animal will be replaced, not every plant: only the ones men desire, and only if they do as men wish” (112).

Chapman is a faun – half man half creature – who hopes to one day plant his Tree as he joins his brother’s expedition for wealth in the form of planted apple orchards across the American Frontier. John mourns the days of his childhood, raised on his father’s farm, in a near-future America that fights to keep up with the extreme weather and rising extinction rates, and everyone’s survival seems to be in the hands of one company, Earthtrust. C-433 only recognizes earth as an endless sheet of ice where every visit to the dark and icy Below is a threat but also a necessity for his continued survival. These three characters, living in these very different timelines on the same planet, make up this heart-aching, eco-apocalyptic narrative in Matt Bell’s Appleseed.

While the narrative is slow-paced, the setting descriptions are captivating. The lush, often heartbreakingly beautiful, imagery that Bell includes during Chapman’s perspective of a wild America long destroyed are breath-taking and easily immersive. I also found the near-future terrain and world-building quite believable, especially as the climate crisis continues to worsen. More fauna and flora are at risk of extinction, unpredictable weather patterns are already on their way, and the globe is no closer to lessening our carbon footprint. I am so appreciative and in awe of writers like Bell who place environmentalist issues at the forefront of their novels because there is no denying that heavy research must be undertaken to accurately capture the complexity of these problems and the heavy hand that humans have played in them.

Early on in the narrative, my heart ached to read from John’s perspective that the grizzly bear was extinct in his version of the present. Having read Remy Marion’s On Being a Bear midway through the month, this hit quite close to home for me. This is just one of many horrific events to occur in Appleseed: America has experienced “the Secession,” and they have created a “Sacrifice Zone” which makes up everything west of the Mississippi, a practically uninhabitable wasteland. At the core of this epic novel is a crucial discussion of what it might mean to save the world, but not necessarily the human world. I really loved how much Bell emphasizes the egocentric nature of human kind. Historically, we once thought the Sun revolved around the earth, around us. Americans also once heavily believed in Manifest Destiny, seeing the American frontier as their rightful property to conquer and control. Along with the many hard and ugly truths that Bell brings to the attention of his readers, he participates in a centricity of his own. No, the narrative’s cyclical pattern does not return to humans, but to the apple tree. Let’s not forget: the Tree in the Garden of Eden bore which fruit? It’s a brilliant theme, a subject that weighs heavily not only in the characters’ minds but also on the shape of their futures. I just loved that the apple tree, while taking the form of many within this narrative, became its own main character as well.

Bell blends so many writing themes and genres together in this one book. Historical fiction meets science fiction and dystopian literature. Legend and Mythology somehow finds a way to blend with scientific advancement. A severed head with an unceasing song, a mysterious machine that builds organs, flesh and bones, and humans attempting to save an earth that experienced death and rebirth many times before. An unsung hero of the literature world, Matt Bell’s Appleseed deserves to be read, shared, and preached.

The FULL REVIEW can be found here:
http://greatgraydays.home.blog/2022/02/02/one-earth-three-timelines-and-three-very-different-humans/