This novel is so pleasurable to read while also making a big impact! Percival Everett's “The Trees” has the structure of pulp crime fiction and a biting sense of humour that comes from sharply drawn characters. But it also seriously engages with the legacy of racially-driven lynching in American history and the persistence of racism in the country today. The authorities of Money, Mississippi are flummoxed when the bodies of a badly-beaten black man and a mutilated/castrated white man are discovered together. Shortly after another white man's body is found alongside the same corpse of the black man from the first murder scene. Special detectives Jim and Ed arrive to investigate though they are looked upon with suspicion as black men in an overtly racist community. What at first appears to be bizarre supernatural acts of revenge gradually shade into the surreal as the plot thickens and similarly violent crimes spring up around the country. The story is so well paced with short, punchy chapters and a vibrant cast that kept me enthralled until the ending. It also builds in meaning as a commentary on contemporary American life where “The image of the boy in his open casket awakened the nation to the horror of lynching. At least the White nation. The horror that was lynching was called life by Black America.”
Many sections of the novel include a heavy amount of dialogue which vibrantly brings the characters to life and evokes a lot of humour. Though many of these figures might feel over-the-top and satirical their blatant prejudice or weariness at having to navigate racism is also frighteningly realistic. There are multiple occasions where some white characters stop themselves from verbalizing racial epithets as they are aware of how they'll be perceived. This culminates in a hilariously accurate fictional speech by Trump commenting on the violence sweeping across the country. In a way the verbal exchanges almost feel like a documentary film where the characters reveal more about themselves than they intend to. There's also a warm sense of camaraderie amongst characters such as the two special detectives and other black/Asian authorities that investigate these crimes as they are all too aware about the unequal system they inhabit. However, this also serves as a basis for conflict as there are wildly divergent views about how to disrupt the legacy of racism which is an endemic part of American life.
One of the most crucial characters in this story is the spirited Mama Z who is 105 years old and has been building a list of every black individual who has been lynched ever since her father was hung in a racist attack. Part of this list (which numbers in the thousands) is reproduced in the text of the novel and builds upon the “say their names” declarations most recently promulgated by the Black Lives Matter movement. It's a testimony to the loss of each individual amidst numbers which could be reduced to statistics. This also highlights how this is an issue which has persisted throughout American history. A canny individual named Gertrude observes: “Everybody talks about genocides around the world, but when the killing is slow and spread over a hundred years, no one notices. When there are no mass graves, no one notices. American outrage is always for show. It has a shelf life.” This novel makes a powerful statement that these issues will persist outside of isolated bouts of protest. It conveys this not simply through the book's themes but in how Everett so skilfully balances an atmosphere of comedy and horror in the structure of the novel itself. I was so impressed by this book's gripping story as well as its serious message.
