It’s a vivid portrayal of the land and its people, a snapshot of a not-so-distant time, but it also digs into the gnarled history of the place. And it’s a glorious book—an assured novel that’s gorgeously told ... This is a lot of material to marshal, but Davidson skillfully assembles it in a narrative that seamlessly flows between tense scene and quiet moment; her short chapters work in a broad range of characters, from kindhearted old-timers to less-than-compassionate henchmen ... Davidson was born in Arcata, the small California city that’s near the novel’s setting, and she brings the area to life with a deep understanding of its particulars. She’s as observant as a hawk, picking up on details that distinguish this fogbound and muddy territory ... Davidson is also gifted at describing the intricacies of the logging industry, from the grueling labor itself to the hidden practices of shady businessmen. And she captures the beauty and majesty of the redwoods ... Some will no doubt read Damnation Spring as a commentary on the divisions that separate Americans today—on the fact that many place blind faith in what authority figures and corporations say is true, even if it hurts people’s interests; that many have an anti-intellectual distrust of mainstream media and established institutions, even in the face of science and reason. There are certainly parallels. But the book is getting at something more timeless and universal: It’s about human nature. It’s about our relationships to our loved ones and our communities, it’s about morality and greed, it’s about our understanding of and respect for the natural world ... Redwoods have been plundered by humans, damaged in fires and taken down in floods, but they’re also incredibly resilient. And as characters in Davidson’s graceful rendering remind us, humans are equally resilient. After great loss, they, too, can keep growing.
To enter Damnation Spring, the debut novel by Ash Davidson, is to encounter all the wonder and terror of a great forest. Set amid the majestic redwoods of Northern California, the story runs as clear as the mountain streams that draw salmon back to spawn. Here is an author who knows and appreciates the land from every dimension — as nature, home, cathedral and cash ... This may be the most affecting aspect of Davidson’s novel, her tremendous empathy for the way a lost pregnancy, with all its mystery and guilt and sorrow, can fracture a good marriage ... a brilliantly balanced act of synchronous narration, never succumbing to the temptation of sentimentality or cuteness but always attendant to the child’s wonder ... But the greatest accomplishment of this absorbing novel is its capacious understanding of the competing values these folks hold. Nobody knows or loves the forest more than they do, but saving it could mean losing their jobs, their homes, their food — and Davidson is deeply sympathetic to their concerns, even their rage. In that way,Damnation Spring, offers that rare opportunity to become part of a small community and move among its members until their hopes and fears seem as real as our own. By the end, I felt both grateful to have known these people and bereft at the prospect of leaving them behind.
... astonishingly polished and immensely affecting ... Davidson spent the first years of her childhood in Klamath. The seeds of her family’s connection to the community — and the 10 years she spent researching the book — are evident on every page. Based on interviews she conducted and the threads of real-life controversies in southern Oregon and Klamath (the Alsea studies, the first long-term research project that analyzed the effects of logging and forestry practices on salmon watershed populations in the Pacific Northwest, for example), the book is chock-full of pressing issues that still plague our rural areas today with nary a preacher pulpit or finger wag in sight ... What makes Damnation Spring such a knockout — and so devastating to stomach — is Davidson’s mature grasp of the precarity of life and the complexities of the human condition. It’s the Gundersons’ fierce love for each other and unwavering resilience despite multiple betrayals and near unshakeable losses that transform the book from a treatise on the dangers of an unfettered industrial complex and the impacts of climate change into a prescient and deeply felt novel about (mostly) good people just doing their best to survive.
... powerful ... depicted with gorgeous specificity ... [Davidson] lays out the conflict with heart-rending clarity ... This confrontation sets up a showdown as inevitable as a mudslide ... It’s a path Davidson portrays in exquisite detail, from the beauties of the forest to neighbors turning on each other with predictable, if tragic, results. If at times the author veers into melodrama—those hillside hairpin curves can be sharp—it’s in service of the larger tal
The answers that emerge and the conflict that comes close to tearing a community apart are both heartbreaking and redemptive, emotions that Ash Davidson skillfully weaves throughout her debut ... Davidson’s knowledge of the logging industry and its communities guides the reader into the woods. The language, beauty, color, and sensory details of their lives and work are all brought to the page, enriching our experience and making us believe their truths. And if we do get lost, we’re only a page turn away from hearing a voice, catching a movement, a sudden flash of light that urges us to stay, prompts us to keep going. Rooting for the characters in Damnation Spring—their unapologetic, protective, profoundly alive and kindred hearts—and understanding their complicated desires are made easier by the writer’s narrative style ... Damnation Spring successfully translates the logging industry into an experience of the heart ... This is a novel faithful to the intimate and sincere yearnings of the heart; its brutal and unexpected ending is worth every second.
... exceptional ... There is so much that is right and particular about this novel. Rarely will a reader have such a tactile experience of life in a forest logging community as one receives here. Davidson also sensitively portrays the fraught relationship between the Indigenous tribe of Yuroks and the white members of the logging community. Here, all politics are local ... Davidson was born in Arcata, California, just south of the redwood forest she writes about in Damnation Spring. She’s studied the lay of the land, and she expresses the heart and soul of this place and time.
... powerful ... Davidson’s riveting page-turner reveals one harsh reality after another, with no happy ending. The stakes are high, loyalty vanishes, and family ties mean nothing. A strong writer to watch.
... environmentally savvy ... Davidson researched this milieu deeply but with an eye toward making every discovery feel natural and unforced. By shifting perspectives among Rich, Colleen, and Chub, she reveals not just the conflicts among loggers, protesters, and companies, but the growing stress within the family ... Thematically, it’s a strong work of climate fiction, but it's rooted in age-old man-versus-nature storytelling ... An impressively well-turned story about how environmental damage creeps into our bodies, psyches, and economies.
