A terrible secret lies at the heart of Damnation ridge. The consequences are deadly. The loggers suspect, the businessmen bargain, the scientists investigate. It’s a brutal secret and a brutal business. Who will find redemption in Damnation Spring?

A first novel by Ash Davidson, yet another graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop.I really liked the book, but have decided to review it in a pro/ con style-a new “ format “ for me.

PRO-addresses a marriage from multiple perspectives, both the “ highs and the lows”, and does a very good job portraying how the main respective partners deal with both “extremes”.
B-a wonderful portrayal of motherhood, and the emotional toll difficulty conceiving and then suffering a late miscarriage can take on a woman-and a partnership.
C-like Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking SILENT SPRING,a very good portrayal of the “ battle”, if you will, between environmentalists and a small community logging town and the conflicts that ensue, environmentally, socially, and economically.( time period is the early 70s, the era of AGENT ORANGE)
D-the logging industry.I knew nothing about it, and here you fully appreciate what hard , perilous,very dangerous work it is and the toll it takes on the human body-for a barely sustainable economic existence.
E-grief and loss-how hard it is to lose a loved one, or suffer birth abnormalities.( I will say no more re: “ spoiler alert”
CON-largely written in an “ alternative voice” style, which I personally do not like.
B-I thought some parts were simply too “ wordy” and repetitive,and the book could have been shorter.
C-and my major “ con”-I found it very difficult, though I read it several times, to fully understand the process involved in felling these giant redwoods, and frankly resorted to a “ you tube” video to understand the process.A glossary of the terms or a series of diagrams would have been helpful.
All in all-a very good read-and multiple topics for a book club discussion.

A plethora of issues are brought up in this novel: deforestation, poisons used indiscriminately, Native peoples and their lands misused, the disinterest of big business, small communities mistrust of outsiders, personal relationships, etc. I generally liked the story for what it was trying to portray but the journey to get to the end was longer than it needed to be. Main characters were well written but I wish there had been fewer secondary ones—so hard to keep track of who, what, and where. And somehow I didn’t feel the ending fit the spirit of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC to read and review.

The story features the Gundersen family, Richard, a logger, Colleen, an amateur midwife and their son Chub.
The main employer in the community is the Sanderson Timber Company .with logging and mill operations. Environmentalists are staging protests and trying to prevent the harvesting of redwoods in a parcel of land known as Damnation Grove. A recent mudslide which closed part of the highway is adding to the concern about the way Sanderson Timber operates.
Richard pins his family's future on the purchase of a neighboring parcel of redwoods, which when harvested, would greatly benefit the family.
Collen becomes concerned about the herbicide spraying and how it is affecting people's health and the surrounding environment.
Livelihood or health - which one will win?
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

Damnation Spring is a wonderful debut novel by Ash Davidson. The writing is beautiful and she describes the setting and landscape so well. It was set in the 1970’s in the Redwoods area and we learn about the things that effected the ecosystem there. It was very interesting. I was also drawn in by the how she introduces us to the characters. While they are flawed, they are still people you want to root for. Colleen and Rich and Chub were especially interesting as it was in their point of views that we hear the story. Throughout the book, they deal with difficult issues like fertility, birth defects, death as well as environmental and political issues. But I’ll be honest though the ending of this book was tough. I don’t feel like it was necessary and it dropped on us with no time to recover. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would seek out other books by Ash Davidson in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read and review this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

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These characters are ones that will stick with you for a long time. The author creates their backstories so vividly and shows how they work through their struggles. I loved the look at the land and how it ebbed and flowed with the community. Colleen is such an in-depth character who has a deep love for her husband and is devoted to her child and family.
This is a really in-depth debut that I am still thinking about.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy.

Damnation Spring is recommended for fans of literary fiction. I was drawn in by the lovely writing and felt a real connection to the characters, especially Colleen, Chub, and Rich. The side characters are also complex and interesting, especially Lark, Enid, and Eugene.

Davidson does a nice job of describing the landscape and the logging industry, including the environmental implications.

I would have rated this novel 5 stars, except for 2 minor issues. First, the pacing drags in spots. Even in literary fiction, I prefer a tightly-constructed narrative that keeps moving. Second, the ending seems unnecessarily tragic. I don't mind a sad ending, but this one seems abrupt in terms of the novel's developing plot.

All in all, I very much enjoyed this story and will look forward to more from Ash Davidson.

DAMNATION SPRING was a slow burning, beautifully written novel set in the 1970s in Northern California. It shares the stories of Rich, Colleen, and Chub and their logging community. This book tackles a lot of challenges topics: fertility and loss, politics and family drama, environmentalism. The writing was beautiful- I will certainly watch out for future books from Ash Davidson - but the descriptions of the logging could be dry and a bit slow at times. Overall, I really enjoyed Davidson’s novel, really felt for the main characters and the large cast of supporting characters in the community.

Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for the ARC I received in exchange for my honest review.

I love a book that rips my heart out, stomps all over it and puts it back forever changed: This is definitely one of those books. It was deeply atmospheric and so utterly visceral that I found myself taking probably twice as long to read it because I wanted to take my time and savor it. I loved Rich and Colleen so completely and that, coupled with the subject matter surrounding the past controversial logging practices in the Pacific Northwest and you’ve got yourself one hell of a compelling read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me, but read when you are ready to FEEL

This was a long, detailed and descriptive book. I absolutely loved every part of it. It had so much emotional content that at times it was hard to read.

Colleen and Rich are married and the story takes place in the 70s. They have a little boy that they call Chub. The heart of this book takes place in the logging world in the Northwest. Through marital ups and downs, miscarriages, fertility struggles, infidelity, crime, secrets, lies, and family issues, we see how Rich and Colleen grow together and apart.

While the logging jargon was often difficult to understand, for me, it never took away from the heart and purpose of the story. I loved how the science aspect was woven in as well as the return of characters from the past lives of Colleen and Rich. I really enjoyed how there were glimpses of the past throughout, but never a full flashback. The ending was very hard to read and I felt like it was not necessary as it hurt so much. However I truly loved this book and everything that it stood for. The characters were easy to fall in love with and also some were very easy to despise.

Definitely one of my favorite books of all time.

This is a truly remarkable debut novel, which kept me so engaged that I looked forward to getting back to it every chance I had. I'm usually asleep by 11:30 p.m., but I stayed up until 2:30 this morning to finish it.

The author conjured vivid images of the land and the harsh realities of life there. I enjoyed seeing each of the characters, their backstories and struggles being gradually revealed. Colleen and her brother-in-law, Eugene were equally memorable if opposite in every way.

Colleen's long-suffering support and efforts to protect her sister, Enid, and her children from the destitution and danger inflicted by Eugene were heartbreaking. Colleen's deep love for her husband, Rich, was often tested by outside forces on both sides, yet never diminished. I was moved by her devotion to their son, Chubb, evident in her loving and playful parenting, steadfast encouragement and barefaced affection, all anchored to the hard-as-nails foundation of motherlove. The complexity of'all the characters' relationships with each other and the land was expertly woven into a fine-gauge tapestry with nuance and depth as the story evolved to a deeply felt ending.

This book was much more than I had expected. I highly recommend it.

Absolutely thrilling. I loved every page. Highly recommend for fans of the Overstory and Parable of the Sower—kind of a mashup of that, if that makes sense to anyone!

This is Ash Davidson's debut novel and this will not be a one hit wonder! This story will break your heart over and over and then will fill in the pieces and make it whole again. I loved the way she writes, beautiful descriptions that had me feeling like I was in the Pacific NorthWest (how I wish!). You will get to know the characters, feel their love, their losses and their heartbreaks, but you will also feel their hope. 4 starS!!!

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson is a read that truly does get better as you read it. I often feel impatient with books that have a lot of specific, detailed information that move the plot line, but this book makes it work. Set in timber country, the story follows the lives of two sisters and their logger spouses. The gumption it must take to fell those enormous trees is something not all of us possess. I honestly can't imagine living these lives, but I am grateful for the look inside.

This would have been 3 star review but for some scenes that got me towards the end. It's beautiful writing. Very detailed which could make it slow going for some. Damnation Spring requires patience if you want to make it to the end.

The first section of the book, during logging season, I would skim over the scenes of Rich at work. Those scenes often felt too repetitive. Blue collar white guys in the 70s being raunchy and territorial. Beating up hippies and environmentalists on the job. Plus there were logging terms used that had me confused until I realized that pumpkins weren't the gourds of Halloween but how the loggers described a tree.

I can see why some reviewers did not finish the book because it's a bit to get through. It's every day life for the Gunderson's with a bit of drama thrown in. You'd get bored too if you had to read about my daily routine over a year.

I'm still contemplating the ending. Did I love it? Did I feel like it had to end this way? I don't know. It did get me. But I don't know...

Damnation Spring is set in Northern California in the late 1970s. It is a glimpse into the realities of a logging community and how politics and loyalty contribute, for better or for worse.

What I liked:
-This was a learning experience for me. Not only is a lot of information given about logging in general, but the environmental impacts of removing trees and spraying herbicides is detailed as well.
-Ash Davidson did a great job of representing the various perspectives in this story, from the loggers to the environmentalists and everyone caught in between.
-These characters are well written and compelling. Each of the POVs used to tell the story has its own voice.
-The setting is as much of a character as the people. The precariousness of everything is visible.

What I didn't like:
-The only negative I have is that some parts of the story did seem to drag a bit and felt repetitive.

Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for the free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Damnation Spring is available now! 4.25 stars

Damnation Spring is described as "...The the deeply human story of a Pacific Northwest logging town wrenched in two by a mystery that threatens to derail its way of life" - and when I saw it was one of the Book of The Month Club August selections, I was immediately intrigued.
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I alternating reading and listening to Damnation Spring (which clocks in at 464 pages) and while my overall reading is slow going right now (thank you Pandemic Fatigue), I found it completely compelling.
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It's a character-driven novel, and I found that author Ash Davidson built her characters so well that I could almost feel their emotions, which is my favorite kind of reading. ⁣The intricate premise, focusing on friendship, marriage and how far someone will go to protect their community and way of life made this book both thought provoking and moving.
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It's beautifully and intricately crafted and the environmental issues combined with the deeply human experiences make this an impressive debut novel. I also think it would make a great fall book club discussion because there is just so much to unpack. 5/5 stars.

Thank you to Scribner Books for my gifted copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Life is difficult in the Pacific Northwest for those who fell the big redwoods. Rich and his wife Colleen and their young son Chub live that struggle every day. Rich has been cutting the huge trees for 38 years, like his father before him and his father before him. When the opportunity comes to purchase some land he has always wanted he feels compelled to buy it but fears what Colleen will say. Colleen has her own hardships, she is recovering from a miscarriage and is assisting as an unofficial midwife to some of the women in the small community. Shockingly, she delivers several malformed infants adding to her own grief and stress. Daniel, an old boyfriend returns to test the water for toxins. Their acquaintances and his findings are added stress to her relationship with Rush.
This was an excellent book. The hardships and realities of life in the hard skilled labor jobs in the timber industry are well researched and highlighted. Families who struggle with issues beyond their knowledge and control, violence, intolerance, and the realities of life make this book one not to be missed. It is also the story of the triumph of family, love, and the continuance of life in the midst of the struggle. This book is one not to be missed. An excellent story with characters that are unforgettable. Thanks to #DamnationSpring#NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this excellent book.

The first part of the book was slow going, but I'm sure glad I stuck with it. This was a really good book!

This book takes place in Northern coastal California, near where the giant redwoods grow and are harvested by a dedicated crew of lumberjacks. That doesn't sound too enticing, but by the end of this novel you will be so deeply steeped in their world that you would have thought you saw a reality TV show on the subject. The families that are at the heart of the drama have been loggers for generations, and it is a very hard life: one minute they are cashing five-figured paydays, the next applying for unemployment. One family has a gaggle of kids, and others are wanting more. But the birth defects start stacking up like cordwood, and figuring out whether these are the product of some herbicide spraying by the logging companies or just coincidence provides plenty of debate. The characters come to life in these pages, and I highly recommend the book, even if you have never driven through a giant Sequoia or see these wonders of nature first-hand.