I struggled a bit to get into this book. I ended up listening on audio and I am glad I did. While I enjoyed the story, there were a lot of characters that made it difficult to keep up with. This book depicts a logging family in a logging community with rich history, but I feel like something was just missing. I really enjoyed the main characters Rich and Colleen and found them to be likable. This book was just okay for me.

Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for the #gifted copy.

Davidson character-driven first novel takes us into the heart and soul of Pacific NW logging country. She’s an exquisite writer and has a gift for spot-on metaphors. I look forward to more from her. I was not expecting the final outcome of the plot twists and turns. I received an early copy from Netgalley,, but ended up listening to the audiobook version. It’s a stunning presentation.

I'm going to steal this brief summary the author used to describe her book because it sums it up nicely:

Damnation Spring is about a very tall logger obsessed with a very tall tree, and his wife, a midwife who begins to suspect that herbicides the logging company uses might be poisoning their community.

First off, I'm upset with myself for waiting as long as I did to read this beautiful and heart-breaking story. Second, I can see how some readers may find the author's style off-putting; the amount of details she delves into can be distracting, but I found I quickly got used to the in-depth descriptions and appreciated the fine details included. Admittedly, the jargon and descriptions about logging tended to go over my head, but not enough to be a deal breaker.
I'm going to make a bold statement: this may be my favorite book that I read this year. Nothing I could say would adequately describe how deeply I fell in love with these characters (note: there are A LOT of peripheral but important characters in this book. My advice is to keep some notes on each of them - you're gonna meet a lot of folks from the small logging town who pop up quite a bit throughout the book). The story is an epic, sweeping, and somewhat uncomfortable intersection of how far people will go to protect their family, well-being, livelihoods, and way of life. Massively character driven and emotional, this book ripped out my heart and left me feeling a tremendous sense of loss upon turning the last page. These are characters who have been sewn into my heart and left me crying into my breakfast this morning.

It's worth noting that there are some major triggers around miscarriage, infant loss, and birth defects that recur multiple times throughout the book.

I'd highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy hefty character driven novels. Fans of Olive Kittering and The Heart's Invisible Furies come to mind. I'd encourage readers to give Damnation Spring at least 100 pages before deciding to quit if they are not immediately swept away. I read tons of reviews in which people DNF very early on which is so sad to me knowing the book on gets better and better, especially once you get used to the author's descriptive writing style.

Thank you immensely to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review. I'm sorry I'm so late but I promise to tell all the world just how incredible this book is. I will think about this story for a long time.

A thought-provoking work of literary fiction that dares to question how our livelihoods often damage our lives. As a native of an Appalachian coal camp town, I found so many parallels between my hometown experience and that of Ms Davidson’s characters. This book is, at times, quite emotional to read, but it’s a fascinating narrative.

This story follows the Gundersen family, Colleen, Rich and their son Chub, who are living in the a logging town on the coast of California in the 70’s. Rich is a logger and and makes his living felling trees, which is a precarious and dangerous profession. Colleen works as a midwife and desperately wants another child. As she has miscarriage after miscarriage, she begins to believe the logging companies use of herbicides are causing her and the other female townsfolk to experience these losses. Word spreads and everyone formulates and opinion and begins to take a stance on the issue. Relationships are tested. Conflict and tension are on the rise. Should health or economic gain take precedence? Is it feasible step aside from what provides for your family and what has been a family legacy for generations?

It sounded like such a promising and beautiful story. Unfortunately, the plot was weighed down with a lot of technicality, that for the average reader, was over the top and unnecessary. I do give credit to the author for their apparent extensive research that was put into this story, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. I just wanted the story not all the facts. Its pace is slow and this book is quite large coming in at 464 pages. I feel like a lot could have been cut out to make it more concise and enjoyable.

All in all, this wasn’t a win for me. However, what appeals to each of us is different. If you read the synopsis and it sounds interesting, I suggest you give it a go and decide for yourself!

Loved this! It was so heartfelt and emotional. It reminded me of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. So many intricate relationships with so much history amongst themselves. Every character was so well developed and each had their own quirks.

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson was a heavy book. While at first glance I thought it was for me, it ended up being slow and hard to read. I didn’t enjoy the characters or the subject matter of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book proposes the challenge between livelihood, family tradition and environment.
This book is set in the 1970"s , 50 years ago, but a real herald of things to come. A well told story with
true meaning. An enjoyable read.

This book was on my tbr for the longest time. So glad I finally read it. One of the best literally fiction where the characters are gradually but strongly developed. Colleen and Rich were beautifully described and the plot was powerful.

I recently attempted to reread this work, and I am glad that I did. The nuance in the story is fantastic, and the plot moves along nicely once you get past the first few chapters.

I can see why others enjoy this book and I am recommending it to my closest friends.

Damnation Spring is an example of a novel that started off with a strong premise but dragged along to an ending that did not need to happen.

After all the praise I've seen for this book, I was quite excited to get to it. The premise is right up my alley: a family drama against the backdrop of an environmental crisis, set in an iconic location. Initially, I was drawn in by Rich, Colleen, and Chub, their life in a working class logging community and their attempts to expand their family. Davidson's writing is engaging and kept me in the first half of the story.

However, as the book went on, it started to drag. I am not one to shy away from long, wordy books. But in the case of Damnation Spring, I felt bogged down by the unnecessary, repetitive details. The book is set over the course of several months, broken down into days. We get specific details of the Gunderson family's life and the lives of those around them but at a certain point you get drowned in the minutiae that doesn't add to the overall story. Not to mention the fact that I thought the book was about to end 3 different times before it ends with THAT ending.

I appreciated this book for the glimpse into the early environmental regulation of pesticides and the conservation of the redwood forests. I just think this book could have benefitted from some tighter editing to make the story more impactful.

DNF at 10%. I really tried but I feel like I just couldn't get into this one - I still have no sense of what this book is even about. The writing is fine and descriptions were so in depth, but I feel like there was no actual plot. I kept waiting for something to happen but nothing did and I just don't have it in me to give it more time.

This book was not my favorite. I loved the history of it. Learning more about what it would have been like in that time was fascinating. I just reviewed Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson. #NetGalley

I enjoyed this book as it vaguely reminded me of a book I adored years ago, Sometimes A Great Notion. I'm not necessarily a fan of logging but this had a great family plot as well! Rich and Colleen have had many challenges in life--including miscarriages-- but now have 6-year-old Chub who is adorable and smart. Colleen is a midwife who has had several "clients" with odd births--many resulting in death. Rich is a logger but there are concerns about the land and who "owns" it, what should be done with it, and what its future holds in the coming years. All of these come together in a heartwarming, heartbreaking novel that gripped me hard and kept me reading long into the night!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This book I tried terribly hard to get into. I just could never crack past the first 1/3 of the book. There is nothing wrong with it. I enjoyed the writing and what the author was trying to do. It just wasn’t a book that drew me in and kept my attention. I do plan to try and pick it up again in the future. But at the time of reading it, it wasn’t for me.

Interesting concept with important warnings about our natural resources. Unfortunately, this book dragged for me at points, and I had to force myself to keep reading. Taking place in Northern California, the back plot had promise; Richard Gunderson a fourth-generation lumberman with a younger wife, Colleen, struggles to survive in an area run by a large lumber company.

Afraid of losing his job, Richard buys property in hopes of harvesting his own trees. Colleen is a midwife who is aware of the damage the lumber company has caused; she has suffered several miscarriages as well as documented many abnormalities in babies born in the area. There is no doubt that the company is damaging natural resources through chemicals. Richard and Colleen end up on opposite sides of the issue, but will they be able to overcome this to save their family including their young son.

Fortunately, it picked up at points and I found myself interested enough to keep going. I was very involved in finding out how it would be settled. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I gave this book three stars.

I found this book to be well written with well developed characters, Unfortunately it just didn’t keep my attention.. I found it to be too slow of a build up and I lost interest.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this title.

Economy and ecology go head to head in this debut novel. A small town in 1977 that depends upon the logging industry is beginning to realize the effects of the herbicides used to clear the roads of brush. There are many heartbreaking clues to show the residents how their air and water are tainted. The family featured (Rich (a logger), Colleen, and Chub Gunderson have suffered from an unusual number of miscarriages. As a midwife, Colleen begins to notice birth defects and even death occurring in the births she assists. An old boyfriend is back in town taking water samples. Protestors are doing their best to keep the logging from continuing. And the park system is ready to cordon off more redwood land. The town sits on a powder keg and Rich has unwisely purchased timber land rich for harvesting with no roads to take out the logs. The Gunderson will win your heart. Lark, the crusty old family friend who spends his days finding Sasquatch in every hunk of wood and providing porta potties for tourists (on the honor system) will make you laugh. There was a bit too much logging lingo in there for me to decipher, so not quite a 5-star read. The miracle of life and the beauty of commitment shine through. Along with the need to be compassionate as we move forward in our stewardship of God's creation. Hand this to readers who loved Miracle Creek and The Great Alone.

Thank you to Scribner and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Rich and Colleen struggle with disrupting the life they know in northern California when it comes to light that the weed-killing sprays used to destroy the underbrush is harming the community's population. The water supply is contaminated and infants, if they are carried to term, are born and die with severe brain issues. The challenge to save the tree industry that has fed the families for generations or to acknowledge how the industry practices are killing people, rips through the community. Rich and Colleen's marriage is also tested by the secrets they keep from each other. Ash Davidson creates good characters that show the range of personalities and connections to family.

Damnation Spring is a fascinating look at the timber industry of the Northern California coast in the 1970s and the lives that are so closely intertwined with it. This novel is more of a slow burn, a story to immerse yourself in, rather than read quickly and move on to the next book on your TBR.

Parts of the story are heart-wrenching, while others are filled with love and hope. The characters are well-written and create all kinds of conflicting emotions in the reader.

Content/Trigger Warning: miscarriages, birth defects, strong language

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.