‘A wry tale, deftly told… transforms the anguish of our moment into a fable of hope’ RICHARD FLANAGAN, TLS
‘Laugh-out-loud funny, disarmingly wise and very, very readable’ NATHAN FILER
‘You will not be able to stop thinking about this extraordinary book’ SOPHIE WARD
‘Both a celebration of trees and a warning of a planet in crisis’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘A great and beautiful book that is profound and profoundly moving’ JENNIFER CROFT
‘Thrilling, thought-provoking and incredibly tender’ CHIOMA OKEREKE
‘Reads like a thriller but has the tenderness and insight of poetry’ BEN RAWLENCE
‘A strange, profound exploration of what makes us human’ THE BOOKSELLER
___________________________________________________________________________
What makes a person want to be a tree?
Bren and his partner Caelyn are feeling at a standstill in their lives. One day they come across a video of people in the forest who believe that if they stand still for long enough they will transform into trees. The idea is absurd. But it’s spreading. Soon, people start to go missing and trees appear in unlikely places.
As cities decay and the world becomes greener, Caelyn becomes more and more convinced that arborescence is exactly what will save the planet from human destruction. Bren isn’t so sure. Drifting apart, Bren and Caelyn are forced to question what it really means to be human – and if they are ready to stand still.
‘Laugh-out-loud funny, disarmingly wise and very, very readable’ NATHAN FILER
‘You will not be able to stop thinking about this extraordinary book’ SOPHIE WARD
‘Both a celebration of trees and a warning of a planet in crisis’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘A great and beautiful book that is profound and profoundly moving’ JENNIFER CROFT
‘Thrilling, thought-provoking and incredibly tender’ CHIOMA OKEREKE
‘Reads like a thriller but has the tenderness and insight of poetry’ BEN RAWLENCE
‘A strange, profound exploration of what makes us human’ THE BOOKSELLER
___________________________________________________________________________
What makes a person want to be a tree?
Bren and his partner Caelyn are feeling at a standstill in their lives. One day they come across a video of people in the forest who believe that if they stand still for long enough they will transform into trees. The idea is absurd. But it’s spreading. Soon, people start to go missing and trees appear in unlikely places.
As cities decay and the world becomes greener, Caelyn becomes more and more convinced that arborescence is exactly what will save the planet from human destruction. Bren isn’t so sure. Drifting apart, Bren and Caelyn are forced to question what it really means to be human – and if they are ready to stand still.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
Original, mind-bending and uplifting. I loved this beautiful, feral book so much, I wanted to walk into its pages and never look back
Prepare yourself for a weird one... Rhett Davis is a skilled and playful writer with an eye for the absurd and the profound... an unforgettable tale
Strikingly original, offbeat, and haunting. Vincenzo Latronico's Perfection meets Han Kang's The Vegetarian in this novel about what remains possible in the midst of the soft apocalypse. Rhett Davis's account of a couple's respective responses to life on an increasingly hostile planet is fantastically unsettling
People turn into trees in this curious eco satire... an even-tempered, quietly satirical speculative novel
As absurd as it is utterly convincing, this is a book about holding onto love in a world of seismically shifting reality. In other words, a book about us, a book about now. It's brilliant
You will not be able to stop thinking about this extraordinary book. A thrilling page-turner for our times, that both chills and provokes
I did not know how much I needed a novel like Arborescence. On one level, it's a beguiling story about humans who metamorphose to save the warming planet. On another level, it's a cri de coeur, written with tenderness for all who wonder how this ends. Arborescence is a tremendously moving affirmation of what's worth saving - love, family, clean air, and silence. I wept through the last fifty pages
A great and beautiful book that is profound and profoundly moving. Airy, light, witty, with the frankness of a Sally Rooney novel and the delicate strangeness of Olga Tokarczuk. I couldn't have been more entranced
Intelligent and thoughtful... a dystopian world that feels simultaneously too close to home and impossibly science fiction, yet leaves you with an almost utopian feeling of solace and optimism. A philosophical book about the very nature of being human and the future of our species, but also a personal story of love, loss, and redemption
Both a celebration of trees and a warning of a planet in crisis... Davis grounds the speculative elements of the story in strong characterisation and relatable contemporary concerns
Intriguing, utterly original . . . leaves a lasting impression and rings with unsettling questions
Arborescence is speculative fiction at its best: an end-of-world story that offers green leaves of hope
A balm and an urgent whisper of hope. This is a book to help us believe that all is not lost. Extraordinary
Thrilling, thought-provoking, and incredibly tender... I devoured it whole
Inventive... a generous act of writing... If you're looking for something that's clever, that won't bum you out, that's beautifully written, then this might be the one for you
With Davis' sharp eye and irreverent humour, the genre-blurring story branches into the tangled roots of suburban life and the natural world
Thoughtful and original, Rhett Davis' novel offers a poignant and delightful lens on the absurdity and futility of 21st century life
A fascinating exploration of what it is to be human... superbly paced and intriguing... the perfect book to start the new year
A dazzling blend of cosmic eco-horror and arthouse sci-fi, Arborescence is one of the most profound and beautiful books you'll ever read. A devastating and unforgettable elegy for the planet
Both an excoriating lambast of end-stage-capitalism and a truly tender love letter to the human species. It's laugh-out-loud funny, disarmingly wise and very, very readable
A wry tale, deftly told, of people around the world planting themselves and growing into trees as an act of defiance. Light and lovely, it transforms the anguish of our moment into a fable of hope
A strange, profound exploration of what makes us human
A strange and compelling exploration of our current moment. Arborescence is part Sally Rooney, part Stephen King. It reads like a thriller but has the tenderness and insight of poetry
Davis' signature narrative playfulness and dryly humorous dialogue is always on hand to help sweep us further into the story . . . Arborescence is a reminder of the special way fictional worlds can allow readers to retreat from, and find the fortitude to return to, their own world
Profound, moving, powerful... a celebration of the environment, but also of humanity even at its messiest