Two Trees Make A Forest by Jessica J. Lee.
About The Book
Combining an immersive exploration of nature with captivatingly beautiful prose, Jessica J. Lee embarks on a journey to discover her family's forgotten history and to connect with the island they once called home
Taiwan is an island of extremes: towering mountains, lush forests, and barren escarpment. Between shifting tectonic plates and a history rife with tension, the geographical and political landscape is forever evolving. After unearthing a hidden memoir of her grandfather's life, Jessica J. Lee seeks to piece together the fragments of her family's history as they moved from China to Taiwan, and then on to Canada. But as she navigates the tumultuous terrain of Taiwan, Lee finds herself having to traverse fissures in language, memory, and history, as she searches for the pieces of her family left behind.
Interlacing a personal narrative with Taiwan's history and terrain, Two Trees Make a Forest is an intimate examination of the human relationship with geography and nature, and offers an exploration of one woman's search for history and belonging amidst an ever-shifting landscape.
"No single word can contain the movements that carried our story across waters, across continents."
- Jessica J. Lee, Two Trees Make A Forest. pg. 11
"In forests and on mountains, the urgency of time receded and the pacing minutes I'd grown accustomed to in the city stretched molten until they evaporated, small and inconsequential things in the face of arboreal and lithic time".
- Jessica J. Lee, Two Trees Make A Forest.
Two Trees Make A Forest was a 2021 Canada Reads selection. This memoir discusses myths and folklore legends, climate change, language, and memories.
The narration alternates between her journey to discover the history of her family and memories or stories of the past.
Memoirs are not typically a genre of book I read, but having said this there were a couple of points when reading, I found myself re-reading them. I found myself picturing the trees and the species of wildlife as described by the narrator as I was reading and found myself becoming immersed in the storytelling.
My Rating: 4/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book Details
Author: Jessica J. Lee
Publisher: Penguin Canada.
Publication Date: July 28, 2020.
Genre: Memoir.
Edition: Paperback.
Pages: 304.
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