I’m a sucker for beautiful writing, so I’ll open this review by saying Saving Cottonwood by Lisa Page is a highly beautifully written, lyrical book throughout. It’s not a conventional thriller, and it won’t hurtle you through plot twists at breakneck speed. Instead, it asks you to slow down, breathe, and consider questions of spirituality and nature. I feel this is the perfect book for deep thinkers, or really anybody who enjoys ecological writing and books with solitary, complex protagonists.
Iris Barnes is recently divorced, freshly relocated to Cottonwood, New Mexico, and doing her best to hold herself together. She’s a middle school librarian. When she discovers that the Cottonwood Bosque, a vast forest created in 1919 by the original owner of her house, has been sold to developers, something shifts. Against her better judgment, Iris begins investigating its history and seeing what she can do to stop its imminent demise.
Running parallel is eleven-year-old Annabelle, who is dealing with the impending consequences of the forest’s destruction. The novel also prominently includes chapters from Xena, Iris’s stray black cat, who turns out to be a bodhisattva, a Buddhist term basically meaning spiritual guide. I found it pretty random but funny how the cat is nicknamed, “Xena the Warrior Princess”. It’s these little touches that give the book its charm.
This is one of those books where the writing is one of the main appeals. Page’s prose is carefully constructed; she’s the type of writer who lingers on small things, like silver wisps of hair, the creak of an old house, the smell of aged paper and ink. Nothing is rushed. The writing trusts stillness, and in doing so, it mirrors Iris’s interior journey, the main character. There’s a lot of exploration of Iris’s state of mind, which is written in sparse, contemplative language, “She made a conscious decision right then and there not to contribute to her suffering with a narrative that was so ridiculous.” The stream-of-consciousness style brings us close to Iris’s perspective, and I really enjoyed reading her thoughts in italics.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is how it handles spirituality. This isn’t a preachy novel, nor does it demand you believe in any particular viewpoint. Ezra, the locksmith and “magick practitioner” who becomes Iris’s unlikely ally, articulates this gently: “The mind isn’t up to the task of managing our burdens… For me, allowing and being curious gives grace some room to infiltrate. And then in allowing what is to simply be, God, or Love, or your allies, or whoever can do the heavy lifting.” Furthermore, I loved the creative exploration of the different way the natural world and civilized people view and experience each other, whether that be through talking crows or fungi queens.
The novel alternates between numerous POVs, mainly Iris, but also Annabelle, Xena and as aforementioned even some more mystical, non-human POVs. These shifts keep the pacing from dragging. I don’t mean this as criticism, though, but Saving Cottonwood is not a page-turner in the conventional sense. It’s not as if the plot isn’t engaging, but if you come looking for high-octane drama, you’ll be disappointed. But if you come open to questions of spirituality, charming characters and responsibility to the environment, you’ll find something rare and deeply nourishing.
There’s something I feel many people could find healing about this book. It’s fairly low-stakes in terms of physical danger, but it’s characters are very deeply explored, including their darkness and past trauma. You could imagine them being real people. I definitely think this is a book that could be helpful for people recovering from trauma or rebuilding after emotional collapse or difficult life situations. It’s cozy in the truest sense, and the blending of fantasy and nature writing is indeed quite cleverly done. It reminded me a bit of Walden in some aspects.
I also appreciate that it isn’t the type of book that takes itself seriously. There’s some funny lines in there that might make you chuckle, “Tara is a friend of nature on this planet and of all nature in this diverse universe filled with life. To reiterate—she is a GODDESS OF THE UNIVERSE, not simply this little Earth. She is an upper-echelon goddess, people!” I mean, you can just tell from the fact one of the characters is a Buddhist cat, the writer has a sense of humour. There’s also some plenty deep, thought-provoking sentences that will make you reflect, “The beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning.” Xena is probably my favorite character with his never-ending quirky, witty, wise lines.
Ultimately, Saving Cottonwood is beautifully written and emotionally intelligent book that tackles some deep topics in a very approachable way. If you loved Braiding Sweetgrass or The Overstory, or if you’re open to magical realism or at all interested in ecological writing, this book is for you. It may not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed this book and hope it finds its audience.
Final verdict: For fans of Robin Wall Kimmerer, Ursula K. Le Guin, Richard Powers, and Marilynne Robinson, Saving Cottonwood blends eco-fiction with magical realism and literary fiction, to form a cozy, healing little gem. Highly recommended, and certainly a very important message in these times of environmental collapse.
You can get your copy of Saving Cottonwood here!
