Arborescence : ‘Extraordinary’ Sophie Ward

Published 15/01/2026 | Hardback,
Description:

‘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 BOOKSELLERWhat 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.