The Overstory
The Overstory by Richard Powersby Richard Powers
Shares rank 74 of 122 novels by recommenders
Recommended as a novel about trees communicating, which won the Pulitzer Prize; one critic found it arrogant and moralizing.
Recommended as a novel about trees communicating, which won the Pulitzer Prize; one critic found it arrogant and moralizing.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Won the Pulitzer Prize
“the Overstory by Richard Powers won the Pullitzer and is about trees communicating”
Comment from 6 May 2026 in “The Thinking Plant's Man (2025)” Novel about trees communicating
“the Overstory by Richard Powers won the Pullitzer and is about trees communicating”
Comment from 6 May 2026 in “The Thinking Plant's Man (2025)” Described as rad fiction
“The Overstory is rad fiction.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Arrogant and moralizing ending
“an arrogant pile of trash that culminates in the moral”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Microsoft says bug causes Copilot to summarize confidential emails”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Overstoryby Richard PowersThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The Overstory is rad fiction.”
“the Overstory by Richard Powers won the Pullitzer and is about trees communicating”
“an arrogant pile of trash that culminates in the moral”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.