Review: What Branches Grow by T.S. Beier

Author T.S. Beier paints a grim and brutal American landscape in What Branches Grow, depicting a dystopian world where books are sacred, humans are a commodity, and trust is perhaps the most elusive resource.

Three decades after a war devastated the natural world and reduced civilization to scrabbling ruins, a mysterious woman on an impossible quest manages to keep hope alive. When Delia arrives at the walls of Churchill, she makes it clear that she’s only passing through, and looking for a safe place to sleep until she can continue on her journey north. Gennero, the right-hand enforcer of Mayor Church, the most powerful man in the ramshackle town of survivors, is captivated by such a unique warrior – a title she quickly earns.

Armed with powerful pre-war tech, Delia manages to escape a surprise attack, but Church’s man is hot on her heels, launching this fast-paced road novel into a higher gear. Bearing north, towards a fabled metropolis that may still somehow be functioning in a shattered world, the road begins to change both of them. Tracking her isn’t a problem for Gennero, particularly from inside a trunk, but deciding whether to leave his life behind and follow her on a fool’s dream is a much deeper dilemma. The hunter and the hunted soon become unexpected allies in the face of more dangerous foes in the rotting post-war world.

The dynamic of these two characters is compelling from the start, and they never seem to stop developing, reflecting, or growing. A romance feels inevitable, but that sort of plot line is secondary in this story; the struggles of survival are far more pressing and interesting to unpack. Delia is a complex, violent, and unpredictable heroine, and through her, Beier delicately explores the human depths of desperation when pushed to the brink. From bizarre religious cults to savage tattooed gangs and the mutated beasts of the road, this novel is like Cormac McCarthy on steroids, with a healthy dose of “Mad Max” thrown in for good measure.

The setting is a deeply developed landscape – an America that few could recognize – yet the broken pieces ground this story in reality for readers. The premise may be horrifying and decidedly fictional, but the interactions and themes are also relevant and timely: sexual assault, pacifism vs. violence, power inequality, and the disintegration of morality in times of crisis, among others. Beier navigates her characters through these troubled waters, providing readers with both an adventure and some lingering questions on which to reflect.

With all that is going for this post-apocalyptic tale, the writing is occasionally sloppy, and in some cases, poorly edited. Within the first few chapters, there are a number of typos, missing words, clumsy grammar, often leaning on basic descriptions of common emotions or behaviors. This is is stark juxtaposition to other moments where the language is creative and playful, with unusual linguistic choices and visceral vocabulary that brings intense scenes to life. Fortunately, the stronger moments of prose far outweigh these shakier sections, and the rough patches are forgivable given the riveting story and authentic narration.

Overall, What Branches Grow is far from your average dystopian novel – it is a humanistic quest into personal morality and the fortitude one can uncover when hope is all that remains, for a startlingly original debut in the genre.