Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J. Lee: Book Review

Two Trees Make a Forest: Travels Among Taiwan’s Mountains & Coasts in Search of My Family’s Past is a non-fiction book that combines history, language, nature, and memoir writing. Jessica J. Lee is a British Canadian Taiwanese woman who lives in Germany. Like many of us, she is trying to figure out where her family is from to help her figure out who she is. But, unlike many of us, she’s searching closer to home as she is trying to find out more about her mother’s parents.

Two Trees Make a Forest was first published in July 2020 by Hamish Hamilton. It won the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature in 2020. In addition, Two Trees Make a Forest was a CBC Canada Reads Nominee in 2021.

In this book, Lee examines her family’s past as she knew only the bare minimum. Growing up, she always thought she had no other family on her mother’s side other than her grandparents. However, after their passing, she learns that there is more than meets the eye. She also discusses the history of Taiwan and how over time, not only has it culturally changed over the years but also environmentally. Along the way, Lee also covers her struggles of figuring out where she fits in as she isn’t as connected to Taiwan as many people there think she should be.

My Opinions

When I learned of this book through the CBC Canada Reads contest, I felt drawn to it as I am curious about my family’s story. I was also eager to learn more about Taiwan, as it’s not a place that is often discussed in schools in North America. This book did not disappoint in either way. Lee’s family story is quite interesting, and I feel bad that she didn’t have the opportunity to learn more directly from her grandparents.

The parts that discussed the environmental history of Taiwan were fascinating to me. For example, did you know that Taiwan has an earthquake almost every day? I didn’t! Nor did I realize some have caused the creation of lakes. Also, did you know that they have some of the oldest cypress trees in the world?

While I enjoyed the book, there were a few parts that dragged a bit. The political history of the country was not as interesting to read as the environmental history. There are also a few places where the language differences are a bit of an issue. Lee used Mandarin, Hokkien, and English in parts of the book. She used the most commonly used languages in Taiwan (Mandarin and Hokkien) when talking about specific locations. It was a bit of a hassle in spots, but I skimmed over them as I read.

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.