Arborescence

A dazzling and deeply moving story about humans turning into trees - for fans of Love and Other Thought Experiments and Never Let Me Go
What 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.
'A dazzling blend of cosmic eco-horror and arthouse sci-fi... one of the most profound and beautiful books you'll ever read' Chris Flynn, author of Orpheus Nine
'Original, mind-bending and uplifting' Inga Simpson, author of The Thinning
'Reads like a thriller but has the tenderness and insight of poetry' Ben Rawlence, author of The Treeline

Rhett Davis holds an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and a PhD in creative writing from Deakin University. In 2020, he won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. His debut novel, Hovering, was published in 2022, and was shortlisted for the Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction novel. Rhett has lived in several places but always finds his way back to Geelong, where he lives with his partner and two talkative cats.