The Overstory

by Richard Powers

“Kindness may look for something in return, but that doesn’t make it any less kind.”

The past always comes clearer, in the future.

He has never seen a woman urinate—something a fair number of all the human males who’ve ever lived might have to say on their deathbeds. The ritual concealment suddenly seems like some strange animal behavior that might turn up on a BBC wildlife documentary, like fish that change sex when they need to, or spiders that consume their partners after mating.

“I never knew how strong a drug other people are.” “The strongest. Or at least the most widely abused.” “How long does it take to . . . detox?” He considers. “Nobody’s ever clean.”

There are consolations that the strongest human love is powerless to give.