The Mangrove Tree

Review
By Publishers Weekly

This moving depiction of ecological innovation centers on a project spearheaded by Dr. Gordon Sato to plant mangrove trees, which grow easily in salt water, in the village of Hargigo in the impoverished African nation of Eritrea. Graceful prose alternates with cumulative verse to relay the benefits that the trees provided for the community: “These are the fishermen/ Who catch the fish/ That swim in the roots,/ Of the mangrove trees.” Resembling papier-mâché, Roth’s textural mixed-media collages become increasingly lively as the new ecosystem flourishes. An extensive afterword, containing many photographs of Sato and the people of Hargigo, brings their hopeful story into sharp focus.