Barkskins Summary
Annie Proulx

Barkskins Overview

Barkskins tells the story of two families, the Dukes and the Sels, from their arrival in the New World in 1693 to many generations later in 2013. The novel primarily takes place with the Northeastern United States and Southern Canada and deals with the development of the modern world through the destruction of forests. Throughout the novel, the Duke family works to develop their timber business and faces the moral dilemma of deforestation. Meanwhile, the Sel family attempts to navigate their Native American identity in a rapidly changing world.