Glad you’re enjoying it, WV.
I think it definitely deserves the accolades it’s received so far, like the Pulitzer. IMO, it’s a masterpiece. Not perfect. But even among masterpieces, that’s incredibly rare. It tells us things about Nature that are profoundly important. Very few novelists have written about trees/nature as subjects in their own right, worthy of their own story, as opposed to just “things” we humans exploit and see as existing for us and only us. Few novelists have the skills to match science and literature so seamlessly.
I’ve only read one other Powers book, The Gold Bug Variations (1991), which is an all-time favorite of mine. I should read his others as well. Gain sounds really good too, though heart-breaking.
Please add more of your thoughts when you’ve finished it.