Customer Reviews

The Forest

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Edward Rutherfurd specialises in "Michener"-style books. Even tho he did not originate this type of novel, I personally feel he is the best at writing them for 2 reasons: 1) Instead of dealing with a very large area (Hawaii, South Africa, etc) as Michener does, Rutherfurd picks a small geographical area such as London or England's New Forest. This makes the focus of the story more manageable. 2) Rutherfurd is much better at characterisation & plot developement than Michener.

"The Forest" is Rutherfurd's latest 1000 year geographical epic, & altho not his best work, is eminently readable. Unlike his previous (& better) work, "London", "The Forest" deals with an area few people outside of the UK will be familiar with. This of course means the historical events he fictionalises will also be unfamiliar to the average American reader, thus adding some freshness to tales of Cavaliers vs. Roundheads, peasants relating to their feudal lords etc. In the chapter entitled "Albion Park" Rutherfurd even tries to adapt Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice" to his multi-generational narrative!

Does it work? For the most part, yes. Rutherfurd's novels are an excellent way for a reader to get a handle on history, & he makes large events personal to the reader. My main problem with his writings is his tendency to make family members thru the generations have the same appearance & mannerisms over hundreds of years. They never seem to inherit anything from their mothers; a Furzey is a Furzey whether in the 11th or the 19th century. This seems especially strange in "The Forest" as he has the same families marrying each other for the entire book without ever starting to share characteristics! I assume this is the author's way of making a protagonist instantly identifiable & not confusing the reader with too many different people to keep track of. The other fault I found with "The Forest" was starting the story at the end of the 11th century. Although the Roman period & Anglo-Saxon eras are mentioned, there is no narrative covering them as there was in "London". Personally, I would have welcomed the inclusion.

If not quite as good as "London", fans of Edward Rutherfurd will not be disappointed with "The Forest".

A novel that spans a period of 1000 years in a small region of England? The premise sounded original and I was willing to rely on my love of history carrying me through. And you know what? I got more that I expected out of this book.
Having not read any other titles by Rutherfurd, I had no previous experience of his style and though curiosity led me at first, I was soon hooked.
Following the fortunes of six families through the years, most notably the Albions, Rutherfurd not only relates a series of great stories, he also tells the history and politics of England's New Forest, and the life of its deer and famous oaks.

The characterisation is strong, both heros and heroines are well drawn, from the Norman noblewoman Adela de la Roche to the mysterious Puckle and his many equally mysterious descendents.

All in all, a pretty damn good book. The chapter 'Albion Park' left me with a craving for Jane Austen again and as a whole leaving me with a strong inclination to read some more of Edward Rutherfurd's work some time soon.

Well, Edward Rutherfurd has done it again! Somehow, he is able to take an area of land and give us a history lesson about it--without boring us to death. He also has an incredible talent for covering a large span of time, yet he is still able to be detailed in his telling and make us care about his characters. "The Forest" is no exception. He teaches us English history while giving us stories that intertwine throughout the timeline. We learn the background of both obscure and well-known relics, and are shown ways that people earned their surnames. One of the things I really appreciate about this author is that he's realistic--sometimes the good guys don't win, and every once in a while, a bad guy gets away with an evil deed. Be sure though, that in Rutherfurd's books, the ancestors will pay! If you liked "Sarum" and "London," be sure that you won't be disappointed with this one. I don't often buy hardback books, but I was confident that Edward Rutherfurd wouldn't let me down, and he didn't.

I've read all Rutherford's books, starting with the wonderful "Sarum" and "Russka," then "London" (which seemed to me to be interesting but slightly stale) and, now, "The Forest." I suspect he's written too much, too quickly, because he uses the identical plot devices for each of his novels but the originalty of his stories is now beginning to suffer.

In each case, you start WAAAAAY back when in history (usually Stone Age) and work your way up to the present through a series of interesting vignettes or snapshots of human-interest stories set periodically through the history of the specific place. James Michener, of course, perfected this technique, and Rutherford is never less than interesting in his version. But ...somehow, by "The Forest," it just didn't seem to me that he had that much to say. The book felt repetitive, as if I was simply reading rifs on his earlier English books. Oh, yeah, another Norman-vs-Saxon episode, another Augustan Age seque, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book if you've never read him before, but I'd certainly recommend any of his earlier works ahead of this one. He feels, somehow, like he's gone formula on us.

The Forest is a rich, vivid historical read ~~ with fiction intertwined with history of England's most lush forest. If you are a history buff, this book is a good read. It seems long but unlike "London", this book didn't drag in some places. Keeping track of the families were easier this time for some reason. Maybe it's because after reading all of his books, you tend to get an idea of how he writes.

In my opinion, Rutherford gets better with every book, though "Russka" is still my favorite Rutherford book. Rutherford goes out of his way to find the little historical facts as well as the well-known ones. The characters are vividly drawn in their periods of time. The scenery is terrific ~~ the whole time I was reading this, it was below zero outside and all I could think of was hiding in the woods in the middle of summer to feel the breeze going through the treetops.

If you are looking for a long read during these cold winter nights, this book is a great bet. Just grab your glass of wine, a blanket and light the logs in your fireplace and settle down for a nice winter read. It's worth it.

The New Forest has played a central role in the history of England starting with William using it as a hunting "spa". It is in the New Forest where William's son Rufus is killed under strange circumstances. Throughout the remainder of the millennium, this area has been on center stage almost as much as London has. Even in the present, the locale serves as an example of the modern day debate between development with easy access vs. environmental protection by pushing to name it a national park. In between much happens to members of the English Who's Who to include Austen, Drake, and Nelson, etc.

Edward Rutherfurd is considered one of the giants of fictionalized history that provides a story telling account centering on real events and people. His latest work THE FOREST will show his talent to educate his audience with a well-written account that spans a thousand years of English history. Though some sections will overwhelm the reader with its vast historical tidbits, sub-genre fans will enjoy this book as much as Mr. Rutherfurd's previous works, LONDON and SARUM.

Harriet Klausner

Having read "Russka," "London," and "Sarum" and enjoyed them all, I was eager to read "The Forest"--and I wasn't disappointed, overall. Some people might complain that the New Forest area of England is hardly worthy of such a long novel, but Rutherfurd's interest in and portrayal of the "small people" of the forest make fascinating reading. In fact, I'd have much preferred more about the forest dwellers and somewhat less about the "society types" who dominate so much of the book. Give me more Puckle and Seagull any day! Even so, the book is well worth the time for anyone who has ever entertained an interest in England and English history. Rutherfurd's literary strength lies in his wonderful descriptions of the natural world in which his characters move and I often found myself rereading paragraphs in order to soak in that description. As for his characters, I enjoyed them, but the copy I read would have benefitted from a family tree similar to the one found in "London," although Rutherfurd throws in enough physical similarities and references to ancestors to help his readers keep the characters quite distinct. I also have a couple of nitpicks about the book. In one spot, the owl is said to be able to turn its head 360 degrees, which is incorrect. Also, the mark of the arrow in the Rufus tree is said to have grown higher with the passing decades. This also is incorrect, as trees grow from the ends of the branches out and a mark in the trunk never gets any higher. These are quibbles with a wonderfully readable story which I am otherwise happy to recommend.

Something about this book, as opposed to "Sarum" "London" "Russka" and "Princes of Ireland" was so compelling in its tale and it characters, I made a 5 day trip to the U.K. and visited Bath-Sarum-Amesbury-Lyndhurst. The village of Lyndhurst is still just that, a village. And the Forest, the ponies and the ancient Abbey of Beulieu were stunning. You can walk for miles through the New Forest and not see anyone. As one of the characters in the book said "it just feels ancient". And it does. There are tiny and lovely B&B's all up and down the road right across from the Forest and compared to London are quite inexpensive. Nicer too. At times you sit under the huge tree at the entrance (also the road to the Abbey) which sits on top of a hill and just gaze out on the tree tops. You think about the book and you realize that what is missing are all the characters. As if you mourn for those long gone. It feels as if the Forest misses them as well.

With THE FOREST, author Edward Rutherford continues his love affair with England begun with SARUM and LONDON. (His other book, RUSSKA, was apparently an aberrational dalliance.) In all of his novels, Rutherford goes back in time and selects fictional families living in a specific geographical area, then visits members of each family at key points down through history as they interact with each other and the environment of the chosen area. In SARUM, it was the land surrounding the English town of Salisbury, including Stonehenge. In LONDON, it was ... well, London. In THE FOREST, it's the New Forest in the English county of Hampshire, a triangular patch of land approximately anchored by Salisbury, Christchurch and Southampton, and on the mainland immediately northwest of the Isle of Wight. "Forest", a French term, originally meant "reservation", and the New Forest was such a place set aside by Duke William of Normandy as a royal hunting preserve after becoming William I, King of England, in 1066 by defeating King Harold at Hastings.

Rutherford begins his narrative in 1099, and continues in chapters headed 1294, 1480, 1587, 1635, 1794, 1868 and 2000 respectively. From previous exposure to the author's style, I've found it convenient to consider each chapter a short story more or less independent from the overall chronology. That way, I don't get too confused by the intersecting genealogical lines of the featured families as they thread through the centuries.

This is a collection of vignettes portraying the human dramas encountered in the everyday lives of ordinary people, both gentry and commoners, as influenced by the time and place of their life spans. Thus, one becomes acquainted with Adela, a Norman noblewoman in search of a husband soon after the Conquest, and Brother Adam, an abbey monk suffering a crisis of faith after being seduced by a local housewife. Then there's Jonathan, a young boy living in the port of Lymington, caught in a storm at sea during a boat race, and Clement, a young gentleman threatened by his crazy mother's treasonous behavior as the Spanish Armada seemed poised to invade. And Alice, caught in the turbulent and dangerous times of Cromwell's Civil War and the subsequent Restoration. Or Fanny, an heiress pulled in opposite directions by love and an age-old family vendetta, on trial for shoplifting a piece of lace. Finally, Colonel Albion, fighting to save the forest he loves from the depredations of the London politicians.

If you're looking for a thriller, or epic conflicts between a series of protagonists and antagonists, then THE FOREST is not for you. However, if you love England - especially that - and you enjoy vicariously immersing yourself in the everyday joys, heartaches, triumphs and defeats of others, then you'll love this book. Moreover, THE FOREST contains interesting information about non-human elements of the region: the mating rituals of the local deer population, the life cycles of the forest's oak trees, the method for harvesting salt from seawater, the formation of bogs, the proper use of timber in the art of building wooden sailing ships. Additionally, England's southern coast was once a hotbed of smuggling (oh, sorry ... "free trade"), and Rutherford gives some insight into its economics and methods as practiced there.

If, by serendipity or design, you should find yourself on the A31 between Southampton and Ringwood, perhaps leave the main route onto the B3078 or A337, and explore the villages and landscape of the New Forest. I've been on the A31 several times, yet have never taken the time to explore this small corner of England. Now, I wish I had.

Mr Rutherford has given us another story rich with delightful characters and vivid scenery. If you are a fan of James A Michener's books, you will enjoy the rich tapestry that is woven here. The story line covers an area within the catchment of his masterpiece "Sarum", but there is no duplication, and this book stands alone as a work of art.

Also of interest is the fact that this book looks at great moments in English history, but almost skirts around them, giving us an insight into what it must have been like to be common folk, in the midst of great events. It is also very entertaining to read. I recommend it highly.