Customer Reviews

The Forest of Hours

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This is an extraordinary work. Ekman tracks the centuries-long life of a troll, from his early years in the northern Scandinavian forest through his assimilation into human society. We see the hero move through a series of incarnations (from the perspective of human life spans) as brigand, army medic, prisoner, alchemist, physician...

As one reads on, the work reveals itself to be a wonderfully insightful perspective on civilization, and on the follies and joys of human life.

Ekman evokes the human environment as it would have been experienced by those whose efforts helped shape our own more comfortable circumstances. Extreme poverty, hunger, cold and lack of even basic security eventually gives way to the comforts we take for granted, until our troll finds that he is troubled by all sorts of modern ailments, from ennui through coffee-induced stomach acidity!

Ekman obviously has a deep love of nature, and the book is at once a deep affirmation of the wonders of our environmental heritage and a mourning of what is being lost.

Great works of literature deserve great translators, and Ekman's Scottish collaborator in this instance has produced a superb result that is an absolute joy to read in English.

Highly recommended to anyone wanting a thoughtful, engaging and enjoyable read.

The Tale of a troll with an interest in humans and their affairs, this is a quick summary of what the novel is about. But this doesn't do it justice, in a gradual movement from "somewhere" in the middle ages right up to "somewhere" in the 18th Century we follow the story of this troll as he suffers and loves, he does this in a way not unlike stories such as "The Lord of the Rings" but also engenders a feeling akin to spirituality as well. At times the world Ekman creates almost resonates with being from animal languages which are understood and yet still remain animal to the sense of presence in the wood of the title. More than anything this is brought out in the ending. The sense of what it is to be a forest or how a person can live is shown by Ekman, a characteristic not unknown in Scandinavian writers.

This book is about a troll from the Skule forest in Northern Sweden. He ages very slowly and lives many lifetimes among people, developing both finer and baser human qualities along the way.

At times the writing transported me to Skule and I could almost smell the decaying pine needles. Kirsten Ekman succesfully created a picture of medieval life in this harsh environment and her descriptions of animal life in the forest was like nothing I had ever read before.

However, as our troll-hero ages, the characterisations of his human companions become less sharp, the writing became less evocative and the forest somehow less magical. It seemed as if this novel was an over-ambitious project that the author just couldn't quite pull off. Reading the last few chapters, I just wanted it be over.

Still, there were enough memorable passages in the book for me to want to try Kirsten Ekman again - and soon.