Customer Reviews

The Foretelling

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My name is Doug Hiser, author of the 2006 novel,The Honey Bee Girl. I have been reading and collecting Alice Hoffman books since I discovered Turtle Moon. I have read them all and The Fortelling is my favorite. I loved her narrative and moving story. In some ways it reminded me of Clan of the Cave Bear and also of mystical ancient cultures that we see only in dreams. Alice Hoffman's prose is the main reason I fell in love with her books. She is the magic realism of writing the way Michael Parks is of the dreamlike reality of art and Frank Frazetta is the master of fantasy painting. The Fortelling is a short work of literary genius accessible to everyone. She has deep intense knowledge of the emotions and feelings that most people can only guess about. Discover her writing through this compelling work and then find your way into her other books. You won't be disappointed. Doug Hiser

The first words: "I was born out of sorrow, so my mother named me Rain."

This sets the book up for a short and lyrical coming of age story through the eyes of Rain as one of the legendary Amazon sisters. Rain's birth was anything but joyous because it was born out of gang rape, so her mother shunned her. As she grows she learns everything she can about life of the Amazons. For knowledge is power and she much know how the whole society runs. She excels in horse training and riding and becomes as her grandmother, a true sister of the horse. Because she is a queen-to-be and also because her mother shuns her, she is set apart and often travels alone. These adventures with the advice from one of their most wise and psychic priestesses, Deborah, help her to see that what is beyond their borders is not all evil. Not all to be shunned. This becomes the beginning of her quest to becoming her true self, including her questions about if she wants to even be queen.

I think this book is a quick and interesting fictional look into a culture that did exist many moons ago (hey, got to get into character here). However, it really is a look at one girl's life as she questions and learns and grows into her own wisdom and seeks the courage to become what she should become. There are references of rape, and sex, but it is not done in a graphic way and dealt with in a way that would make sense at that time. I give this book 3 1/2 stars.

Loved this quote from the book: "The weak are cruel: the strong have no need to be."

After spending the winter holidays surrounded by deviant male behavior -- including derrogatory remarks made about women at work, such as: "a woman is only worth-while if she's willing to have sex with you, otherwise she's worthless" (I'll bet such males make their mothers, sisters and daughters feel very safe at night) I found the following book to offer very satisfying emotional relief.

"The Foretelling" by Alice Hoffman is rivoting. It offers a vision of inspiration for all girls who want to become something more than subservient. I read the novel in one evening and it is out in hardback right now.

It's about a tribe of Amazon women (no men, except when they are captured, drugged and otherwise used to increase the daughters to be born to the tribe). The men are either killed after the sex ceremonies or released to their own tribes but the Amazon women have no need for men on a regular basis. They do not wish to become subjects as wives so even their own sons are either killed or delivered to the tribe of the departed father. (Note: while sex is alluded to in this book, it is not dwelled on or elaborated upon and there are not details other than the idea that a women lie down with men -- because of that, I feel this book would be very appropriate for teen readers).

One man lives among the Amazon, but his legs are broken so he cannot run away and he is kept as a slave to do masonry type work (not for stud service, as so many males in our society might hope).

Fascinating read. The main character is a young girl named Rain who yearns for her mother's (the head huntress/chief's) affection but cannot have it because Rain is the reminder of a brutal rape that said elder/warrior endured when she was just 13 years old. The fable is that Rain now has the power of 50 men because that is how many violated her mother during the attack.

The setting is amidst a male dominated world where bands of men continue to try to raid Rain's tribe to steal wives for themselves or just to rape women/steal their belongings and land but regularly such forces meet their own demise as the Amazon women are very capable at war.

Rain was born out of the violence and sorrow of rape to Alina, Queen of the Amazon warrior tribe. From a very young age she has always known she was the Queen-to-be, destined to take her mother's place. Because of the terrible circumstances of her birth, Rain wasn't raised or trained by her mother. In fact the Queen barely even looked at her. She was raised instead by Deborah, the priestess who foretells of another secret destiny in her future. Trained by her warrior cousins Asteria and Astella, she dedicates herself to becoming the best horsewoman and warrior in the tribe. She believes that is the way to gain her mother's acceptance. Her hopes are dashed however when Alina takes on the servant Penthe as her companion. To make matters worse, Penthe's daughter Io wants to be Rain's sister. But a fierce Amazon warrior has no time for sisters.

On her first solo journey with her white mare Sky, Rain finds a bear cub. She takes it back to her tribe and names it Usha. Io loves the cub as much as Rain does and together they raise her as their sister. Through this bond, Rain accepts Io as her little sister. When Usha grows up Rain rides her like a horse and imagines one day riding Usha into battle and frightening the warrior men with her power. But Usha is killed in Rain's first battle and she realizes her mistake. She trained Usha to be a horse instead of a bear.

Likewise, no matter how hard Rain strives to hate and kill men like all the other fierce warrior women in her tribe she is constantly drawn toward a different path of mercy and peace. Eventually Amazon traditions collide with her vision of the future and she faces the greatest test of her true destiny.

"The Foretelling" is an unusually spellbinding coming-of-age tale. Readers will ride like the wind along with Rain on this fascinating journey into the deeply sensuous tribal life of the Amazon.

This is a newly released young adult fantasy novel about Amazonian women warriors (rock on!) who breed and live with horses in a sprit of sisterhood. The tale concerns Rain, an Amazon princess, who has ominous dreams of a black horse. Rain, who is the product of her mother's rape by fifty men, is ignored by her mother the Queen. Rain struggles with preparing for her upcoming rule, her mother's coldness, disagreements with her culture, and forbidden love. She also finds a sister, Io, in the daughter of her mother's female lover. Both Io and her mother were slaves in a patriarchal culture and each have a snake tattoo for each man that has raped them. Io's mother has over 200 snake tattoos. This book addresses goddess spirituality, sexuality, feminism, sexual violence, pacifism, and individuality. It is an exciting and quick read and a Girl-Power infused story.

"The weak are cruel; the strong have no need to be."

A young girl, born out of the sorrow of her mother's rape, is named Rain. Her mother, Alina, is Queen of an Amazon warrior tribe of women. Rain, daughter of the Queen, always knew she would one day be the Queen of her tribe.

Because of the circumstances of her birth, Alina never once looked at her daughter--and Deborah, a priestess, who foretells of Rain's destiny, raises her. Rain is trained by the warriors Asteria and Astella and is determined to become the best horsewoman and warrior in her tribe.

Rain longs for acceptance by her mother but her place as the "loved one" is filled by the servant, Penthe. Penthe's daughter, the kind and gentle Io, follows Rain everywhere in the hope that she can become Rain's sister.

Rain finds a bear cub she names Usha. She brings Usha home to her tribe and raises the cub as her sister. It is through this relationship with the bear cub that Rain begins to accept Io. But in a fierce battle with four men, Usha is killed, and it is with sadness that Rain understands she raised Usha to be a horse rather than a bear.

It is during the battle where Usha is killed that Rain meets Melek. It is also when she begins her journey of mercy and peace and to strive to understand others. It is that understanding that serves her completely when she faces her ultimate test.

The Foretelling is a haunting and mesmerizing story of a strong young woman born into a place and time that does not serve her understanding of how things can and should be.

And while rape is discussed, it is done in a manner that makes the story appropriate for teens to read.

Armchair Interviews says: The Foretelling is the best Young Adult novel I've read in a long, long time. The story and message will stay with you, long after you've turned the last page. I highly recommend it.

Rain, born of sorrow and rage, learns to overcome her circumstances with remarkably little outside help. Her mother, the queen of an amazon tribe, was raped by cowardly men, and subsequently could not face or openly support her daughter as she grew. So Rain had to find her own shelter and support, repeatedly looking within and to her goddess for strength and guidance until she developed the skills and outlook necessary to guide the whole tribe.
I loved the way the author built the story entirely from the young girl's perspective, building a credible amazon society, complete with details drawn from known tribal societies of that place and time.
This story may not appeal to all young readers, but young men who wonder how to relate to self-defining young women will gain a lot of perspective from it.

I thought this book was incredibility well written and had a great storyline. The author kept my attention page after page to the point where I couldn't put the book down. She writes as if she actually lived in this time period and makes you feel as if you're actually going through everything Rain is.

My first contact with this book was through an excerpt printed in an issue of Writer's Digest. It was a total of seven paragraphs from chapter one, enough to introduce me to the character named Rain and the haunting, lyrical way in which she reveals her people and their way of life to the reader. Enough to leave me itching for more of the story, to the point where I went out and bought it right then and there.

Most books don't do that, or if they do, you bring it home and then realize that it's really not as gripping as you'd thought it would be from that little snippet. The Foretelling doesn't disappoint, though--it moves along at a steady pace that fits the story being told like a glove, while sparing no room for elaborate description. This is the story of a girl who was an Amazon Queen-to-be, told exactly as she might have told it herself, and I'd recommend picking this one up for the first time when you have a chance to sit down and read the whole thing from cover to cover.

The Foretelling is a beautiful new story by Alice Hoffman based on the Amazonians. Rain is the daughter of the Amazonian leader and the next in line to lead the tribe of warrior women, but she is different and marked by the shame of the circumstances of her birth - her mother was attacked by 50 men. Rain is known as a girl of power, a girl stronger than 50 men, a girl of destiny.

But is her destiny to lead her people in the same type of life her mother lead them in? Or can she see a path of peace instead of war?

This is really a beautiful and dramatic story. Told in Rain's voice, every word is moving and will touch you like few stories do (or can). Almost dream-like in execution, the book is just a wonderful little thing. I very much enjoyed this one.

I recommend this book for readers aged 12 and up (even though the circumstances of Rain's birth are rough, they are dealt with gently and not really dwelt upon) and any lovers of mythology. This book will take your breath away.

--Kimberly Pauley, YA Books Goddess, www.yabookscentral.com