58 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful foray into human frailty laced with Divine Grace, November 12, 2003
In contrast to a couple of other reviewers below, I, as a Catholic, found this book to be an amazing feat of poetic, insightful analysis of the tensions that we all strive to resolve in some manner, between the frailty and caprice of our human nature, especially in the area of sexuality, and our desire for greater faith and grace, and between the "Church" as simultaneous institution and living organism.
As a happily married parent of three children and very active in "mainstream" parish Catholic life, having been involved in charasmatic Catholicism and Marian devotional groups, having traveled to Medjugore in the late 80's, having witnessed a supposed "Marian Locutionary" and the surrounding "hoopla" in the Chicago area at about that same time, having seen saints and shams, and having a rather broad knowledge of the various theological, philosophical and mystical topics interjected and alluded to, "en passent," such as Manichean Cosmogeny, Kaballah, and Platonic solids, I thoroughly enjoyed the perceptive character development of the various personalities involved, whom the author uses to embody and present the various elements of conflict. Through these personalities and their encounter with this unfolding apparition and the "visionary," we see our humanity exposed, and the Grace of God working in unusual, subtle and surprising ways in dark and hidden undercurrents.
In the end, we find that God does indeed "work in mysterious ways" and most often in spite of our foolishness and weakness! For the reviewers who accused the author of being "anti Catholic" and too focused on sex, I would say just the opposite. Yes, if you are offended by the laying bare of our human condition, as in the stark portrait offered in Tom Cross, or the "un-priestly" struggle of Fr. Collins with sexual desire, you may wish to skip this book. (Or maybe, it's time to open your eyes to what God already clearly sees in each one of us ... remind me again, why did Jesus come? To redeem sinners, or something like that?)
In my opinion, this book is an inspiring affirmation of our great God and his grace, the Catholic faith and the rather colorful assortment of characters that comprise "the faithful" and give vibrancy to our Church. I listened to it on CD on a solo 800 mile drive and found it an enlightening and agreeable travelling companion.
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21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Brave Departure!, November 14, 2003
OUR LADY OF THE FOREST is a departure from SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS. Much as Bret Ellis did in AMERICAN PSYCHO, Guterson is sticking his neck way out here.
The plot is fairly simple. A young girl encounters The Blessed Virgin Mary in the woods while digging mushrooms. Before she knows it, she's got two thousand pilgrims breathing down her neck.
The trouble with this scenario is that Ann Holmes is a homeless person who's been known to smoke marijuana now and then and is also not averse to eating magical mushrooms. And she's not even Catholic! Guterson has fun making sport of Ann's devotees; much of the book is a satire on religious groupies whose gullibility is too much to believe.
The setting for OUR LADY OF THE FOREST is Washington state; Guterson adds a little environmental conflict in the person of Tom Cross, an out of work logger whose life is slowly swirling down the toilet. He feels responsible for his son's paralysis and he latches onto Ann of Oregon as his possible salvation.
Ann is a shy young girl and all of this hullabaloo is a little bit too much for her. That's where Carolyn Greer comes in. She takes on the role of Ann's spokesperson. She doesn't believe a word of this but she knows a goldmine when she sees one. She's a sort of Jimmy Buffett character who needs to earn money so she can winter in Mexico and some of the money meant for a Our Lady's new church sticks to her fingers.
The other main character is a first-year Catholic priest who lives in a trailer home; his church smells of mildew and he's thinking of leaving the priesthood. When he meets Ann, he's enticed by her Kate Moss, heroine-babe sexuality.
All of this is a whole lot of fun if you don't take religion too seriously and I guess that's the point Guterson is trying to make.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Book for Divergent Views on Religion and Faith, December 2, 2003
Yes, this is a novel about faith and religion but it is one of those rare books published these days which can appeal to readers holding widely divergent views on the subject. From one perspective this is an inspiring story of faith and redemption...from another, a cautionary tale of cynicism and greed. And to his credit, the author David Guterson never discloses to the reader his own thoughts or views. His main characters--Ann Holmes, Father Collins, Carolyn Greer, and Tom Cross--are each fully developed and true to life. They are at times humorous, at times irritating, and at times so very, very sad. This is a beautifully written book...even better that Snow Falling on Cedars. And like Snow Falling on Cedars it is one of those books which friends will encourage their friends to read.
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