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Summary: As rich as the soil that produced Emily Carr's inspiration
Review: Thank you, Susan Vreeland, for taking me into the world of yet another artist. After reading THE PASSION OF ARTEMESIA, I could hardly wait for THE FOREST LOVER. I was not disappointed! Ms. Vreeland has an extraordinary ability to get into the shoes of another and have us feel what Emily Carr did during her struggle to find herself, her art, and her recognition. To give specific examples of when my heart either sank or exploded while reading the novel might give away too much. You'll just have to find out for yourself! I loved how the story unfolded. I enjoyed the beauty and the mystery of both the forests and the Native Americans as described by the author. Ms. Vreeland took me to a place I never expected to be--early to mid 20th century British Columbia AND introduced me to an artist I never expected to meet--Emily Carr.
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Summary: An Inspirational Story
Review: The details in this story make this book a literary vision. I finished The Forest Lover a week ago and cannot stop picturing the places that the main character, Emily Carr, visited while on her quest to paint native villages, people, and totem poles. I still feel as though I was on the scene with Emily. The story tells of a woman who is turned off by high society and their so-called morals, and particularly inspired by two people some would consider to be misfits. Emily's adventures and experiences teach her to become a very strong woman and to follow her convictions. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this story. I have read Susan Vreeland's two previous books, Girl In Hyacinth Blue, and Passion of Artemesia. I have looked forward to reading her third book, whatever it would be, and was completely delighted with The Forest Lover. The details in this book surely come from exhausting amounts of research which must have taken Susan Vreeland forever to collect. This book was truly worth the wait! Thanks again Ms. Vreeland... Whatever's next, I'll be waiting...
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Summary: The Forest Lover
Review: This book is a treasure. Every part of it was accurate. I felt as if it was wriien for ME. I cried, laughed, & had to stop every chapter & just sit & remember all similar things in my life. The love of the subjects that Susan wrote about really comes through. This is the best book I've read for some time.
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Summary: Learn Painlessly
Review: This book is as lush and verdant as the landscape where it takes place. Vreeland's fictionalized account of the life of Emily Carr feels spot-on for the characters, location and time frame. This book puts her up there and beyond other, better-known pioneering women artists and brings her to life in a way that feels real. Reading this makes you wish she were alive today so you could be her friend. I learned so much about Canada and the struggles of the indigenous people that Carr grew to love and wanted to preserve.
I, personally, am not normally a "gusher" and certainly not a writer of reviews, but I'm throwing in my opinion on this one after such an amazing reading experience!
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Summary: Beautiful and inspirational!
Review: This novel was such an enriching and enthralling read. I don't understand the bad reviews here. The Forest Lover is a fictional account of Canadian artist Emily Carr and her voyage through her love of art and the people she touches with her beautiful paintings. Susan Vreeland, like her previous novels, takes the life of a classic artist and artfully spins a tale into a mesmerizing and inspirational account of an interesting real-life character. That the actual artist once existed adds to the novel's magic. The magic adds to this imaginative tale. Ms. Vreeland's imagination -- her grasp of history, her attention to the senses, to details, to the soul of the artist, artisans and lovers -- is as lovely as the artist's tapestries. As said earlier, this novel and its beautiful descriptions enthralled me from beginning to end. I recommend this wonderful novel...
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Summary: An homage to an important female artist
Review: Vreeland has a profound appreciation for art and the excruciating process involved in creativity, especially in the case of Emil Carr, an artist who painted with a spirit unrecognized by a priggish society. Vreeland's previous novels, including The Girl in Hyacinth Blue and The Passion of Artemesia, are indicative of the writer's respect for the artist's life.
Vreeland's prose is rich with understanding: the nature of color, the way an artist views the world and the unavoidable drive to create that is the mark of a true artist. Emily Carr is one of those driven, compulsive painters whose life is defined by her art and her need to express her own vision.
Carr, 1841-1945, is an original, an artist who visually defines a culture, seeking communion with her surroundings and the indigenous native population of British Colombia. Primitive in a way, Carr's vision exemplifies the simplicity of the native lifestyle, as well as the natural elements, so abundant in British Columbia. Of course, Carr is inhibited by the times and the role of women in Victorian society. She began painting in the traditional manner, using watercolors, severely restricted by that technique.
However, after a year of study in a Paris still reeling from the Impressionists, Emily Carr began painting in oils, experimenting with color. Returning to her native Canada, her work was changed by the experience of France. Living as only serious artists do, Carr isolated herself, opening to the process, seeing with new eyes. When necessary, she resided at home with her sisters, but was constantly drawn back to the wilderness. Carr was endlessly fascinated by the totem poles representative of native experience and reflective of their disappearing culture.
The more influence the missionaries in Canada enjoyed, the more they sought to change the Indians and their rituals. Precious artifacts, viewed as heathen, were destroyed, befitting the strict rules of a Christian God. As in other countries, the Indians suffered through the advance of civilization, doomed to extinction.
Carr's work celebrates the power of the Indian vision of the physical world and the spiritual elements reflected in daily life. As a female artist, Carr struggled against prejudices not suffered by male artists. Yet she persevered, unstinting in her devotion and opening her heart to the innovations that so enriched her work.
Emily Carr has left an extraordinary legacy to her country of origin and carved a place as an important artist. It is through Vreeland's meticulous research and love of art that this remarkable woman comes to life on the pages of The Forest Lover, the small, dumpy woman who rose above a difficult childhood and lonely years, searching for her voice. And find her voice she did. It is a shout for joy. Luan Gaines/2004
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Summary: ¿Art and nature and God, all one, indistinguishable.¿
Review: With a talent for creating a good story, an ear for natural dialogue, and a wonderful capacity to describe colour and the natural world, Vreeland has given us an engaging account of one woman's struggle for artistic integrity, self-acceptance and freedom. The nature of art, religion, and the struggles of life are all woven together effortlessly in this fictional account of the artist, and naturalist Emily Carr (1871 - 1945). Drawn to the wilderness of Canada's Pacific North West, Emily establishes herself as an art teacher and ventures off into the wilds of British Columbia where she begins to paint the ancestral villages in an effort to conserve and depict their culture - their canoes, totems and marvelously decorated houses, before they are ruined forever. With the art of the indigenous peoples vanishing because of the onset of disease and the inevitable encroachment of European life, Emily races against time to preserve the native totem poles in paintings, and in their own village settings "before they rot back into the forest, or the missionaries burn them down in some righteous Christian frenzy." Emily Carr is without a doubt, the fiery centerpiece of this novel, and Vreeland's portrait of her is indeed vivid and vibrant. Throughout her illustrious and memorable life she meets many unconventional people who influence her art in a variety of different ways: Her friendship with Sophie, a native basket maker provides the main focus for the story, along with Harold, the son of missionaries, and also Claude, the French fur trader who seeks to become romantically attached to her. And of course her sisters, who at once support her and are often dismayed and horrified by her eccentric restlessness. The Forest Lover is a book about the passion of painting and the journey to become a better artist. Emily goes to Paris earlier on in her career, where she learns from the current bourgeoning art movement, which aims not to reproduce subjects but to represent them through colour. She wants her work to be more defined by her emotional reaction to the subject, and to use bolder colour with stronger linear patterns. Everything is seen in terms of line and colour. "It's an obsession, looking at everything," as a mixture of prussian blue trees, screaming orange faces, and the smeared vermillion skies. For Emily passion is about painting the dampness, and the struggle, "the bite of raw wind, the iodine tang of the sea, the queer raven voices of purple black nights, the dark juiciness of the earth, the smell of people dying and the village abandoned" The Forest Lover is one woman's story - a woman who is determined not to become a shrinking violet or a servant. It is a story that is full of raw and frenzied emotion, and is bursting with passion, love and art. Mike Leonard March 04
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