The Forest

Rating:
Summary: Same song, different location
Review: Sarum was fabulous, London was fascinating, even Russka was interesting... but enough already! It's not that The Forest is a bad book. It's quite good, if you've never read another Rutherfurd book. It's just that it's like every other Rutherfurd book, which is getting a little monotonous. The families have physical or psychological attributes that carry on down through the millenia as if no other bloodlines ever come into the picture. It also seems like Rutherfurd is running out of interesting plots. The chapter Albion Park is simply a take off on Jane Austen (Mansfield Park?)and not a particularly good one. ("It was no doubt part of the divine plan that, having been endowed with an insatiable desire to rise in society, Mrs. Grockleton had also been created absent-minded.") Despite all of this it was interesting to learn about the New Forest, an area with which I am unfamiliar. I only hope the author will try to be a bit more creative in his next book.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful blend of history and storytelling
Review: Spanning centuries of British history, The Forest keeps the reader engrossed with the lives and emotions of its characters. Not only does Rutherfurd offer a continuing saga of the various families who inhabit the area, but also a natural history, detailing the behavior of the deer and the cycle of the trees, which form a constant backdrop for the human drama. The author's command of the language and of interesting tidbits of knowledge, such as the process of charcoal production, make this a very satisfying read. It was a great book to settle in with for the summer.

Rating:
Summary: Despite what others say ...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Rich and meaty novel
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: re:forestation and Rutherfurds
Review: This is an extremely rich body of work. I hesitate to say 'novel' since there are eight parts to this book of equal stature. Is it then a collection of novellas? Well, no not quite, since all of these stories have a tendency to refer to each other. For instance, there is the little wooden cross that is handed down the generations of families whose paths we follow. Of no great monetary value in itself, this ornament, whose origin is more or less forgotten, still signifies a great deal to whomever happens to be wearing it at the time. The author concentrates his attention of a handful of fictional families, from the Albions of the gentry, to the coarser tribe of Seagulls. The one great thing which binds all these families is the New Forest. The author takes great pains to also bring the forest alive, from the mighty oak, to the fallow deer. Anyone who's in love with English history will find much richness here. What the author has done is to realise a great empathy for the English peoples of the last thousand years, and even beyond, if you include the Prehistory of the Saxon Prides. Also mentioned are modern day forest disputes, which are rooted in the past.

The prose is light and easy to follow. The author has a few old storyteller tricks here: such as employing loose ends. A character will do something in one story that will resound greatly in another. Those who dislike such loose fragments left unresolved will be relieved to find that this author is extremely tidy. However, I did spot a few typos, but these hardly spoil the impact of such great tales. This author is also very aware of the literary conventions concerning the historical periods of which he writes. You groan when the section set in Beaulieu Abbey starts off with the murder of a monk, and suspect that Cadfael is not far behind with his herbal remedies. However, the author is very clever here, for he plays delightfully with your expectations - he does not provide mere homage to the past - he always brings something new and unique to such fictions. The tale of 'Albion Park' is very much Jane Austen, and as the author admits, he derived this story from something which really happened to Austen's aunt at Bath. The heroine, like that of 'Mansfield Park', is called Fanny. During the latter parts of the book, we also get a delicious portrait of a Victorian Pre-Raphaelite artist, who is inspired by the forest of his ancestors. But all is not sweetness and light: perhaps the grimmest chapter features the plight of Alice Lisle, caught within Judge Jeffries' notorious Assizes. There are accounts of famous rebels, such as Penruddock and Monmouth: the author really does bring the history alive. He reveals how place names and surnames change over time, due to historical events.

However, there was one family that I was particularly interested in concerning this novel, but whom I found to be only obliquely mentioned: the Rutherfurds. I first became intrigued because of the peculiar spelling - trying to search for this author's surname in online bookshop search boxes provides a variety, so much so that it's highly tempting to believe that the internet will have impact on this ancient name. Rutherfurd begins his novel by going back just under a thousand years to the murder of King William 'Rufus' (so-named because he had red hair). 'Ruther' is also derived from the Celtic word for 'red'. One of the stories concerning the origins of the Rutherfurd name is that it relates to a ford. The Rutherfords first seem to appear around this era as inhabitants of the Scottish borders. There is an account of them beating back an invading English force across a ford before the time of William Wallace, and it's romantic to believe that the name could derive from this incident. Is it just a coincidence that Walter Tyrell has a ford named after him in the New Forest (as Rutherfurd writes in the opening novella), due to his flight after the death of Rufus?

Rutherford also briefly mentions Wallace, and the Scottish Rutherfords certainly fought for him and Robert the Bruce against the English. Rutherfurd writes of the protestant dissenters: Samuel Rutherfurd may have been one such historical ancestor. There is also a strong branch of Rutherfurds in America, possibly related to the Pilgrim Fathers or others like them. Certainly the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt had a distant relation to the Rutherfurds, and may even have been in love with Winthrop Rutherfurd before she married the Duke of Marlborough, whose Blenheim Palace is mentioned in the novel (along with, I think I recall, a cheeky comment about the Marlboroughs marrying into the best families). Sir Walter Scott was related to a branch of Rutherfurds, one of whom is mentioned in his 'The Bride of Lammermoor'. However, all this might be baloney or coincidence, except for one thing: Edward Rutherfurd keeps mentioning the Royal Navy ship, the Swiftsure, which was at the battle of Trafalgar as part of Nelson's forces: it's captain? - Why, none other than William Gordon Rutherfurd! I therefore think that the author has derived a great deal from a rich family history, as his characters do also.

Rating:
Summary: pleasant but not thrilling
Review: This novel was a bit of a disappointment, especially after the outstanding "London". It's a less dramatic tale. But it does involve the reader in Rutherfurd's usual style of tracking multi-family histories. I'd say it's a good, but not great, read.

Rating:
Summary: El mundo de Rutherfurd
Review: Toda la obra de Rutherfurd es espléndida, producto del trabajo arduo de un escritor que penetra en el tiempo y en el espacio, a traves de una indagación histórica bien documentada. La consulta de libros, documentos, cartas y mapas sobre los lugares y los sujetos de cada época, constituyen sus fuentes principales de inspiración. El bosque es uno de sus libros mejor logrados desde el punto de vista estético-literario. Sus personajes están bien cuidados, a fin de resaltar los rasgos que le dan vida a cada uno de ellos. El comienzo de la historia es de por sí singular, pues inicia precisamente con un animal típico del bosque ingles cuando olfatea el peligro y alcanza a escapar de sus cazadores. Esta novela me gustó mucho, pues es una exaltación de las virtudes del bosque, de la importancia de su preservación en su estado natural y de como el hombre, a través de su cultura y sus habitus, transforma el entorno natural, rivaliza con otros grupos sociales y establece una percepción sobre el bosque que varia con el tiempo histórico. Mil años de la historia de un bosque no pueden sustraerse a la vida cotidiana y a las relaciones que sus pobladores han mantenido con éste ( y entre ellos mismos) a través del tiempo.

En nuestro país, México, los bosques se agotan, se extinguen por la implacable acción de grandes expoliadores de la madera y sus derivados. "The Forest" resulta entonces una lectura no sólo agradable, entretenida y provechosa, sino al mismo tiempo, ofrece la oportunidad de reflexionar sobre la vinculación entre el hombre, el espacio y el medio natural, respecto a lo cual las visiones más chatas de la ideología dominante han distorsionado y aún obscurecido durante el último siglo. Obras como las de Rutherfurd son aún más encomiables, dadas la escasez de trabajos literarios de esta naturaleza en nuestro país y supongo, en buena parte del orbe.

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Rating:
Summary: El mundo de Rutherfurd
Review: Toda la obra de Rutherfurd es espléndida, producto del trabajo arduo de un escritor que penetra en el tiempo y en el espacio, a traves de una indagación histórica bien documentada. La consulta de libros, documentos, cartas y mapas sobre los lugares y los sujetos de cada época, constituyen sus fuentes principales de inspiración. El bosque es uno de sus libros mejor logrados desde el punto de vista estético-literario. Sus personajes están bien cuidados, a fin de resaltar los rasgos que le dan vida a cada uno de ellos. El comienzo de la historia es de por sí singular, pues inicia precisamente con un animal típico del bosque ingles cuando olfatea el peligro y alcanza a escapar de sus cazadores. Esta novela me gustó mucho, pues es una exaltación de las virtudes del bosque, de la importancia de su preservación en su estado natural y de como el hombre, a través de su cultura y sus habitus, transforma el entorno natural, rivaliza con otros grupos sociales y establece una percepción sobre el bosque que varia con el tiempo histórico. Mil años de la historia de un bosque no pueden sustraerse a la vida cotidiana y a las relaciones que sus pobladores han mantenido con éste ( y entre ellos mismos) a través del tiempo.

En nuestro país, México, los bosques se agotan, se extinguen por la implacable acción de grandes expoliadores de la madera y sus derivados. "The Forest" resulta entonces una lectura no sólo agradable, entretenida y provechosa, sino al mismo tiempo, ofrece la oportunidad de reflexionar sobre la vinculación entre el hombre, el espacio y el medio natural, respecto a lo cual las visiones más chatas de la ideología dominante han distorsionado y aún obscurecido durante el último siglo. Obras como las de Rutherfurd son aún más encomiables, dadas la escasez de trabajos literarios de esta naturaleza en nuestro país y supongo, en buena parte del orbe.

Comentarios: [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable History Lesson
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Dear Mr. Rutherford, Please keep on writing books like this.
Review: What can be better than to have a long train ride and have a huge, highly entertaining book to read. Mr. Rutherford has not let me down yet. As much as I loved Sarum and London that's how much I absolutely love The Forest. In every book he focuses on a few families and takes us up through history with them and you wonder about the origins of your own family.