Rating: 
Summary: A saga indeed
Review: A magnificent sage about a family at the end of the Victorian period. Following several generations of this family as they cavort through society, Galsworthy is a master of storytelling. Although this book is long, you won't be bored, because the action is faced-paced and exciting; Galsworthy can read his characters like a book, so to speak, and presents the Forsyte family as they really are. While Galsworthy postdated the Realism movement in literature, his style is very much reminiscent of those authors in that he depicts everything as it really is: no makeup, no glossing over the dirty facts of life.
At the heart of this big, beautiful book are three novels, plus two smaller stories in between. The Man of Property, In Chancery, and To Let discuss the major aspects of the Forsyte Saga- staring with Jolyon Forsyte, the patriarch of the family, then Soames and Irene Forsyte in the 1880's, and leading up to the 1920's. The two interludes, Indian Summer of a Forsyte and Awakening are smaller, but no less important parts of this tragicomic saga of a family as it rises and falls with the times.
I haven't seen the film production, but I can't wait to see it, if it is in fact as good as I've heard it to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Sprawling "Saga"
Review: Family secrets, dirty little problems, and a dash of adultery, scandal and forbidden love. Soap opera? Well, sort of -- it's Nobel Prize Winner John Galsworthy's sprawling family epic "The Forsyte Saga." While it has a distinctly soapy flavor, "Saga" retains its dignity and look at turn-of-the-century mores and society.
The Forsyte family is determinedly regal and hard-nosed, almost to the point of a fault. One staid family member, Soames Forsyte, becomes obsessed with the beautiful but poor Irene, and finally gets her to marry him -- on condition that if their marriage doesn't work, she walks. Well, their marriage doesn't work. Soames is frustrated that Irene shuts him out of her life and her bed -- even more so when he learns that she is in love with sexy, arty architect Bosinney, who is building them a new house.
Soames rapes Irene and ruins Bosinney. His marriage falls into ruins, and Bosinney is killed in a car accident. So Irene leaves permanently, living in an apartment by herself. Then Soames announces that he wants to marry a pretty French girl, Annette, and Irene weds Soames' cousin. But the problems of the older generation get inherited by the younger one -- Soames's daughter falls madly in love with Irene's son, but their parents' secret pasts doom their love.
Three novels ("A Man of Property," "In Chancery," and "To Let"), connected with two short stories ("Indian Summer of a Forsyte" and "Awakening") -- it's a pretty big story, sprawling over three generations and four decades. It's a bit soapy, with all the scandal and family weirdness, but the dignified writing keeps it from seeming sordid.
It's a credit to Galsworthy that he can communicate so much without ever getting into his characters' heads. He displays emotion in undemonstrative people like Irene through little mannerisms and twitches. At the same time, he can give us heartrending looks into aging patriarch Old Jolyon's lonely mind. His writing is very nineteenth century, dignified and with plenty of furniture/clothing details. It's pretty dense, but all right once you get used to it.
Galsworthy was a solid supporter of women's rights, and you can see in Irene and Soames' relationship -- Soames, who sees his wife as another piece of property, and the determined Irene who only wants her own happiness, but can't afford to live on her own. Their respective kids Jon and Fleur are nice but kind of boring beside their darker, more intense parents.
For a look at the social shifts that helped define the twentieth century, take a look at the "Forsyte Saga." Or if you just want to soak in a tale of family woe, love, hate and dark secrets, "Saga" still works.
Rating:
Summary: The first of the great British family sagas
Review: Galsworthy was the first to borrow the term "saga" from the Nordic epic poems to apply to a lengthy novelistic study of a family: the trilogy, his masterpiece, influenced more writers in this century than probably can be counted (most eminently Robert Graves and -- in THE YEARS -- Virginia Woolf). Although it very quickly went out of fashion among the modernist writers of his time, THE FORSYTE SAGA has remained a popular hit, inspiring no less than two famous BBC mini-series. And it's the real deal: I can think of few novel cycles that are as satisfying or as eminently readable, much less that are as minutely crafted. (The continuing themes of possesion and death cycle throughout the saga in such fascinating ways that it is almost impossible to believe Galsworthy wrote the first novel, THE MAN OF PROPERTY, without intending to build a trilogy out of it.) The best edition in print seems to be the Oxford World's Classics edition in that it comes with an indispensable family tree.
Rating:
Summary: Edge of your seat read
Review: I have read most of the great novels and i find this to be far superior to many considered part of the essential western canon. The psychology, subtlety of narrative and memorable characters (Old Jolyon being my favorite in a book chock full of interesting characters) are all above and beyond most novels i have read. There is something wonderful about the scale of the novel and I would often find myself weeping while reading this- people often create their own tragedies and those moments are worth reading about. Simply perfect.
Rating:
Summary: The denizens of a 19th century superpower -the
Review: I read the Forsyte saga while I was in college - and was instantly hooked. John Galsworthy wormholes you into a different
world and time, but as the essence and humanity of his characters unfold, they are extremely familiar even in todays world. What is it about a grand passion that weakens a man of formidable integrity,rigid morals and conservative politics? Irenes forced subjugation to the marital bed leaves pangs, but her beauty is a sinister seduction to all who encounter it, so one falls short of empathy with her... A booming economy, a strong parliament, living in the lap of luxury in the worlds premier city of the time.. can you say AMERICA today? And yet,
are we not prisoners of our societal mores? Soames and Irene were
both prisoners in a marriage - Irenes captivity was more obvious,
but he was no less a prisoner - trapped in a passion -shared by
most men - looked at her he really could not see why she did
not return his feelings, and was terrified of losing her, because he was scared of being lonely. Montague and Winifred, Jolyon and Helen - all of them kind of in the same boat. And in the end, the man with the strongest character committed the biggest crime. Or did he? Did Jolyon and Irene not commit a larger crime when they wilfully transferred the feud down to a
generation? Soames and his daughter in the end came to terms with
their life much better than the more "likeable" characters. John Galsworthy and all his books on the Forsytes read like a treatise on marriage, relationships and a life in society that we must all live in. Ostracism was terrible at the time - it could really ruin lives, and it can even today. He writes about it in its true light and heinousness. I love this series and the
ensuing trilogy - The White Monkey, The Silver Spoon and Swan Song. It gives me great pleasure to post this review. For a decade almost, John Galsworthy was a staple of my reading "diet".
Rating:
Summary: Forsyte Saga - a well awarded but oft forgotten classic
Review: I'll make this short and to the point. I'm quite the avid reader, but usually I don't enjoy books of this nature, opting for fantasy and sci-fi escapism instead. This story is just beautifully told though. The subtleties of the characters and the twisting lives of the Forsyte family are fascinating and makes this one helluva a page turner. I was hooked immediately. I honestly believe that people of all ages will love this book, and I urge you to give it a shot! I know sometimes that novels taking place in this particular era can seem daunting for those of us who crave more "Adventure! Action!" type books, but there is no lack of excitement here!
Rating:
Summary: Not Just a Victorian Relic
Review: It has been decades since I last lost myself in The Forsyte Saga, and this time around, I was amazed at the quality of the writing, its delicacy, its nuance, its depth of feeling and sympathy for an era that was long-gone even at the time of its first writing.John Galsworthy's tale of an upper-class English family spanned three novels and two "interludes," all of which make up what we think of as the "saga." Each is a look at the Forsytes, whose family god is property, as they live and die during England's Victorian days up to and including its waning powers after World War I. The story of Soames Forsyte, desperately and tragically in love with his wife, the beautiful Irene, forms the backdrop. Although Soames is supposed to be the enemy--cold, forbidding, and capable of raping his own wife to claim his "rights as a husband," nevertheless, I have always felt sorry for him, especially in this reading. Would he have been a different man if Irene could have loved him back? Would he have softened, become more human, more able to feel happiness? In later books, he is loved back by his only daughter Fleur (by his second wife), but by then he is too set in his ways to change. And Irene...the modern-day Helen of Troy. The beauty who breaks men's hearts without even knowing it...could she help being so terribly cold to Soames? With her warm, loving nature, could she possibly have found it in herself to love her exact opposite? That dilemma continues through the generations to culminate in a truly intense tragedy involving Irene's only son and Soames' only daughter. I am so glad to have revisited this book once again and seeing it with new eyes. It is so much more than a mere melodrama, and the quality of Galsworthy's writing is much more talented than I had ever realized. The Forsyte Saga should be included among the masterpieces of a certain era. It has the universal truth and staying power that is deserving of status as a true classic.
Rating:
Summary: Savory and a delicious read
Review: Mr. Galsworthy serves up the Forsyte Saga as a sumptuous meal of rich descriptions and savory characters in delightful, bite-size pieces. It is a long read, however, because of such rich character development, these people and their personalities become a subliminal attachment to the reader's circle of friends and acquaintances. Its okay if one is unable to read continuously, because one knows their secrets and stories will keep, and every bit of gossip and story will be saved for the next installment. Galsworthy's story literally leaves the reader hungering for the rest of the story.
Why? Galsworthy brillantly reveals the strengths and weaknesses of each of the primary players. While he exposes Soames arrogance and pride, he also reveals Soames confusion, denial, and disbelief, thereby humanising the otherwise 'man of property.' When Irene suggests to Soames the option of dissolving their marriage before they have married, that is, if she is unhappy, one is prompted to read on, carefully, for the clues that explain and support how this might occur. Indeed, this is an oldie... but like a fabulous dessert, it is worth the wait.
Rating:
Summary: Savory and a delicious read
Review: Mr. Galsworthy serves up the Forsyte Saga as a sumptuous meal of rich descriptions and savory characters in delightful, bite-size pieces. It is a long read, however, because of such rich character development, these people and their personalities become a subliminal attachment to the reader's circle of friends and acquaintances. Its okay if one is unable to read continuously, because one knows their secrets and stories will keep, and every bit of gossip and story will be saved for the next installment. Galsworthy's story literally leaves the reader hungering for the rest of the story.
Why? Galsworthy brillantly reveals the strengths and weaknesses of each of the primary players. While he exposes Soames arrogance and pride, he also reveals Soames confusion, denial, and disbelief, thereby humanising the otherwise 'man of property.' When Irene suggests to Soames the option of dissolving their marriage before they have married, that is, if she is unhappy, one is prompted to read on, carefully, for the clues that explain and support how this might occur. Indeed, this is an oldie... but like a fabulous dessert, it is worth the wait.
Rating:
Summary: Read It And Weep...
Review: This body of works has moved me unlike any other. I have re-read the Forsyte Saga over and over again. Each time, I am brought to tears. Sadness over Irene's situation and then by the end, for Soames, who wanted nothing more than to love her and lavish upon her all that he could. When Irene and Young Jolyon marry, you want all the best for them, even knowing the pain Soames feels. Throughout the entire history of this family, you share their joys, sorrows and even a little bit of laughter. You just can't help loving Aunts Ann, Julia & Hester. You'll never regret the reading of these books. It took me 4 yrs. of searching thrift stores in order to have all 3 hardbacks. I've never had more fun searching for something!
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