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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
This is the sort of historical fiction I prefer: stories that try to capture what life was like for most of the people most of the time, not kings and wars. Rutherfurd's formula is to cover a broad stretch of history in a specific location. Here there are eight stories covering nine hundred years in the New Forest of England, woven together by family connections and a chain of consequences. They're about farmers and gentry, monks and smugglers, romances and boundary feuds. Political events intrude on daily life, but that's the lens they're viewed through. People are forced to choose sides in the English civil war, and suffer or benefit as a result, but most of the action happens off-stage.
This is historical world-building. The point is to show typical lives rather than exceptional ones, so the characters are more types than individuals, and the stories are more about their interactions than their inner lives. They may seem a little flat, but more complex characters would distract from what the book is about.
This is historical world-building. The point is to show typical lives rather than exceptional ones, so the characters are more types than individuals, and the stories are more about their interactions than their inner lives. They may seem a little flat, but more complex characters would distract from what the book is about.
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This Rutherfurd moved a bit faster than "Sarum," however I still think he drags these things out a bit. "Forest" is more like a series of short stories, each one moving into the later time period. There is always a thread to the past, but his tales pretty much stand alone.
Really 2.5 stars. An enjoyable portrait of the forest with some interesting tales, but I generally found it too long with too many characters. You don't spend long enough with each character to get to know them properly and with each chapter being a new short story there was not a strong enough tie between each one.
Want to know how to turn reading into a chore? Pick up this book! I thought the first hundred pages of Atlas Shrugged were awful, but I was wrong. They were a breeze compared to the entirety of this book. In the first hundred pages, I reached a point where I was flipping pages just to get through reading things written from the perspective of a deer. I’d been told this book was “epic,” but I now realize how much the colloquial meaning of that word has changed.
Wonderful how he manages to weave family descendants through compelling and quite emotional stories, all the while drawing the reader into the beauty and history of The Forest
For some reason I found this more engrossing and enjoyable than ‘London’ despite the fact it was written in much the same way, using family histories, quarrels and affairs as well as major historical events to portray life in the New Forest from its early days to the modern era. The book is divided up into various sections/periods where we follow the Prides, Furzeys and Puckles, Albions, Tottons and Seagulls as they live and breathe the Forest, its customs and traditions while trying to better their lives and the lives of their families by both legal and illegal means. This isn’t a quick read, both due to its size and due to the style of writing and storytelling as it flows along at a gentle forest pace while the world outside flows past at speed. Added to that you have Rutherfurd’s ability to bring history to life in all its glory from the biggest even to the smallest detail. Together this makes for a perfect piece of historical escapism, just be prepared for a long leisurely read not a frantic race for the finish line.
Another fantastic, brilliant, evocative and simply stunning epic story of the new forest and it’s people love love it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder