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A review by mish_ren
The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd
5.0
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Set in southern England's New Forest, The Forest traces the lives of people from different Forest families throughout 1000 years. Each section of the book encounters a new time period with a new generation of people, who are the descendants of those from previous sections. Armed with a map and a family tree in the front of the book, it illustrates how history can be forgotten by following generations, but also each little mark we make in the world can be lasting.
I really enjoyed this book. It was very nice to see how your favorite characters from a previous section still had a part to play indirectly in the current section. Sections would jump from a story of Normans and Saxons coexisting in 1099, to 1294 with a monastery with monks who have to make decisions, to a story about fathers, sons and the sea in 1480, to the effect of the Spanish threat in 1587, to 1635 with the English Civil War and its tragic effect on families, to a story about dealing with past demons and love in 1794, to the transformation of the forest due to the Industrial Revolution in 1868. The entire story was framed by a woman in 2000 looking for a news story and finding her roots.
One aspect I also liked about this story was how Rutherfurd alluded to events and details that were left to be explained until further in the text. With the family tree in the front, while helpful, it became tempting to just look at it to see if someone ends up having a kid or who they end up marrying. But with details alluded to but left as mini cliffhangers, it made it a very a compelling read. He managed to tell an event through the eyes of everyone involved to allow the reader a 360 degree understanding of the book.
My only complaint is that it was so very long that it sometimes became tedious to read. I blame that on the length of books I'm used to reading though, so I will not count that against the book. At points, the writing was very description heavy and it was difficult to read through it all to eventually get to the action of the story.
Overall, a wonderful historic and compelling read that I would recommend to any history lover or someone who simply enjoys a more intricate story.
Set in southern England's New Forest, The Forest traces the lives of people from different Forest families throughout 1000 years. Each section of the book encounters a new time period with a new generation of people, who are the descendants of those from previous sections. Armed with a map and a family tree in the front of the book, it illustrates how history can be forgotten by following generations, but also each little mark we make in the world can be lasting.
I really enjoyed this book. It was very nice to see how your favorite characters from a previous section still had a part to play indirectly in the current section. Sections would jump from a story of Normans and Saxons coexisting in 1099, to 1294 with a monastery with monks who have to make decisions, to a story about fathers, sons and the sea in 1480, to the effect of the Spanish threat in 1587, to 1635 with the English Civil War and its tragic effect on families, to a story about dealing with past demons and love in 1794, to the transformation of the forest due to the Industrial Revolution in 1868. The entire story was framed by a woman in 2000 looking for a news story and finding her roots.
One aspect I also liked about this story was how Rutherfurd alluded to events and details that were left to be explained until further in the text. With the family tree in the front, while helpful, it became tempting to just look at it to see if someone ends up having a kid or who they end up marrying. But with details alluded to but left as mini cliffhangers, it made it a very a compelling read. He managed to tell an event through the eyes of everyone involved to allow the reader a 360 degree understanding of the book.
My only complaint is that it was so very long that it sometimes became tedious to read. I blame that on the length of books I'm used to reading though, so I will not count that against the book. At points, the writing was very description heavy and it was difficult to read through it all to eventually get to the action of the story.
Overall, a wonderful historic and compelling read that I would recommend to any history lover or someone who simply enjoys a more intricate story.