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Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.)'s Reviews > The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga
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Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.)'s review
bookshelves: british-literature, historical-fiction, read-in-2009, british-authors-translators, my-western-canon, nobel-nba-booker-pulitzer-hugo
Aug 04, 2009
bookshelves: british-literature, historical-fiction, read-in-2009, british-authors-translators, my-western-canon, nobel-nba-booker-pulitzer-hugo
This is a titanic masterpiece of a multi-generational story of a fictional English family that spans the Victorian, Edwardian, and post-World War I eras. For the first one-hundred pages or so, I found myself having to frequently refer to the Forsyte family genealogical chart; however, by the end of the book I knew all of the characters and their place in the family intimately. Like all families, Galsworthy has created a world of very real and human characters in the Forsyte family; a family bound as much by their name, and at times even their dysfunction. Many of the novel's characters exhibit the full range of emotion and feeling, including: love, greed, hatred, passion, jealousy, lust, truth, honesty, betrayal, and so forth; it is all there within this family - The Forsytes. Once started, I could not put this book down easily; it is that compelling. I fully understand why John Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932. For those who love novels of and about England, The Forsyte Saga is a must read.
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Reading Progress
August 4, 2009
– Shelved
Started Reading
August 9, 2009
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Finished Reading
November 4, 2009
– Shelved as:
british-literature
November 4, 2009
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
May 27, 2010
– Shelved as:
read-in-2009
December 14, 2012
– Shelved as:
british-authors-translators
December 14, 2012
– Shelved as:
my-western-canon
December 14, 2012
– Shelved as:
nobel-nba-booker-pulitzer-hugo
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Gabriele
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rated it 4 stars
Aug 09, 2009 03:43PM
I really enjoyed the books as well. (A series of books when I bought them decades ago. Are they in one novel now?). They were among the favourites of my British grandfather-in-law, who was born in 1882. I expect that he could relate to those books, as he grew up in that society.
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Gabriele wrote: "I really enjoyed the books as well. (A series of books when I bought them decades ago. Are they in one novel now?). They were among the favourites of my British grandfather-in-law, who was born in..."Gabriele, the edition I have (the Barnes and Noble Library of Essential Reading) has the three novels separated by two "Interludes" more like novellas that smooth the transition from novel to novel. An absolutely fabulous collections. What a plot!
Christopher, thanks for the great review here. I enjoyed this quite some time ago, but not quite in the Nobel Prize sort of thing. Of course, that could quite possibly be my lack, rather than Galsworthy's.I thought his portrayal of Soames Forsyte was amazing in its fullness...in a more ordinary novel, Soames would have been simply one of those characters we love to hate, rather than a person we might actually encounter in real life. In fact, I thought his ability to create living characters far outshone (outshined? Surely not.) his plotting. But again, that may be my somewhat jaded opinion, formed by way too many Victorian novels.
I love many things about these books. The loved the father and son Jolyons.
Sarah wrote: "I love many things about these books. The loved the father and son Jolyons."Isn't that the truth, the two Jolyons are just wonderful men -- from fore to aft. Excellent observation! Cheers! Chris
Christopher, I corrected the spelling of the title.
Jamie wrote: "Christopher, I corrected the spelling of the title."Well, bless me buttons! That didn't take long at all! Thank you, Jamie; that's terrific! Cheers! Chris
Love the Forsytes! (And I'm in the Pro- Irene camp! ;))
Watched the series on Roku , Netflix. Very good. Now I have to read the book!
You're right - a titanic work. But you don't mention how funny Galsworthy is. :-)
For all I know The Forsyth Saga may be as good as you say. However, I confess I gave up on the first page when the author, presumably thinking he is being clever, observes that 'psychology' (in the context simply meaning knowledge of human nature, not as in Freud and Jung) was of no interest to the Forsyths as it is nothing to do with making money. I thought, what an utterly stupid thing to say! I struggle to think of any likely way to make money in which some understanding of other people's psychology would not be useful!
