|
Editorial Review Product Description
This monumental trilogy by the Nobel Prize-winning author chronicles the lives of three generations of an upper-middle-class London family obsessed with money and respectability. The Forsyte Saga enormously influenced views held by Americans and Europeans of Victorian and Edwardian life and it remains an excellent contribution to social history and literary art. ... Read more Customer Reviews (5) 
The British at their peak
Everyone's heard of "The Forsyte Saga," the BBC family epic of the late Victorian Age. Fewer have read the Galsworthy book, and that's a shame, because it's fascinating on so many levels.
On the surface it's the story of Soames Forsyte, the quintessential icon of the growth of the upper middle classes and the decline of the nobility during the Victorian era. Descended from a farmer in Dorset in the not-too-distant past, Soames is a lawyer and a man of property. He buys wisely, sells more wisely, and husbands his wealth and that of the family.He is in control of everything that affects him, except one thing--his wife. Desiring to possess the sensitive, beautiful, genteel but poor Irene, and with the help of a callous mother, Soames pressures Irene into becoming his wife. From this single mistake, the one time Soames let passion rule, his life and the lives of his family and their descendants are changed in unpredictable and frightening ways. Galsworthy's theme is the constant tussle in life between property and art, love and possession, freedom and convention. In the fine tradition of family sagas, these themes play themselves out over and over with each generation.
On another level, this is the story of an age, the story of the British Empire at its peak. Galsworthy packs his book with allusions to the great crises of the time, the Boer War and WWI, the rise of Labour, the death of the Queen, the spread of "democracy." The Forsyte homes are meticulously detailed, from the French reproduction furniture to the dusty sofas to the heavy drapes, to the fireplace grate, to the electric lights in the old chandeliers. Soames collects art, and Galsworthy showers us with the opinions of a British gentleman of the great and not so great art of the day.
The saga was written over a period of many years, and on yet another level I found the the changes in Galsworthy's style from the rather clipped, detailed recitations of events and commentary typical of the 19th century to the more expressive style of the 20th. Especially in the first volume of the three, family relationships are painstakingly laid out, the rounds of dinners and family gatherings carefully chronicled. By the third volume, To Let, Galsworthy reveals the love of the countryside and the pain of repressed emotions that the family members a generation ago would have hidden. The writing is very beautiful--as in this sentence: "Fleur raised her eyelids--the restless glint of those clear whites remained on Holly's vision as might the flutter of a caged bird's wings." It took me a good six weeks to plow through The Forsyte Saga, but it was worth it.
The bourgeoisie triumphant- splendor and hypocrisy!
I really had trouble putting this book down. It is excellent for summer reading, especially on a cruise to Bermuda during martini happy hour. The rise of an English middle class family to power and prestige is fascinating to me because no matter how sophisticated they become they are still very practical about money and investments, unlike the old aristocracy. The compromise of the beautiful Irene for the sake of wealth resulting in the unhappiness of her nightmarish first marriage to Soames, is something with which modern women, who must often compromise their personal wishes for financial reasons, can identify. Soames is a character whom everyone despises and yet I felt myself pitying him in the end, because in spite of his great wealth he is cheated of true love and so is his child. If anything, this book shows how the mistakes of the parents can truly damage the lives of their children. My favorite character was old Jolyon, whose love and generosity ennobles him in a way that money never can.
Lack of likeable characters...
When I first started reading this book, I simply could not get into it. I ploughed through most of "The Man of Property" before I finally was able to get into the story, and even then I find myself wondering if I only finished the book because I have never not done so.
As for the characters...Soames is nothing short of detestable, and Irene simply got on my nerves. Out of the rest of the characters, the only two who truly stuck out to me were the Old and Young Jolyons, and I am sure I only liked them because they were the least "Forsyte-ish" of the whole cast.
This novel may have been named one of the great romantic sagas ever, its author may have won the Nobel Prize, but I simply cannot place it up there with works by the likes of Jane Austen and Henry James.
Family saga for all tastes
The first volume of "The Forsyte Saga" contains three novels and two interludes between each. It chronicles the lives of the Forsyte family between more than 30 years. In his narrative, John Galsworthy deals not only with the family's fortunes but also the society of their time, and its changes.
"The Man of Property" is the first novel of the monumental Forsyte Saga and in the beginning the writer spends some time creating his environment where those Forsyte will inhabit.
The first chapters turn out to be the more descriptive in the book. Not only does he introduces the most important members of the family, but he also describe their moral-social relationships -- that count much more than their blood relations.
Once Galsworthy feels that his characters are established -- and it doesn't take too many pages, as a matter of fact -- he starts the narrative per se, although a slight plot has been developed from the beginning.
"The Man of Property" concerns more on old Jolyon Forsyte's life and his son and his nephew Soames and Soames' wife, Irene (one of the most unforgettable characters in the saga). Soames is the man of property, but not only has he got unanimated properties but he also considers himself the owner of Irene. She will involve herself with another man, and this love affair will affect the all Forsytes in some levels.
This novel is a great beginning for Galsworthy's saga, with vivid characters, a well-built plot and charming writing. While the writer is developing the family affairs, he has the chance to portray the changes in the high society life in the early XX Century in England.
In the second installment of "The Forsyte Saga", the writer reassumes the life of the Forsyte family. "In Chancery" is situated a few years after the events told in "The Man of Property", in a few pages recaps some of the most important facts of the first book and their aftermath. After that he is able to move on.
And on he moves -- but the narrative still concerns on young Jolyon, Soames and Irene that forms a love triangle. While the remaining Jolyon become a close friend to Irene, her ex-husband --from whom she hasn't divorced in all those years -- fells jealous and considers claiming his wife back.
Needless to say that this is not the only plot in the novel. Galsworthy develops more family plots. It is impossible not to have the feeling that while he is sometimes depicting the shallowness of the elite from his time, at the same time he has an indulgent look upon the rich and wealthy -- which is not a bad thing as a matter of fact.
Those who like "The Man of Property" will certainly find more pleasure in "In Chancery". He finishes the book with the perfect hook what will come next.
For those who liked "The Man of Property" "In Chancery", "To Let" is a treat. At this point we are in a transition. The old school of Forytes (Jolyon, Soames...) is about to `resign', while new folks are starting to assume the power and the money (Jolyon's third son, Soames' daughter...). The very old Forsyte school, by the way, is already history.
"To Let" is a novel of transition; it is as if the parents are passing the command to their kids -- at least in terms of narrative. That is why old plots (Irene, Somaes, Jolyon) and new ones are in the center of the narrative.
The story is set some twenty years after the ending of "In Chancery", Soames' and Jolyon's kids are virtually adults but they don't know the plot involving their parents (the story of the first and second novel) and are ready to fall in love. It is not surprise that Fleur (Jolyon's French kid) will fall in love with Jon (Jolyon's third son also named Jolyon).
But their main obstacle is not the fact that they are cousins, but the relations from the past. The narrative will focus on this Romeo and Juliet-esque couple whose union --or separation-- lies in a secret hidden in the past.
Those who have reached the third installment in the saga are those who have liked it and are looking forward to see what will happen to the Forsyte. So it is no mystery that Galsworthy exploits the family changes as a shadow of the change in their society --set about the 20's of the XX Century. As Britain Empire declines, so does the power of the Forsytes that cannot avoid their hidden skeletons.
Sprawling
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.
... Read more |
