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77th out of 141 books
—
249 voters
Green Mansions (Modern Library)
A failed revolutionary attempt drives the hero of Hudson's novel to seek refuge in the primeval forests of south-western Venezuela. There, in the `green mansion' of the title, Abel encounters the wood-nymph Rima, the last survivor of a mysterious aboriginal race. The love that flowers between them is soon overshadowed by cruelty and sorrow. One of the acknowledged masters...more
Hardcover, 303 pages
Published
1944
by Random House
(first published 1904)
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When I was studying Jungian psychology, many years ago, I came across this book which hangs its narrative upon his "night journey" concept (a prevalent theme in books and films including Coppala's Apocalypse Now, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Oliver Stone's Platoon), that of a journey into the self personified by a physical reality, a jungle, dessert, cave etc. In this reality lies a shadow figure to be overcome/slain/or fallen to, representative of the hero's unrecognized unconscious,...more
Oct 29, 2009
Rose
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Rose by:
My husband
Shelves:
classics
A nice romantic and unusual story set in Victorian era in the forests of Venzuela. Interesting narrative, a bit difficult to get into, however it's worth it if you are patient.
I am actually revising this review. After being done with this book after a few days, I realize that I am still thinking about it and when that happens, I need to re-evaluate my feelings.
I think I finally get this story. This is about nature vs man, Rima is our representation of nature. SHe is everything beautiful, innocen...more
I am actually revising this review. After being done with this book after a few days, I realize that I am still thinking about it and when that happens, I need to re-evaluate my feelings.
I think I finally get this story. This is about nature vs man, Rima is our representation of nature. SHe is everything beautiful, innocen...more
I read a reference to this book on a birding blog —Hudson was a founding member of the RSPB and many of the earliest bird records for Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are thanks to him—and since it was available from Project Gutenberg, I was curious enough to download it and give it a try. Since it was described in that blog post as a rather daft Victorian romantic novel, I wasn't expecting much, but my curiosity was raised further by the introduction to the Gutenberg edition, written in 1915 by...more
Feb 10, 2011
Judy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
classic fiction fans
Shelves:
20th-century-fiction
Considered W H Hudson's masterpiece and promoted as an exotic romance, Green Mansions lived up to its reputation. An old man, Mr Abel, tells his tale to a close friend. Mr Abel, a Venezuelan, had become embroiled in a political plot to overthrow his government back when he was an unwise young man of twenty-three. The plot was discovered, forcing him to flee for his life. Consequently he spent some years wandering the jungle and living with savages.
Mr Abel met a mysterious young woman who besid...more
Mr Abel met a mysterious young woman who besid...more
3 likes · like · see review
I read this classic in high school, but got much more out of my recent re-reading. It is so relevant today. Due to all of the current political choas, it is tempting to withdraw from society, as I have and continue to do so in books.
A man in South America withdraws from Caracas after a failed political coupe. He indulges his spirit of adventure and goes into the forest and jungles of South America. He comes upon a tribe of natives that distrust and hate a girl (Rima) who loves nature and does n...more
A man in South America withdraws from Caracas after a failed political coupe. He indulges his spirit of adventure and goes into the forest and jungles of South America. He comes upon a tribe of natives that distrust and hate a girl (Rima) who loves nature and does n...more
2 likes · like · see review
Read the Reader's Digest Condensed Books version when I was an adolescent and then went after the unalloyed book to revisit it. I fell quite in love with it then and that feeling still arises when I see the title. I haven't read it in many, many years though.
We have a RIMA in our book club. Her mother loved the book. A generation later, I loved the book. Now I am trying to remember why: evocative, imaginative, mysterious jungle flora and fauna. Big mistake to read it again. Racist, misogynist, ageist, disillusioning of a fond memory. Pedophile. Is this a spoiler?
No concept of liberation theology, the author was no Che Guevara or even William Beebe, the noted naturalist of the same time period (1904) or J.M. Barrie although clearly influenced by the...more
No concept of liberation theology, the author was no Che Guevara or even William Beebe, the noted naturalist of the same time period (1904) or J.M. Barrie although clearly influenced by the...more
1 like · like · see review
If you have never heard of the book Green Mansions and didn't know it was a classic, you're not alone. Neither did I before I saw it on my library's "We Recommend" table. It certainly looked old and, on a whim, I checked it out. After looking up the title on Amazon.com and Goodreads, I realized it was, indeed, a classic and thought I'd add a lesser known, or forgotten title to my list of twenty. You know, step outside the box. Maybe help shed some light on a great old book.
Well, classics are cl...more
Well, classics are cl...more
This is an extremely well-written romance-as-jungle adventure book that hints at a bigger, more imaginative events than it actually details (the lost, higher race of jungle natives who can communicate with animals), although its casual racism dates it terribly, and the unrealistic narrative conceits it employs grates on me as a lot of those in 19th century classics so often do (Here, it's framed as a manuscript written by the narrator's friend, and the whole novel is delivered directly to that f...more
This was a unique book but somewhat sleep-inducing. It takes place in Venezuela and Guyana and since I read it soon after I was in Costa Rica I could really envision the rain forests and other scenery. The characters I was not as enamored of. Abel, who is condescending and racist, just liked to chase after nubile native women. I developed more respect for him by the end because of his devotion to his true love, Rima. Rima, on the other hand was too mystical to ever develop any affection for. All...more
Every once in a while, I'll find a book like this. Lorna Doone, or Tom Jones; Magnificent Obsession or The Bad Seed. Books that were once really popular, maybe turned into movies a long time ago, that have fallen out of fashion and/or out of print. Some of them are great (the latter two on that list), some are dull (the former two). Green Mansions is somewhere in between.
Abel and a pal try to overthrow the Venezuelan government and fail. They split and Abel goes into hiding in the Northern jungl...more
Abel and a pal try to overthrow the Venezuelan government and fail. They split and Abel goes into hiding in the Northern jungl...more
Ugh, this book was horribly disappointing. I kept waiting and waiting for it to get better, and since it was a short book, I eventually read it all the way through. The author doesn't explain anything really about Rima's fantastical attribute and characteristics, and i really hated the way he choose to end the story. It was flat and boring the whole time. My suggestion is, don't waste your time with this one. I only read it because I got it for free and it was a short, easy read. I wish I'd read...more
When I first read this book, I was strongy impressed by the description of the forest. It had little to do with my experience of forests (which were pine forests bordering forested wetlands). I remembered the forests long after I forgot any of the human characters.
When I reread the story, I was appalled by how small and isolated the forest was. A mere islet of relict forest isolated (and some ways insulated) by barren lands. I somehow missed that part. If I were to reread it again, I'd probably...more
When I reread the story, I was appalled by how small and isolated the forest was. A mere islet of relict forest isolated (and some ways insulated) by barren lands. I somehow missed that part. If I were to reread it again, I'd probably...more
Involved in a government coup, Abel Guevez de Argensola escapes from Caracas with his life into the jungles of southern Venezuela. While exploring their depths, he finds numerous aboriginal tribes and the beauty of living in what he calls, "green mansions". During one of his explorations, he finds a young girl, Rima, living alone with her grandfather, Nuflo, in the deepest parts of the jungle. Abel falls in love with Rima which sets off a chain of events that causes war between two rival tribes...more
This book was extremely interesting in every aspect. Everything pulled me in from the mysterious sightings of Rima the bird girl, to Able's mind play with the natives. I would have rated this book as a five star if not for the ending. In a way, it sort of fits the theme of the book as being deep and emotional, but still. The book would have been even more enjoyable if Able only thought Rima was dead but she wasn't. The ending is so dissatisfying and abrupt that it took away from the enjoyable qu...more
This is the jungle romance that introduces us to Rima the Jungle Girl. Rima would go on to star in her own short-lived comic book series in the seventies, followed by a few appearances on the Super Friends cartoon series. Recently she's turned up in the comic book mini-series First Wave. Given the adventurous treatment of the character in her checkered history, the reader might be set up to expect as much from her debut. Not to say sadly, but that is not the case. W. H. Hudson's novel is more of...more
When I began to reread Green Mansions recently I instantly remembered why it impressed me so much. More than most other authors Hudson is able to instill the sense of wonder through his protagonist Abel who, while living by the Orinoco river in Venezuela, is drawn to the forest lands by strange bird-like singing. There he discovers a young girl named Rima and it is her story that takes up much of the remainder of the novel. Hudson based Rima and her lost tribe on persistent rumors about a tribe...more
I was hooked for the first 3 quarters of this book and let me add I LOVE tragedies. But I love most of them because they give a lesson and perspective that the characters themselves usually don't notice. There is a reason that most tragedies end shortly after the pain starts because if not you end up with the last quarter of this book. It's raw and very real but not in a way that gives any kind of well received perspective. Altogether it was a good read but I'll probably never read it again.
Abel, a wealthy young European, leaves Caracas after a failed political revolution and finds an Indian settlement in the jungles of Venezuala. While wandering the jungle he discovers a bird-like woman, Rima, with whom he ultimately falls in love, and her grandfather, Nuflo. As time passes Abel discovers more of Rima's secrets including her past and her ancestry, all of which put Abel at as much risk as it does Rima and her grandfather.
An interesting and visual location for a Victorian romance (w...more
An interesting and visual location for a Victorian romance (w...more
In my humble opinion, this book is great. True, story, fantasy, or other - the book can be interpreted in many ways. The individual passages are mesmerizing. One chapter take you away so the other chapters are forgotten. Initially, I just happened to stumble upon the book in a used book store somewhere. The used books stores are disappearing, hopefully this review will keep up the interest.
Enjoy.
PS It was just as mystifying in a second read a few years ago.
Enjoy.
PS It was just as mystifying in a second read a few years ago.
I first read this while in high school and loved it. All I really remembered was this romantic and strange scene in which Rima's dress is made for her by a spider. To me that summed up the entire book. On re-reading I discovered that this scene took up only a paragraph of the entire book. It just shows how important a paragraph can be.
I'd rate the book lower after this reading, but since it stirred my imagination so as a teenager, I added a star back in.
I'd rate the book lower after this reading, but since it stirred my imagination so as a teenager, I added a star back in.
Set in the jungle wilds beyond the Orinoco River in the late 19th century, it is the story of a young Venezuelan who is forced to flee the country as a political exile because of his involvement in a failed political coup. He flees authorities to the remote jungle interior living among the jungle's green mansions spending years roaming, living with Indians and meets a strange young girl before finally returning to civilization.
Somewhere in my exploration of the web, I came across a favorite author’s recommendation on this novel from a much earlier era. I had read it as a young girl and the image of Rima, the strange female creature – she can’t be called entirely human, stuck with me.
On rereading the novel, its dated language or narrative is obvious, but still the author’s descriptions of the rain forest and of Rima’s powers were vivid.
On rereading the novel, its dated language or narrative is obvious, but still the author’s descriptions of the rain forest and of Rima’s powers were vivid.
Amazing, I recieved this books recomendation from a librarian due to my passion for Brit. Lit. anyhow, it exceeded my expectations. I loved the way Rima progressed into a shy woodland mnymph into the passionate lover of Abel. I found Abel to be an interesting character, but the book is difficult to immerse yourself into until Rima enters. Nonetheless this work is wonderfull I recommend it to anyone.
The novel of a Euro-Venezuelan's stay in the jungles of north-central South America and his romance with Rima, a girl of the jungle. This has been a recognized classic since it was first published and was even the basis of a super-hero comic book in the United States based on the character Rima. I learned of it through the Seattle Public Library's reading list "British Classics."
It was okay. Not my favorite. It added to the interest of the novel that I read it while in Mexico. Reading about a tropical climate while in the sweltering heat of Mexico seemed very appropriate. The heroine frusterated me a bit, very flitty, but what I apprecaite about this book is the age of it and the language and feel that you get. It was published in the early 1900's.
I read this when I was about 13 or 14, a lng time ago. this book blew me out of the water and changed me and the way I thought, think about the world. It has been a favorite forever....until I reread it, HUGE MISTAKE!!!!!! I will not reread again. I want to remember a book exactly how I remember it, the age I was, where I was in my life. period.
This was one of my mother's top five and I finally checked it out. It was written in 1904, the year she was born. The writing is florid and over the top for my taste. The Venezuelan jungle had not yet been photographed by National Geographic and so I imagine early readers enjoyed every description of the flora and fauna of such a remote area.
This is one of the very first books that I read. I remember being completely dazzled by it at a young age. It was so serene, soothing, lovely and, ultimately heart rending that it haunted me for days after I had finished. I can't say how I shall react to it if I read it now. But back then, it really impressed me.
I picked this up because I watched the first 10 minutes of the movie (it has Audrey Hepburn in it!) and was quickly bored to pieces so I thought I'd read it instead. There's a lot of OTT and dramatic Romanticism about it. The basic story line is interesting. Also bits of it seemed sort of proto-magical realism.
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William Henry Hudson was an author, naturalist and ornithologist. He was born in the Quilmes Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, where he is considered to belong to the national literature as Guillermo Enrique Hudson, the Spanish version of his name. He spent his youth studying the local flora and fauna and observing both natural and human dramas on what was then a lawless frontier, publi...more
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Jul 12, 2012 02:43pm