false 63307 20 David Guterson's <I>Our Lady of the Forest</I> navigates between the mystical and the cynical in its slowly paced telling of a Marian encounter in North Fork, Washington. The story opens in the North Fork campground among homeless mushroom pickers. The town is reeling from the loss of its logging industry, and its residents make their way by scavenging odd jobs and selling the produce of the forest. Living in the campground, 16-year-old Anne Holmes is a runaway asthmatic whose recent interest in Catholicism follows a period of petty thievery, drug use, and frequent masturbation (an interest that Guterson notes is shared by the town priest, Father Don Collins). While off on her rounds of mushrooming one morning, she encounters a bright light--the Virgin Mary, she believes. Soon, she has drawn a band of thousands as people flock to North Fork to witness the vision and be healed. But, through Carolyn Greer, a world-weary fellow-mushroom-picker who longs for nothing more than an extended vacation to "Cabo"-- readers learn that Anne actually sees nothing, or at least no one else shares the Marian apparition that gives Anne lofty commands each day. <p> At times Guterson lets his characters' pettiness, opportunism, and cynicism overrun the delicacy of Anne's world. Carolyn's vehement atheism and materialistic languor undermine what could have been a stronger counter-point to her spiritual friend. Even Father Collins, who struggles between fatherly compassion and sexual longing for the young visionary, is too full of self-loathing for readers to embrace him. Yet, the novel's exploration of Anne's abrupt and intense faith pierces the narrative and brings light to it. And as Anne's visions grow in intensity and her health begins to fail, one can't help but long for divine intervention on her behalf. <I>--Patrick O'Kelley</I> 833235 2003 Our Lady of the Forest total:846|5:58|4:193|3:332|2:186|1:77| 846 2507 1158 140 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 2 3 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 22 17:11:31 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 22:10:29 -0800 2007 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 4 1 true Fri Feb 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 10:56:25 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 06 18:45:06 -0800 2008 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 4 1 false Sat Jun 21 21:09:14 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 08:17:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 2 2 false Fri Jul 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 14:19:38 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 14:16:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 2 1 false Thu Mar 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 05 09:48:22 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 13 10:58:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 559811 0375412115 9780375412110 56 10 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175798250m/559811.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/559811.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 5 1 false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 20:04:19 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 24 19:18:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 2 0 false Fri Mar 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 07:59:39 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 12:38:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 3 0 false Tue Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Jul 26 18:59:30 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 19:03:39 -0700 2009
As a great fan of Guterson's previous novels, I was eager to read "Our Lady of the Forest." Page by page, the book has elements that please, particularly the descriptive treatment of the forest community and Guterson's literate dialog. But ultimately the bo...more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 3 0 false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 22 14:50:04 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 14:54:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 2 0 false Sun Feb 01 21:43:55 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 16 08:03:57 -0700 2009 That book had a historical setting, #1, which gave a more natural reason to explore ripples of trauma and consequences in the lives of the characters.

In this story, it struck me that Guterson just needed a sto...more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 1 1 false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 12 08:32:55 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 15:53:37 -0700 2007 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 4 0 false Mon Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 07:38:58 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 15:20:04 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 3 0 false Wed Apr 23 10:34:22 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 14 23:02:51 -0700 2007 Sat Apr 14 23:11:31 -0700 2007 Our Lady of the Flowers, which I -- uber dork -- love... Alas, Guterson is no Genet. The basic premise of this book is that a sexually abused teen girl is living homeless in the forest and subsisting peacefully...more...]]> 2703708 0739307541 9780739307540 6 2 2.96 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2703708.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 4 0 false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 06:02:40 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 06:14:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 847722 0375726578 9780375726576 36 5 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178864191m/847722.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/847722.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 3 0 false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 03:49:06 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 03:54:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2703708 0739307541 9780739307540 6 2 2.96 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2703708.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 2 0 false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed May 06 05:19:12 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 05:34:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 1 0 false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 20 20:43:49 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 20:43:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 847722 0375726578 9780375726576 36 5 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178864191m/847722.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/847722.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 3 0 false Fri Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 21:06:14 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 16:45:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 4 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jul 22 10:40:54 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 10:51:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 63307 0747568219 9780747568216 730 120 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170616900m/63307.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63307.Our_Lady_of_the_Forest 4 0 false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue Aug 25 19:44:10 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 19:46:01 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/1?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/3?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/2?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/4?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/5?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/6?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/7?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/9?book_id=7049100 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/10?book_id=7049100