Those of the Forest

by Wallace Byron Grange, Olaus Johan Murie (Illustrator)

Recounts the experiences of the forest animals as they face the changing conditions brought about by the seasons

Genres: Nature

314 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[Amy Moritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott lent me this book. "Be very careful with it," he said. Though the book itself is not a "collector's edition" it is difficult to find and precious to him. "I think you'll like it.

Nope. I loved it.

(There are spoilers in this, but since I am fairly certain no one will actually read the book based on my review, I feel good with that. Nonetheless, you've been warned.)

The book is about life in the forest as told through the eyes of Snowshoe, the rabbit. That is until snowshoe is killed by an owl. (Scott didn't see that coming. I kinda did.) We then continue our journey through the seasons in the forest through his son, Lepus.

On one level, it's an amazing tale of life in the forest, of the interplay, and at times surprising interdependence, of the creatures of the forest. Taken on face value, it's an amazing piece of naturalist writing. Yet, I see much of the book as an allegory. It's deeply philosophical at times, forcing the reader (hey, that's me) to really look not only at the natural world but the way in which I approach living in the world, as simultaneously a significant and insignificant cog in the cosmos. Repeatedly, Grange writes about the "will to live" which is more than just habit, more than just drawing breath. He poses amazing questions, like how do beavers know how to build a dam? Habit? Sure. But who taught them. How do they know? And the adaptation of the snowshoe rabbit, which changes the color of its fur to match the seasons, it does not will to do so. Yet it wills to live.

"How shall it be known when winter ends and spring begins? Those of the forest require no answer. Is it not enough that, from the beginning, each day has come, bringing its own satisfactions, changes, successes, failures, progressions; the wilderness ever-renewed, ever-living; each day to its own, sufficient?"

"Spring enfolds the promise of life, when the few again become many, and the earth is filled with song."

"Life, always, is a part of him, and he a part of it. Perhaps it is not a struggle so much as it is an experience which he passes through, dealing with it according to his own habits long tested and proved by the experiences of so many others."

"None live by chance alone -- but by struggle. Yet the success or failure of their struggles is never solely of their own determining -- for a seemingly random element inheres in all individual lives. Who can, or shall, separate the one from the other?"

"What long prospect of time, even in this present moment, is in the life of Lepus? For what has become of all the lives of his ancestors? Are their experiences not within him?

[Jessica Sedgwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a natural history epic. Though fiction it reads almost like a nonfiction book. This book teleports us into a small area that follows the lives of several Snowshoe Hares.
While I was reading this I felt like I had been transported into a BBC documentary; such as a Planet Earth episode.
Parts of this book were a bit long winded (and I mean long winded) and at times the author seemed to be repeating himself. But, it's such a beautifully written book, novel, that this didn't take away the pleasure of reading. Which is why I still gave it five stars despite some of the repetitiveness.
It was almost like poetry, just so beautiful and breathtaking, and I was hooked right from the get go.
Some would call this book boring, and I admit that this book was something I wouldn't normally read, but I found it to be fantastic.
If you call yourself a nature lover (or even an animal lover) I recommend that you pick this book up. It opens your eyes and it gets you thinking.
Bravo to this author. I am so very happy that I picked this up and read it.

[Jane Somers]

Though super detailed and mostly slow moving, I loved learning about the zillions of living things in the forest and how they interact. My favorites were the antlions and the wasp that lays its eggs in a stunned caterpillar. (I mean yuck, but amazing.)
The passage about the beaver reminded me that I had a book about beavers, Eager by Ben Goldfarb, in my Audible library, so now I’m listening to that too.

[Marina Richie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic natural history writing, winner of a John Burroughs Medal (like my book, Halcyon Journey, In Search of the Belted Kingfisher). The writing may seem old-fashioned and slow for some, but the author has a brilliant way of zooming out to the infinite (the universe) and then to the intimate (animals in a wild forest). The natural history is engaging and excellent too.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at what goes on in the forest in a realistic way, not just from the rabbit's viewpoint but many other animals. A little too much detail sometimes made it boring in some spots but it would only be a paragraph or so out of a whole chapter. A lot of his information came from his winters of live--trapping snowshoe hares and his many, many years as an ecologist.