From the Bookshelf of Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die…

The Forsyte Saga (The Forsyte Chronicles, #1-3)

John Galsworthy

Start date: April 15, 2013

Finish date: May 15, 2013

Discussion: 1001 Monthly Group Read

Why we're reading this: April 2013 Group Read
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What Members Thought

Aug 22, 2008 Suvi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: _book-shelf, _favorites, 1900-1939, novels, _great-britain, cities_london

The family saga of Forsytes, who at the beginning smell an intruder amongst them (Bosinney the architect, engaged to June), examines how the far-reaching consequences of a certain love affair molds each person and generation in its own way.

The solicitor Soames considers his wife Irene as his property, the way you do with beautiful paintings that you parade in front of others. The couple's marriage suffers from Irene's indifference, which Soames of course doesn't understand, because he doesn't se The family saga of Forsytes, who at the beginning smell an intruder amongst them (Bosinney the architect, engaged to June), examines how the far-reaching consequences of a certain love affair molds each person and generation in its own way.

The solicitor Soames considers his wife Irene as his property, the way you do with beautiful paintings that you parade in front of others. The couple's marriage suffers from Irene's indifference, which Soames of course doesn't understand, because he doesn't see the desire to be free lurking behind her eyes. The elder Jolyon feels lonely and tries to patch things up with his son with the same name, who separated himself from the Forsyte family by leaving his wife and marrying another woman. The younger Jolyon seems different from the rest of the Forsytes, since he doesn't consider life as a matter of business.

People are mostly cold and selfish, but nature continues its peaceful existence. London and its surroundings are mostly described through nature: lovers embraced by the stunning fragrance of flowers, starry sky spread above the buildings on an evening of dancing, Robin Hill's lush environment etc. The eternal essence of nature makes you hope that the Forsytes would finally realise what's really important in life, but of course their practical blindness cannot be cured with beauty.

The atmosphere of the novels is delicate and lingering. Galsworthy describes perceptively the family's intertwining to the changes of the society, from the Victorian era to the energetic and modern 1920s. Old-fashioned ideals are dusted, but certain people peristently grab into the narrow-minded perception of the priorities of humanity. At first you want to feel sorry for Soames, but after a certain event it's impossible. He has been brought up in a certain kind of way in a certain kind of society, but you still want to slap him, real hard, and shake him up so that he would wake up into the reality.

In a long saga like this, some members of the family are naturally lost, but the desire to possess and taking care of own interests remain. Forgiveness, blindness, aging, women's rights... There are a lot of themes, but they form into a balanced bigger picture. A few years ago I saw the newer 21st century miniseries, but after reading this I'm no longer entirely sure that it was actually as good as I remember it to be. How can anyone capture Galsworthy's melancholic family saga into the frames of television or film?

I could endlessly try to define the effect this had on me, but I still wouldn't be able to put my feelings into words. After the last page I feel distressed, sad, relieved, wistful. Despite the many flaws the characters had it's extremely difficult to say goodbye after so many weeks of spending time with them. I can always read the whole thing again, but it will not be like it was the first time. ...more

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Aug 14, 2007 Inder rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, 19th-century, 1001-books, england

This is not a Victorian novel - it was written in the 1920s or 30s - but much of the novel takes place in Victorian times. It's the story of the Forsyte family, spanning several generations and several wars, and its obsession with "property." This has got to be one of the juiciest soap operas in print, and yet it is still full of substance and lessons for living. Watch out, it's a page turner! As much as I love reading Victorian novels, they rarely keep me up at night, but this one did on severa ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 14, 2007 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: england, alltimefavorites, fiction, edwardiannovels

One of my all time favorite books. It's long but this is the type of storytelling that you only get from a 1000 page book: plot twists, family drama over generations, and the kind of pain that you get from a lifetime of missed opportunities. I love this book. ...more

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Mar 08, 2018 Arukiyomi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books

... the writing is excellent.
At times, it is utterly sublime …

The last book of 2017 is the one and only book of the year that reaches the lofty heights of the 90%+ rating needed to enter Arukiyomi's Hall of Fame. And deservedly so. This study of a Victorian family was one of the best portraits of generations that I have ever set eyes on.

From start to finish, the writing is excellent. At times, it is utterly sublime. I don't think I will ever forget the passage at the end of The Indian Summ ...more

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Feb 03, 2009 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: classic-fiction, british-literature

I really enjoyed this book and it got more and more intriguing as the story built. While it is certainly a saga about a large family it focuses primarily on two specific branches and even more specifically on how one relationship established at the beginning of the book affects lives for about 35 years afterward. Sometimes the foreshadowing can be a little heavy handed but even though I could guess at what would happen next I was always intrigued by how the story arrived there. I also read this ...more

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