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bluestjuice's review against another edition
2.0
Eh. This sequel I've read once before, and I didn't remember being impressed, but a reread solidified that opinion for me. It follows on after Tomlinson's The Forestwife only fifteenish years in the future, and focuses on John and Emma's daughter Magda as the youthful main character, since Marian is now in her mid-thirties and far too old to appeal to a YA audience, I guess. Unfortunately, Magda is not very well-developed nor likable as a character - while Marian spent The Forestwife developing her confidence and wisdom from the years of fifteen to eighteen or twenty, and her initial ignorance as a manor-raised natural child is quickly replaced, Magda has been raised in the Forestwife's hidden clearing, which means everything about living as an outlaw in the forest already comes naturally to her and she has all the petulance and none of the humility of a teenager who is able to recognize they have growing to do. She also (unenviably) occupies the spot of John's beloved only child, so her adventures are characterized mainly by this dynamic of overprotectiveness on his (and sometimes Marian's) part and Magda's rebelliousness against that.
All that is an unfortunate enough footing to begin on, but the story is further marred by failing to maintain certain thematic and tonal choices from the first novel, instead veering into more conventional and therefore more unsatisfying story ruts. Magda has a potential love interest, and this relationship is utterly disappointing because it's poorly developed and seems to have little to do with either character's personality aside from their proximity and being roughly in the appropriate age ranges to be paired off. The elegant balance between pagan-esque rites and the formal role of the church that I enjoyed previously has devolved into a much more unnuanced portrayal that heavily romanticizes the pagan elements (I can't say how accurately) and seems to conflate organized religion with the rest of law and order (which are obviously bad, in an outlaws-living-in-the-forest novel) in a disappointing way. Mother Veronica, the independent abbess with a deep but non-sexual or non-romantic attachment to Brother James in the first novel, somehow morphs into an abbess with a lifelong courtly love attachment to a previously-unmentioned leprous knight, both of whom have decided to devote their lives to God rather than marry each other, yet are still in love. Tomlinson continues her focus on telling stories about strong medieval women, but altogether this book just doesn't succeed as well as the previous. In large part I think much of the lack is that neither Marian nor Eleanor is well placed to fill the enormous role left empty by Agnes in the heart of the story.
Also, this is a petty quibble, but the title and its use within the story are essentially meaningless, and that annoys me. It's a throwaway mention and has no business being the title of this book.
Alas.
I'm going to read the final book in the series, because I didn't even know it existed until last month and had an out-of-print copy shipped specially from the UK in order to find out what's in it, but yeah. It's interesting hearing what happens to the characters in the future, but otherwise this book, and probably the next one unless I miss my guess, is a pass.
All that is an unfortunate enough footing to begin on, but the story is further marred by failing to maintain certain thematic and tonal choices from the first novel, instead veering into more conventional and therefore more unsatisfying story ruts. Magda has a potential love interest, and this relationship is utterly disappointing because it's poorly developed and seems to have little to do with either character's personality aside from their proximity and being roughly in the appropriate age ranges to be paired off. The elegant balance between pagan-esque rites and the formal role of the church that I enjoyed previously has devolved into a much more unnuanced portrayal that heavily romanticizes the pagan elements (I can't say how accurately) and seems to conflate organized religion with the rest of law and order (which are obviously bad, in an outlaws-living-in-the-forest novel) in a disappointing way. Mother Veronica, the independent abbess with a deep but non-sexual or non-romantic attachment to Brother James in the first novel, somehow morphs into an abbess with a lifelong courtly love attachment to a previously-unmentioned leprous knight, both of whom have decided to devote their lives to God rather than marry each other, yet are still in love. Tomlinson continues her focus on telling stories about strong medieval women, but altogether this book just doesn't succeed as well as the previous. In large part I think much of the lack is that neither Marian nor Eleanor is well placed to fill the enormous role left empty by Agnes in the heart of the story.
Also, this is a petty quibble, but the title and its use within the story are essentially meaningless, and that annoys me. It's a throwaway mention and has no business being the title of this book.
Alas.
I'm going to read the final book in the series, because I didn't even know it existed until last month and had an out-of-print copy shipped specially from the UK in order to find out what's in it, but yeah. It's interesting hearing what happens to the characters in the future, but otherwise this book, and probably the next one unless I miss my guess, is a pass.
lara_bookella's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Se il primo romanzo segue più che altro le vicende di Marian, il secondo segue le avventure di Magda. È ben scritto e bello quanto il primo, ma l'ho letto con un pizzico di entusiasmo in meno perché Magda non mi è piaciuta quanto Marian, che qui resta sullo sfondo e ciononostante resta la mia preferita.
Ci sono moltissimi elementi meravigliosi di trama e contesto, i piani coraggiosi per liberare i malcapitati, l’ordine dei cavalieri, Fitzranulf e i nuovi personaggi mi sono piaciuti molto, ma trovo che sia un tipico “secondo libro” da trilogia, senza l’entusiasmo dei primi e senza l’epicità dei terzi.
Ci sono moltissimi elementi meravigliosi di trama e contesto, i piani coraggiosi per liberare i malcapitati, l’ordine dei cavalieri, Fitzranulf e i nuovi personaggi mi sono piaciuti molto, ma trovo che sia un tipico “secondo libro” da trilogia, senza l’entusiasmo dei primi e senza l’epicità dei terzi.
etkahler's review
3.0
It was wonderful to return to the world of The Forestwife. While I would have prefered more of Marian (though, I enjoyed getting to see her interact with her mother), Magda was still likeable and her story satisfying. Tomlinson again does a great job of presenting realistic problems to our little band of heroes.
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