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cathylpowell's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get through this, but in the end it was well worth reading.
readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
4.0
"The world was full of wonderful secrets which everybody kept to themselves without captions or close-ups to give them away!"
If I'm being honest, there was very little that I remembered about [b:the first volume|103159|The Forsyte Saga (The Forsyte Chronicles, #1-3)|John Galsworthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388286090l/103159._SY75_.jpg|842726] of The Forsythe Chronicles before diving into this next one. And because of that, I really dragged my feet through the first part or so, trying to reconnect with these characters and recall the events of the previous book.
But while it did take me some time to ease back into this world, once I did, there was really no stopping me. This book is massive, but once I got going, it never felt like that. Galsworthy keeps his chapters short, which really lulls you along into one after the other until suddenly you've reached the end of another part.
I'm usually not huge on books with a lot of different character perspectives, but Galsworthy really makes each and every shift count, allowing you to get each's point of view, but often without truly knowing what everyone is thinking, a difficult-to-strike balance which Galsworthy executes flawlessly.
I loved that each part had its own rise and fall in the narrative structure while still maintaining a sense of continuity across all three. It's not easy to weave so many characters and their lives throughout such a big book, nevertheless the other two volumes, but Galsworthy just does it so well.
The last thing I'll really express here is my love for Soames. He is the one character that really stood out in my mind from Volume One, perhaps because he is Galsworthy's protagonist in a way. But I truly think he is one of the most complex characters I've ever read — grumpy and conservative, certainly opinionated and set in his ways, yet you almost become rather fond of him the more you read of him. I think that's perhaps why
Spoiler
the ending really got to me here, in a way that an ending hasn't for quite some time. The suddenness and the drama of the house fire, combined with his determination to save his paintings, then what seemed like his ultimate safety, followed by a shocking accident where he saves the one thing he loved most in the world — his daughter Fleur.So, all in all, while I found this rather slow and a bit drudgy to begin with, I really did get into it and will absolutely be seeing this series all the way through [b:the third volume|1339223|The Forsyte Saga Volume Three Maid in waiting / Flowering wilderness / Over the river (The Forsyte Chronicles, #7-9)|John Galsworthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348595598l/1339223._SY75_.jpg|19247230].
Spoiler
What I am going to do without Soames I simply don't know,schopflin's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I read these three novels straight after each other, which was immersive and made me very attached to the characters. Each book starts slowly but draws you in, despite the shallow lives of so many of the characters. I never expected to have so much sympathy for Soames Forsyte, who is a magnificent creation. I also loved Michael Mont, Fleur less so. The social comedy is superb, and reminiscent of Trollope. Galsworthy treats the psychology differently, and it makes sense that he was contemporary with Woolf rather Dickens. This trilogy is not as immediately enticing as the first three but is well worth persevering with. And it does have a story arc that stretches back to the first book. I was not expecting that ending! I am still trying to work out whether the symbolism of the picture gallery fire and Soames getting hit on the head with the Goya isn't too clunky and cheesy or is actually just right.
aniennis's review against another edition
5.0
It is physically impossible to write a review for an entire trilogy, but I will say the two main things I have in my mind after spending almost a month and a half with the Forsyte family by my side:
- I love them deeply, and it is quite a feat because these are very flawed people, some in ways that seem irredeemable, and yet, by the end I had grown fond of the majority of them. The politics played a big part in this one, which was a change from the previous trilogy, and I have to admit a lot of that went straight over my head because I wasn't invested enough in figuring it out, but I was invested in some parts of it, which is also an impressive achievement for Galsworthy. Kudos, old boy. These books were a ride, and as someone who is *obsessed* with character development, these are now at the top of many of my mental lists. Good stuff.
- Clearly, parental death, specifically fathers dying, is a pretty universal experience, and it seems to be something with many layers in most literary cases, as it is in life. It makes for interesting content, but I do wish I could stop running into it so often. This trilogy and the previous ones made me sob unexpectedly a few times, but it wasn't its fault as much as it was my own grief shining through. Still had a good time reading it though.
- I love them deeply, and it is quite a feat because these are very flawed people, some in ways that seem irredeemable, and yet, by the end I had grown fond of the majority of them. The politics played a big part in this one, which was a change from the previous trilogy, and I have to admit a lot of that went straight over my head because I wasn't invested enough in figuring it out, but I was invested in some parts of it, which is also an impressive achievement for Galsworthy. Kudos, old boy. These books were a ride, and as someone who is *obsessed* with character development, these are now at the top of many of my mental lists. Good stuff.
- Clearly, parental death, specifically fathers dying, is a pretty universal experience, and it seems to be something with many layers in most literary cases, as it is in life. It makes for interesting content, but I do wish I could stop running into it so often. This trilogy and the previous ones made me sob unexpectedly a few times, but it wasn't its fault as much as it was my own grief shining through. Still had a good time reading it though.
mybookishhedgemaze's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
velocitygirl14's review against another edition
5.0
It was a proper sequel, yet lacking a bit of the furor and fire of the original saga. The one thing that I did like was that we got to know Soames and Fleur more as people rather than caricatures of villains. I did despise June before, but in this series, she grows more into her own. Holly is a bit useless and other than Winnifred and Fleur, I have to conclude Galsworthy couldn't really write women as cleary as he did the men.
Otherwise, it was a great three books that I did enjoy reading, but they had too much to live up to in the original saga.
Otherwise, it was a great three books that I did enjoy reading, but they had too much to live up to in the original saga.
kathryn08's review against another edition
3.0
Like the others in the Forsyte Chronicles, there were parts of this book that amused me, and parts that irritated me.
I hadn’t quite appreciated until this book just how selfish Fleur actually was - I knew she liked to collect things and wanted what she couldn’t have (I guess that’s a characteristic of most collectors or they wouldn’t keep collecting), but her selfishness stood out in this story. She irritated me quite a lot actually, and I hoped, hoped, hoped that what she wanted to happen wouldn’t.
Then there was Soames, watching his daughter, also hoping that what she wanted wouldn’t happen, but feeling powerless to do anything about it. As of course he was - perhaps especially so since he wouldn’t talk to Fleur about anything significant. His policy was to “wait and see”, Fleur’s husband, Michael’s, policy is to “wait and not see” - but just to wait for Fleur to sort herself out.
There was a twist toward the end that I didn’t see coming which certainly shook things up a little, and I’ll be interested to keep reading the next set of chronicles at some point.
I hadn’t quite appreciated until this book just how selfish Fleur actually was - I knew she liked to collect things and wanted what she couldn’t have (I guess that’s a characteristic of most collectors or they wouldn’t keep collecting), but her selfishness stood out in this story. She irritated me quite a lot actually, and I hoped, hoped, hoped that what she wanted to happen wouldn’t.
Then there was Soames, watching his daughter, also hoping that what she wanted wouldn’t happen, but feeling powerless to do anything about it. As of course he was - perhaps especially so since he wouldn’t talk to Fleur about anything significant. His policy was to “wait and see”, Fleur’s husband, Michael’s, policy is to “wait and not see” - but just to wait for Fleur to sort herself out.
There was a twist toward the end that I didn’t see coming which certainly shook things up a little, and I’ll be interested to keep reading the next set of chronicles at some point.
lindaj's review against another edition
4.0
Ya gotta hand it to Soames Forsyte - hope springs eternal that Irene, his estranged wife, will suddenly realize the error of her ways and return to him.
This second volume of the Forsyte saga finds the first generation at the end of their time and the mantle is passing to their children and grandchildren. Set at the turn of the century in Victorian London, life is changing rapidly. Motorcars take the place of carriages, the Second Boer War is fought, and Queen Victoria dies. All this is a fascinating backdrop to the continuing story of the Forsyte family.
I liked this volume even better than the first. Galsworthy does not rehash material - his characters grow and change. Soames Forsyte is one of the best-drawn characters I've ever encounted.
Note - read this series in order.
This second volume of the Forsyte saga finds the first generation at the end of their time and the mantle is passing to their children and grandchildren. Set at the turn of the century in Victorian London, life is changing rapidly. Motorcars take the place of carriages, the Second Boer War is fought, and Queen Victoria dies. All this is a fascinating backdrop to the continuing story of the Forsyte family.
I liked this volume even better than the first. Galsworthy does not rehash material - his characters grow and change. Soames Forsyte is one of the best-drawn characters I've ever encounted.
Note - read this series in order.
philipcreurer's review against another edition
I thought I would go back and re-read this trilogy as we live through our "once in a century" pandemic. It was written within the decade of the years that concluded WWI and faced the Spanish Flu. It ends in 1926 (published in 1929). John Galsworthy himself describes the times: "Everything being now relative, there is no longer absolute dependence to be placed on God, Free Trade, Marriage, Consols, Coal or Caste." Comparing it with the society that preceded it, he says: "This is really the fundamental difference between the present and the past generations. People will not provide against that which they cannot see ahead." A satire of the British well-to-do classes and considered to be a reflection of the "Spirit of the Age", it provides an interesting mirror to hold up against our own ideas of a progressive society struck by world calamity.
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