≡ Descargar Gratis The Wild Girl A Novel Kate Forsyth 9781250047540 Books

The Wild Girl A Novel Kate Forsyth 9781250047540 Books

Download As PDF : The Wild Girl A Novel Kate Forsyth 9781250047540 Books

The Wild Girl A Novel Kate Forsyth 9781250047540 Books

I’ve taken a bit of time between reading and reviewing this book, partly because I wanted to absorb the dark beauty of this stark, moving and occasionally horrifying tale, and partly because I’d no choice. I was rendered not just speechless by this marvellous novel but, for a time, wordless too as I sought ways to describe the richness of Forsyth’s work, the wonderful layers that make up the tale of Dortchen Wild, a gregarious young girl who grows up in the small kingdom of Hessen-Kassel during the Napoleonic Wars, living across a narrow lane from the then unknown Brothers’ Grimm. The beauty of the characters, the intimacy, joy and awfulness of the settings as well as the research and direct and subtle references to the forbidding stories the Grimm brothers themselves collected and retold, initially evaded me. It’s only now I can write about this amazing book. I was stunned by what Forsyth has done and urge anyone who loves the history of fairytales, history itself as well as a wonderful, page-turning novel about love, sacrifice, loss, family and the ties that cruelly and gently bind, to seek this one out at once!
Told from Dortchen’s point of view, the novel spans many years and many tribulations – poverty, war, and separation. The reader is given insight into the rise, and fall of the Wild and Grimm families’ fortunes as well as that of the rather stern ruler of Hessen-Kassell who is later replaced by a hedonistic relative of Napoleon.
Jakob and Williem Grimm are scholars who decide to collect what are fundamentally “old wives” and children’s tales for publication. Obsessed with preserving what’s a part of their country’s culture and past, they search for interesting variations and folk to relay the stories which they painstakingly record. Enter Dortchen, by now a teenager and a very able and imaginative crafter and re-teller of the old tales. It’s as a storyteller that Williem, a handsome if somewhat unhealthy figure, finally views his neighbour and little sister, Lotte’s playmate, Dortchen, through different eyes, seeing her for the beautiful young woman she’s become.
Dortchen’s growth into womanhood is a wondrous and painful awakening into beauty, sexuality, responsibility and reality, the latter from which her friendship and passionate feelings for Williem Grimm and the stories that surround her have occasionally allowed her to escape. But reality catches Dortchen all too quickly and bleakly. Forbidden by her stern father from being courted by the impoverished Williem, Dortchen tries to accept what fate offers; but as a girl who loves stories, she also desires a different outcome. Alas, as she and Williem shift into different social circles and circumstances and people become obstacles that grow insurmountable, control of her destiny seems like something that belongs in one of Williem’s fairytales.
I don’t want to ruin the story for those who’ve not yet had the chance, but be warned, as I said above, this novel does not steer away from dealing directly with the darkest aspects of human nature – something which fairy and folk tales have always confronted – often (though not always) through allegory and metaphor. Whereas the Grimm’s were forced to moderate their collected tales for the market, here Forsyth let’s the human capacity for evil loose. Nightmares come to life in this book and it’s testimony to Forsyth’s skill and sensitivity towards her threatening subject matter that she deals with it unflinchingly and with rawness; it takes your breath away. I found myself dwelling on this part of the book and my emotions were thrown into a tumult. It may be because of personal history, but I also feel it’s because readers are able to empathise with Dortchen and the cruelty and paternal tyranny that’s inflicted upon her. It’s utterly shocking. And that’s before I discuss the casualties of war – not only those who lose their lives because of a game of politics thrones and power - but those who survive and simply endure its abuse and horror.
Against this darkness, however, a light shines in the form of love – that between siblings, friends and soul mates. No-one expresses yearning quite like Forsyth. She did it so beautifully in her first book, the wonderful The Witches of Eileann, she does it again in the sumptuous Bitter Greens but it’s here, in The Wild Girl, that it culminates into a palpable ache that reaches beyond the pages and into the reader’s soul.
Forsyth has undergone a great deal of research to write this book and come to some original and compelling conclusions about the tales and their tellers as well. The novel is peppered with some of the better and less known of the Grimm collection, so we’re given stories within stories and can draw our own comparison between the rich imaginative world of the women who pass them to the Grimms and Dortchen’s life as well.
Original, compelling, exquisitely written, this is a novel of epic and passionate proportions that offers readers so much and then even more. A book ostensibly about story-telling it’s also by a story-teller par excellence. I really think Forsyth is one of the finest writers of this generation and her work deserves the widest of audiences. She clearly takes so much pleasure and pride in what she does – but better still, she offers it in abundance as well.
Cannot recommend highly enough.


Tags : The Wild Girl: A Novel [Kate Forsyth] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. One of six sisters, Dortchen Wild lives in the small German kingdom of Hesse-Cassel in the early 19th century. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the boy next door,Kate Forsyth,The Wild Girl: A Novel,Thomas Dunne Books,1250047544,Historical,Fairy tales,Grimm, Wilhelm,Hesse-Kassel - History - 19th century,Historical fiction.,Love stories.,Man-woman relationships,Romance fiction,Storytelling,1786-1859,Australian Novel And Short Story,FICTION Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology,FICTION Historical General,Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Historical,Grimm, Wilhelm,,Historical - General,Historical fiction,Love stories

The Wild Girl A Novel Kate Forsyth 9781250047540 Books Reviews

Going into this I knew nothing of the love story between Dortchen Wild and Wilheim Grimm and I didn't even have great knowledge of the history surrounding it. So all that was wonderful. This book was beautiful written. It weaves the story expertly throughout a period of many years. Dortchen falls in love with Wilheim from the first time she sees him when she's twelve years old. This story and life are never that easy.
The way the abuse plot line unfolded was very disturbing. It was fairly obvious where this was going and it was horrible to read and to watch Dortchen become a shadow of her former self. So in that regard again the wonderful writing really helped (especially since I just bought the book on a whim and didn't know/hadn't heard anything about that particular plot.)
I thought the fairy tales themselves were well handled to. They didn't take away from the main story.
My 4 stars means I wholeheartedly recommend this novel if you're into fairy tales or historicals (especially if you like Hilary Mantel or Jennifer Donnelly or Geraldine Brooks).

This is an intricate and absorbing novelized bio of Wilhelm Grimm's wife Dortchen Wild, who also served as one of his important story sources. Forsyth uses the few facts known about Wild and the multitude of facts known about Grimm to build a life-story paralleled and illuminated by the fairy tales Wild contributed to the Grimms' collection (including several of the most famous stories, such as "Hansel and Gretel" and a version of "Beauty and the Beast").

The sense of time and place is utterly wonderful, and Forsyth uses human, close-to-home aspects of the Napoleonic wars to anchor the setting. Tons of fascinating detail about clothes, food, flowers, herbs, medicines, society, and mores, and not one speck of this detail is forced or intrusive.

By the midpoint, I couldn't put it down.

Also, the minute I finished it, I ordered another of Forsyth's historicals, BITTER GREENS.

So why four stars instead of five? Because I reserve 5 stars for the small handful of my personal lifetime favorites.

P.S. One of the most significant questions about Wilhelm and Dortchen is why they married so late in life. Along with the usual explanations about Grimm's poverty and Wild's family responsibilities, Forsyth (examining the various editions of the murky and ambiguous story "All Kinds of Fur") posits a dark and secret reason for the delay. So certain scenes may trouble sensitive or very young readers, and for that reason I'd class this book as New Adult.
Like Kate Forsyth's other novels..."The Wild Girl" is like nothing you have read before.
I love the way Kate infuses her stories with fairytales or folk lore whilst delving into real historical information and presenting it in a way that you can cant help but fall in love with the characters, the landscape and the journey.
This is a slow paced story that meanders along gently, through wars, invasions, abuse, drug use, hardship and family drama, it speaks softly and warmly and even in the most confronting scenes (sensitive readers should be aware of sexual abuse, physical abuse and drug use in this book which may be disconcerting) you somehow feel comforted.
I loved the detail of natural therapies, herbs and their uses, I have not previously read much about the Napoleanic rule, so I found that interesting and like another reviewer has said, it made me want to learn more about the Grimm brothers.
All of us have such lovely memories of our childhood stories/fairy tales and this novel takes an interesting look at where they came from and how they originated.
This novel has a good blend of drama, love, history, angst all wrapped up in a little bit of magic.
I’ve taken a bit of time between reading and reviewing this book, partly because I wanted to absorb the dark beauty of this stark, moving and occasionally horrifying tale, and partly because I’d no choice. I was rendered not just speechless by this marvellous novel but, for a time, wordless too as I sought ways to describe the richness of Forsyth’s work, the wonderful layers that make up the tale of Dortchen Wild, a gregarious young girl who grows up in the small kingdom of Hessen-Kassel during the Napoleonic Wars, living across a narrow lane from the then unknown Brothers’ Grimm. The beauty of the characters, the intimacy, joy and awfulness of the settings as well as the research and direct and subtle references to the forbidding stories the Grimm brothers themselves collected and retold, initially evaded me. It’s only now I can write about this amazing book. I was stunned by what Forsyth has done and urge anyone who loves the history of fairytales, history itself as well as a wonderful, page-turning novel about love, sacrifice, loss, family and the ties that cruelly and gently bind, to seek this one out at once!
Told from Dortchen’s point of view, the novel spans many years and many tribulations – poverty, war, and separation. The reader is given insight into the rise, and fall of the Wild and Grimm families’ fortunes as well as that of the rather stern ruler of Hessen-Kassell who is later replaced by a hedonistic relative of Napoleon.
Jakob and Williem Grimm are scholars who decide to collect what are fundamentally “old wives” and children’s tales for publication. Obsessed with preserving what’s a part of their country’s culture and past, they search for interesting variations and folk to relay the stories which they painstakingly record. Enter Dortchen, by now a teenager and a very able and imaginative crafter and re-teller of the old tales. It’s as a storyteller that Williem, a handsome if somewhat unhealthy figure, finally views his neighbour and little sister, Lotte’s playmate, Dortchen, through different eyes, seeing her for the beautiful young woman she’s become.
Dortchen’s growth into womanhood is a wondrous and painful awakening into beauty, sexuality, responsibility and reality, the latter from which her friendship and passionate feelings for Williem Grimm and the stories that surround her have occasionally allowed her to escape. But reality catches Dortchen all too quickly and bleakly. Forbidden by her stern father from being courted by the impoverished Williem, Dortchen tries to accept what fate offers; but as a girl who loves stories, she also desires a different outcome. Alas, as she and Williem shift into different social circles and circumstances and people become obstacles that grow insurmountable, control of her destiny seems like something that belongs in one of Williem’s fairytales.
I don’t want to ruin the story for those who’ve not yet had the chance, but be warned, as I said above, this novel does not steer away from dealing directly with the darkest aspects of human nature – something which fairy and folk tales have always confronted – often (though not always) through allegory and metaphor. Whereas the Grimm’s were forced to moderate their collected tales for the market, here Forsyth let’s the human capacity for evil loose. Nightmares come to life in this book and it’s testimony to Forsyth’s skill and sensitivity towards her threatening subject matter that she deals with it unflinchingly and with rawness; it takes your breath away. I found myself dwelling on this part of the book and my emotions were thrown into a tumult. It may be because of personal history, but I also feel it’s because readers are able to empathise with Dortchen and the cruelty and paternal tyranny that’s inflicted upon her. It’s utterly shocking. And that’s before I discuss the casualties of war – not only those who lose their lives because of a game of politics thrones and power - but those who survive and simply endure its abuse and horror.
Against this darkness, however, a light shines in the form of love – that between siblings, friends and soul mates. No-one expresses yearning quite like Forsyth. She did it so beautifully in her first book, the wonderful The Witches of Eileann, she does it again in the sumptuous Bitter Greens but it’s here, in The Wild Girl, that it culminates into a palpable ache that reaches beyond the pages and into the reader’s soul.
Forsyth has undergone a great deal of research to write this book and come to some original and compelling conclusions about the tales and their tellers as well. The novel is peppered with some of the better and less known of the Grimm collection, so we’re given stories within stories and can draw our own comparison between the rich imaginative world of the women who pass them to the Grimms and Dortchen’s life as well.
Original, compelling, exquisitely written, this is a novel of epic and passionate proportions that offers readers so much and then even more. A book ostensibly about story-telling it’s also by a story-teller par excellence. I really think Forsyth is one of the finest writers of this generation and her work deserves the widest of audiences. She clearly takes so much pleasure and pride in what she does – but better still, she offers it in abundance as well.
Cannot recommend highly enough.