THE MAN OF PROPERTY

The Forsyte Chronicles #1

by John Galsworthy

Vintage Penguin #831, 1968 reprint Acceptable copy with creasing, aged pages

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, British Literature, Audiobook, Literature

317 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1906

About the author

Literary career of English novelist and playwright John Galsworthy, who used John Sinjohn as a pseudonym, spanned the Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian eras.

In addition to his prolific literary status, Galsworthy was also a renowned social activist. He was an outspoken advocate for the women's suffrage movement, prison reform and animal rights. Galsworthy was the president of PEN, an organization that sought to promote international cooperation through literature.

John Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1932 "for his distinguished art of narration which takes its highest form in The Forsyte Saga."

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first couple of chapters overwhelm the humble reader with Too Many Damn Characters, all of whom appear to be 75 years old. To get this pack of Forsytes into your head, then, you may consult the family tree helpfully printed at the front of the book, where you will see that the original Jolyon Forsyte had TEN children

Ann (Aunt Ann)
Jolyon (Old Jolyon)
James
Swithin
Roger
Julia (Aunt Juley)
Hester (Aunt Hester)
Nicholas
Timothy
Susan

Some of whom have seven or eight of their own and so on.

But my advice is, however helpful this family tree seems to be, DON’T LOOK AT IT. Because (of course!) it’s stuffed with spoilers – this person marries that person, that one divorces this one and marries her instead. So really you can only look at the family tree when you’ve read all nine novels in the saga. Not that useful, then.

John Galsworthy, our ever-affable, ultra-clubbable narrator, gradually, at a leisurely strolling pace (this is not a hard boiled crime story), unfolds, with the use of many, many commas, clauses and even, a stumbling-block for the modern reader, a free hand with the semi-colon, the situation of this nobby gang of Forsytes. Not for one moment are we in any doubt about what this novel is interested in :

1. The upper middle class (not the middle middle, and not the lower upper). And certainly not the poor - their part in this saga is to set the table and bring in the soup and a bottle of the best champers and be brisk about it.

2. The centrality of property. Everything is property – houses, stocks and shares, mortgages, manufactories, and, yes, wives – the main tale of woe here is the decline and fall of Soames’ marriage to Irene, and how the wife is the property of the husband. Or, perhaps, not.

Galsworthy plays a game with the reader. He is happy to let us into the workings of the minds of many characters, but not Irene. So if we want to know why exactly she began to loathe her husband, we will have to guess. Soames claims not to know why. It’s a maddening but very deliberate withholding of information in a novel that is otherwise happy chucking great balefuls of information out of the back of the brougham.

In very truth this is a droll, satirical high toned soap opera, and nothing essentially wrong with that. Though Galsworthy at the drop of an opera hat loves suddenly to shift into overblown fancypants rhetorical wibbling mode :

The rest of the gardens they, the gardeners, swept bare enough, removing every morning Nature’s rain of leaves; piling them in heaps, whence from slow fires rose the sweet, acrid smoke that, like the cuckoo’s note for spring, the scent of lime-trees for the summer, is the true emblem of the fall. The gardeners’ tidy souls could not abide the gold and green russet pattern on the grass. The gravel paths must lie unstained, ordered, methodical, without knowledge of the realities of life, nor of that slow and beautiful decay that flings crowns underfoot to star the earth with fallen glories, whence, as the cycle rolls, will leap again wild spring.

Surely you aren’t allowed to use “whence” twice on one page unless you are writing a young adult fantasy trilogy?

Sometimes it can be hard to know if JG is having a pop at the prevailing attitudes or is promoting an attitude himself :

Dressing tightly and well, she belonged to a Women’s Club, but was by no means the neurotic and dismal type of member who was always thinking of her rights.

At first I thought I would never get on with this nasty crew of stuffed shirts, but Galsworthy is good, his voice is seductive, he knows his onions and he’s not afraid of a tough issue (marital rape). The critics appear to have finally consigned worthy Mr Galsworthy to the upper half of Division B and that’s probably right. But the air in Division A can get awfully thin at times and you can wait forever for an omnibus.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an English child of the sixties there were a number of sides to choose: Beatles or Stones? Mods or Rockers? Irene or Soames? Everyone in our street had a view. Feminists backed Irene, traditionalists (bigots) were for Soames. Men backed Soames, women, Irene. Men who had watched the BBc were for Irene because Nyree Dawn Porter reached heights of grace and beauty that slowed the blood, then quickened it. I was only 10 and didn't really know what they were talking about. I've just read the book and now at least I know why they were talking. Its a superb story and these two are probably the pick of a crop of memorable and acutely observed characters. The Forsytes are out of fashion. The recent TV adaptation failed to get anyone talking, and Galsworthy is often considered the wrong English writer to have won the Nobel prize. OK he wasn't a modernist; his style was very much going out of fashion, but he was bloody good at what he did. Its taken me a long time to get round to reading volume one. The rest will follow soon.
Oh, and I can't decide. I'm a little in love with Irene, but Soames...what a character!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember the late BBC television adaptation of this book - and presumably one or more of its sequels - being shown on television when I was a young teenager. I didn't watch it, probably because it was aimed at the grown-ups and as a thirteen year old I wasn't much of a fan of bonnet-and-long-frock drama series. A shame really, because if the television series was as good as this book, it must have made very fine viewing indeed.

This is the first novel in what ultimately became a nine novel, multi-generational family saga. It concerns the extended Forsyte family, a wealthy middle class London family of yeoman farmer stock. At the beginning of the novel, all ten elderly Forsyte siblings are still alive. Their father had made money and moved to London, where the six sons of the family successfully engage in business and the professions. Some of the Forsyte siblings are married, some are not. Some have children to carry on the family name, others are childless. What distinguishes a true Forsyte, though, is not membership of a wealthy and successful family but a particular philosophy. Acquisitiveness is a somewhat simplistic but nevertheless accurate description of that philosophy. Greed is another.

I'm not sure what I expected when I started listening to the audiobook edition of the novel. However, I was in the mood for another multi-generational family saga, having just read Thomas Mann's remarkable Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family. The novels are set in roughly the same period and deal with many of the same concerns, including marriage, the position of women and the role of the family as an economic unit - with Mann concentrating more on the family as a whole and Galsworthy on individuals within the family. Both novels feature an omniscient, ironic narrator, although in Buddenbrooks the narrator is rather more detached than the narrator in The Man of Property.

What I hadn't expected to find in this novel is a biting satire on late Victorian middle class values. The little that I've read about Galsworthy (thank you, Wikipedia!) indicates that he was a social activist who campaigned for issues such as women's rights, prison reform and animal welfare. Galsworthy's progressive attitudes are revealed in the text in a not particularly subtle way. However, what his writing lacks in subtlety is more than made up for by irony, humour, excellent prose, memorable characters and a vivid evocation of time and place.

When I acquired the audiobook, I failed to notice that it was narrated by David Case. Also known as Frederick Davidson, the late Mr Case is a narrator I generally avoid. I initially thought that his affected drawl would make me throw my iPod against the wall. However, I realised quite soon that his supercilious tone entirely suits the novel and that his voices for all of the characters were just right. My iPod has thankfully emerged undamaged from the experience.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Gratitude was no virtue among Forsytes, who, competitive, and full of common-sense, had no occasion for it; and Soames only experienced a sense of exasperation amounting to pain, that he did not own her as it was his right to own her, that he could not, as by stretching out his hand to that rose, pluck her and sniff the very secrets of her heart.”

What a quote, right? I loved this book! It’s deep character analysis masquerading as a soap opera. The plot is the whys and wherefores of a family’s lives, revealing an insider’s view of the lifestyles of the entitled class. Galsworthy combines criticism with compassion in the most compelling way, and I found his writing subtly gorgeous. He based some of the characters on his own family, and it shows in their uniqueness--there are no caricatures here.

The Forsytes are an old family, a proud family, a rich family, a family with high standards and expectations, and I could feel the weight of those expectations as I read. The now head of the family is Old Jolyon, and I have to admit I adored him (I have a soft-spot for curmudgeons). His granddaughter June is engaged to a relatively poor young architect, Philip Bosinney, and this story is about what happens during their engagement. What I kept picturing as I read was this family stumbling along together with these invisible strings keeping them attached to each other, but inevitably tripping them up--kind of like a bunch of people in a dragon suit.

“Something of the sense of the impending, that comes over the spectator of a Greek tragedy, had entered that upholstered room, filled with those white-haired, frock-coated old men, and fashionably attired women, who were all of the same blood, between all of whom existed an unseizable resemblance.”

Old Jolyon’s nephew Soames, his brother James’ son, is the quintessential “man of property.” He owns things--and goes through his life with that air of owning, but it’s a façade that covers over weakness. He’s a tragic figure that I couldn’t help but pity.

They are all of the same blood, but each family member has his or her own issues and personality, and the closeness yet clashes of the personalities makes this fascinating. Galsworthy set this up perfectly for a continuing saga, and I’m so excited to move on to the next in the series.

“Whence comes it, how comes it--Death? Sudden reverse of all that goes before; blind setting forth on a path that leads to--where? Dark quenching of the fire! The heavy, brutal crushing-out that all men must go through, keeping their eyes clear and brave unto the end! Small and of no import, insects through they are!”

[Diane Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I plan to read this whole series (9 books) this year. One each month, finishing the first 3 by March so I can watch the Masterpiece Theatre 2026 production. I read the first 3 many years ago and loved it. I won't review each individual book til the end, but for now I will just say.......No one does high class soap opera like the British!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is typically not referred to as its own book and instead the first in a trilogy all combined to make “The Forsyte Saga”, I still wanted to document my thoughts. Truly astounding. I loved the reading experience of this SO MUCH, every page was a delight. I don’t usually highlight in books unless the writing just blows me away, and to say that Galsworthy did so is an understatement. Immediately starting “In Chancery” (the second in the trilogy) and cannot wait to be continually impressed and back in this world.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

E’ stato ripubblicato da poco dall’editore Elliot questo romanzo scritto nel 1906 da John Galsworthy, futuro premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 1932. L'edizione che ho letto è quella appena pubblicata, non questa che ho messo in libreria, per pigrizia ho lasciato la vecchia edizione Garzanti; comunque il traduttore è il medesimo. E’ il primo volume della cd. “saga dei Forsyte”: a tale proposito confesso che certamente sapere che vi è un seguito suscita aspettativa, come tutte le saghe che si rispettino, però pensandoci bene leggere questo volume significa leggere un romanzo completo, e molto bello.
La famiglia Forsyte è una famiglia della prospera borghesia capitalistica inglese dell’epoca vittoriana, sono azionisti delle prime grandi compagnie industriali, sono avvocati o banchieri che lavorano nella City londinese; lo scrittore narra vicende di questa famiglia ma essa le rappresenta tutte, tutte quelle famiglie del suo ceto sociale e della sua epoca. E’ una famiglia in cui gli elementi maschili sono rappresentanti di una ben precisa tipologia: hanno una visione del loro mondo come costituito esclusivamente dalle loro proprietà, siano persone o cose, da acquistare e proteggere con tutte le forze, siano esse quadri, mobili antichi, case in campagna o ville in città, siano mogli o figli, sono aridi di sensibilità e sentimenti, individualisti fin nel profondo anche se superficialmente uniti in uno spirito familiare che è soltanto una facciata di rispettabilità per il mondo, invidiosi gli uni verso gli altri -i fratelli con i fratelli- per le proprietà possedute, insomma Galsworthy è spietato nel mettere in evidenza le caratteristiche di questi uomini, e lo fa con una forte carica ironica, anche di fronte ad avvenimenti tragici, tranne che nel finale in cui si sente una sincera corrente di pietà verso chi soccombe. E le donne? Le donne non contavano niente all’epoca, erano solo un abbellimento per il loro proprietario, motivo di vanto e invidia per la bellezza e la raffinatezza, strumenti per il miglioramento della specie o, se non sposate, zitelle pettegole che servivano per mantenere viva la memoria storica della famiglia, così nel romanzo rimangono in secondo piano, sedute nell’angolo del salotto con il ricamo in mano . Anche Irene, la sofisticata e affascinante moglie di Soames Forsyte, pur emergendo nel romanzo come protagonista col marito, “il possidente”, è una bellissima statua di pietra, silenziosa e imperscrutabile, anche se nel finale si rivelerà coraggiosa nel prendere una decisione che la famiglia o meglio la società tutta condannano. Il coraggio, la dignità, i sentimenti si scontrano con la drammatica crudezza della vita e con la rigidità delle regole sociali: la vittoria è scontata, ça va sans dire.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I have an impression of a writer or story before I have ever read a word of their prose and it's often an incorrect impression. It certainly was in this case.

Writing in the early Edwardian era about final decades of the Victorians Galsworthy coolly skewers the society in which he grew up with almost surgical precision. The Forsytes here represent a family, yes, but also a whole swathe of complacent, snobbish, uncaring, introspective, self-congratulating, comfortable stratum of society. New money, being just two generations from country farming stock, they go out of their way to project an image of gentility and comfort, and care about only three things: money, property and reputation.

This book, and the saga as a whole, is about the cracks in this image / family / class as it hits edge of the 20th century, as fissures begin to run through the second wealthy generation, less confident than the first but feeling more entitled to the privilege they've inherited.

At heart this is a simple tale - the breakdown of a marriage. But it reflects a more profound breakdown within society, sex-relations, power dynamics in the workplace and at home, social movement from talent rather than background. As electric lights slowly replace the gas lamps in the comfortable homes fit for a gentleman, a starker light is thrown into the dark corners and recesses of this family, and all the other Forsytes who are not named Forsyte in London and around the country.

Galsworthy's style is brittle and sharp, ironic and knowing, like Henry James or Edith Wharton - letting the Forsytes condemn themselves with their own uncensored words and thoughts in a prose that has largely left behind the floridity of the 19th century and feels almost as sparse and open as early Woolf. The conscious decision to have Irene Forsyte the centre of the novel, but never having the prose enter her head and reveal her thoughts, as it does to all the Forsyte family, allows her to be never fully knowable, but always an enigma.

I loved this book and intend to now finish the whole saga.

[Sergio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non è semplicissimo immergersi nella conoscenza della famiglia Forsyte, se vogliamo chiamare famiglia sei fratelli e tre sorelle con i rispettivi coniugi, figli e nipoti in quel di Londra verso la fine del '800 e l'inizio del '900: parliamo di una schiatta venuta su dal nulla che però alla fine del XIX secolo ha saputo fare il salto di qualità entrando nel giro delle persone che contano grazie all'innata capacità dei suoi membri a fare denaro e a saperlo spendere oculatamente. Il romanzo comincia con una grande festa organizzata per festeggiare il fidanzamento della giovane June Forsyte con un architetto, tal Bosinney che pur dotato di qualità professionali che gli potrebbero permettere di mettersi in luce nell'alta società londinese, tuttavia non riscuote grandi simpatie nei membri della famiglia della futura sposa con conseguenze tragiche. La lettura del libro, dopo aver preso confidenza con nomi e personaggi, prosegue con piacere e coinvolgimento grazie alla penna magistrale dello scrittore che sa descrivere vita, abitudini e pregiudizi dell'alta società londinese di cui egli stesso faceva parte con la giusta ironia e partecipazione.

[Dafne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un pensiero che (credo) accomuna tutti i lettori è la tangibile sensazione che, molto probabilmente, non basta una vita intera per leggere tutti i libri che uno desidera; nonostante ciò stila una lista di libri da leggere in futuro che si allunga inevitabilmente a dismisura, tanto da fargli pensare che quest'ultima sia dotata di vita propria e che durante la notte si sia moltiplicata autonomamente.
Nella perenne e bramosa ricerca di qualcosa da leggere è sempre un enorme consolazione trovare e scoprire dei libri, di cui magari non si era mai sentito parlare, che si rivelano delle vere e proprie perle. Quest'ultimo mese mi è accaduto proprio questo: ho (finalmente!) scoperto e incontrato Galsworthy e la saga dei Forsyte.
The man of the property, questo è il titolo originale, fu pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1906; è il primo volume della cosiddetta saga dei Forsyte, due o tre trilogie che raccontano la società vittoriana e post – vittoriana attraverso le vicende di questa grande famiglia inglese in un arco di tempo che va dagli anni '80 dell'Ottocento a gli anni '20 del ventesimo secolo.
La famiglia Forsyte appartiene alla ricca borghesia inglese dell'epoca; i suoi componenti sono azionisti di grandi compagnie industriali, banchieri o avvocati che lavorano nella City londinese, degni rappresentanti delle famiglie appartenenti al suo stesso ceto sociale e alla sua epoca. I Forsyte sono una grande famiglia fortemente chiusa in se stessa ed eccessivamente legata all'istinto di proprietà, che non si limita solo ai possedimenti materiali ma anche alle persone e ai sentimenti. Una casata ricca e potente, conscia solo della propria forza e spietata con i deboli, i cui componenti sono legati tra di loro e ai loro beni, dove gli elementi estranei alla famiglia non sono ben accetti.
Il libro si apre in un giorno di giugno del 1886, a casa di Joylon Forsyte, il decano della famiglia, durante la festa di fidanzamento della nipote June con l'architetto Philip Bosinney. Tutta la famiglia – tra figli, nipoti, cugini, genitori, zii, mariti, mogli, e chi più ne più ne metta, legata da legami di parentela, ma divisa da invidie e reciproche diffidenze, se non da vero e proprio rancore – è riunita in questo fastoso ricevimento che sancisce il fidanzamento dei due giovani, naturalmente sotto lo sguardo attento e spietato dei membri della dinastia.
Philip, giovane architetto squattrinato ma dal futuro promettente, non è bene accetto dai parenti della fidanzata perché viene visto da tutta la famiglia come uno scansafatiche. Soames (Forsyte di seconda generazione), da acuto uomo d'affari qual è, vede del potenziale nel nuovo membro della famiglia e decide così di dare l'opportunità a Bosinney di progettare e costruire la sua casa di campagna. La realizzazione di questo progetto fa avvicinare Bosinney e Irene (la moglie di Soames e migliore amica di June); tra i due nasce la passione e divengono amanti, scatenando gli istinti più bassi di Soames. Quando la relazione clandestina viene alla luce qualcosa all'interno della famiglia Forsyte inizia a scricchiolare...

La saga dei Forsyte, tra romanzi, racconti e interludi, accompagnò per tutta la sua vita lo scrittore inglese; John Galsworthy ritornò più volte nel corso degli anni a scrivere le vicende della famiglia Forsyte, che gli permise di vincere il nobel per la letteratura nel 1932.
Era da svariati mesi che non leggevo un romanzo che mi appassionasse e trascinasse con grande trasporto al suo interno, come è successo con questo libro. Qualche volta avevo sentito parlare di questo scrittore, però, senza mai avvicinarmi realmente alla sua opera; finalmente ho fatto la sua conoscenza e sono rimasta veramente incantata e piacevolmente colpita dal suo stile.
Primo volume della prima trilogia, Il possidente, grazie ad una scrittura impareggiabile e ad un'ambientazione magistrale, è un dipinto, anzi un vero microcosmo dell'alta borghesia inglese; un'analisi lucida ed equilibrata di una famiglia che simboleggia tutte le altre, che Galsworthy compie in maniera molto avvincente.
Principale oggetto della critica dell'autore è l'atteggiamento concreto e utilitaristico della borghesia tardo vittoriana ed edoardiana, capace di dare un valore alle persone e alle cose solo in base al prezzo con cui si possono comprare. Da questo libro ne esce il ritratto di una classe sociale che fonda tutto sulla proprietà (non solo delle cose o del denaro, ma anche delle persone, delle loro anime e dei loro sogni), sul bisogno di accumulare ma anche sulla necessità di salvare le apparenze costi quel che costi; ed è proprio in questo periodo storico e da questa classe sociale che è nato il mondo liberale e il capitalismo odierno.
Lo stile narrativo è davvero particolare: inizia in terza persona, per poi passare impalpabilmente alla narrazione interna, da uno all'altro dei molti Forsyte, osservando gli eventi secondo il loro personale punto di vista, grazie alla descrizione dei loro pensieri ed emozioni.
Galsworthy si rivela essere proprio una grande penna; compie un grande studio della natura umana e della tarda età vittoriana analizzando, con ironia e affetto ma allo stesso tempo con uno sguardo critico, la borghesia emergente e i suoi valori. È un osservatore acuto e ironico della società, è capace di cogliere le ambiguità dei gesti, mette a nudo i vizi, le ipocrisie, l'arroganza della società dell'epoca (e non solo) che sotto la facciata di perbenismo nasconde la propria aridità e superficialità.
Come dicevo la famiglia Forsyte è una famiglia numerosa, che è riuscita a farsi strada partendo dal basso; un circolo chiuso, in qualche modo disturbato dagli estranei che ne entrano a farne parte senza però condividerne gli ideali, l'essenza, lo spirito che gli caratterizza.
La caratterizzazione dei personaggi appare sin da subito magistrale, vividissima e inimitabile soprattutto nella rappresentazione delle schermaglie, della frustrazione, delle invidie reciproche, dell'avidità e dello spregio di ogni stravaganza; basti pensare – ad esempio – che nei pranzi di famiglia non vengono mai preparati gli antipasti perché ritenuti futili e, invece, si servono direttamente (e senza indugio) le portate principali, ritenute più concrete.
Tutti i membri della famiglia vengono descritti in maniera minuziosa in svariate occasioni, aggiungendo ogni volta dei nuovi particolari che permettono al lettore di conoscergli sempre di più. I personaggi sono molti perché molteplici sono i caratteri da analizzare; vengono via via svelati prima con la sola descrizione fisica (che indica molto del loro carattere e delle loro inclinazioni) poi mettendoli a confronto tra di loro e rendendoli protagonisti delle vicende, fino a svelarne lentamente carattere, spessore e caratteristiche. Delineati in maniera perfetta e mai stereotipati, l'autore inglese ne tratteggia le personalità individuali; ognuno pare essere guidato dall'egoismo (caratteristica di famiglia) e dalla propria realizzazione personale, sia nel campo degli affari che in quello sentimentale. Ogni personaggio, sempre coerente e fedele a se stesso, possiede una caratteristica tipica dell'animo umano; c'è chi possiede la caparbietà, chi la tenacia, l'invidia, la rigidità, l'ironia, o la testardaggine, ecc. Galsworthy è bravo a rendere ogni figura un elemento di una tipologia ben precisa e allo stesso tempo mostrarle come persone sofferenti e vere dietro alla maschera di imperturbabilità che sono costretti a portare quotidianamente.
Le figure femminili non vengono analizzate molto approfonditamente; restano personaggi oscuri, imperscrutabili, distaccate, insomma un po' anonime nonostante tutti gli sforzi; questa raffigurazione può portare il lettore a riflettere su come le donne venivano considerate in quell'epoca: un abbellimento per il loro proprietario e un mero oggetto di vanto e invidia, nel caso fossero sposate; oppure considerate delle semplici pettegole che servivano per mantenere viva la memoria storica della famiglia.
I personaggi maschili, invece, hanno ampie e complesse sfaccettature e sono quelli caratterizzati ed esplorati meglio; i loro sforzi sono tutti orientati ad accrescere fortuna e prestigio; sono aridi di sentimenti, poco sensibili, individualisti sino al midollo, pragmatici e ben attaccati alle loro cose, che siano oggetti o persone, considerate come beni da acquistare, tutelare e proteggere ad ogni costo per il buon nome della famiglia.
Galsworthy mette in evidenza le caratteristiche di questi uomini e lo fa in maniera spietata e ironica.
I personaggi principali spiccano sugli altri: Joylon Forsyte, il maggiore dei dieci fratelli, è il più Forsyte dei Forsyte. Nonostante una vita di successi commerciali e finanziari, Joylon ha una vecchiaia in cui niente è più come prima. Anche lui è vittima delle regole sociali della società vittoriana che lo hanno costretto ad allontanarsi dal suo unico figlio, per il comportamento tenuto da quest'ultimo. Orgoglioso e sentimentale allo stesso tempo, egli cerca di riconciliarsi con il figlio perduto, cercando di recuperare il rapporto con lui; all'inizio di nascosto poi alla luce del sole, causando all'interno della famiglia il diffondersi di voci sul peggioramento della sua lucidità mentale. L'autore ne mostra le fragilità e le debolezze facendocelo sentire più umano.
Suo figlio Joylon il giovane è un'artista dal passato sentimentale un po' burrascoso. Totalmente estraneo alle “virtù familiari”, è considerato la “pecora nera” della famiglia poiché ha compiuto le sue scelte indifferente al giudizio dei parenti; scelte che lo hanno portato a rinunciare ai privilegi della sua classe sociale. Tempo prima, infatti, ha deciso di fuggire da un matrimonio infelice abbandonando la moglie per scappare con la tata della figlia, una donna straniera e di umili origini. Per questo suo comportamento è stato rinnegato dalla propria famiglia che non gli perdona la fuga e il matrimonio (scelta dettata dai sentimenti e non dall'interesse) con una donna di bassa estrazione sociale.
Contrapposti due Joylon troviamo James e Soames. James è un altro dei dieci fratelli Forsyte, ricco proprietario di aziende e di uno studio legale nella City londinese. Sposato e padre di quattro figli, ama la propria famiglia e i suoi fratelli ed è sinceramente preoccupato per la situazione del suo unico figlio maschio: Soames.
Soames è “il possidente” del titolo ed è la figura su cui è incentrato il romanzo. Egli è uno dei membri più brillanti e di successo della seconda generazione dei Forsyte; astro nascente del capitalismo borghese, possiede una ricca collezione d'arte. È in lui, più che in qualsiasi altro membro della famiglia, che possiamo ritrovare maggiormente radicate le caratteristiche e i valori che rendono tale un Forsyte. Soames è arido, avido, spregiudicato, tiranno, dalla personalità dispotica e crudele, materialista fino all'estremo, domina tutto e tutti con il denaro; egli vuole controllare tutto, acquistare tutto, possedere tutto perché considera le cose e le persone solo come oggetti che hanno un valore e che si possono comprare. Soames è all'apice del successo e il suo unico credo nella vita è possedere: una casa alla moda, una collezione d'arte, una moglie raffinata di cui possiede, però, solo il corpo e non l'anima. Questa situazione coniugale è per lui frustrante e carica di sofferenza che quasi sconfina nella follia. Per cercare di conquistare la propria moglie decide di costruire una casa in campagna per lei e ne affida la sua realizzazione a Philip Bosinney.
Bosinney è in tutto e per tutto l'antitesi di Soames. Fidanzato con l'istintiva e testarda June Forsyte, Philip è un giovane architetto, talentuoso, squattrinato, sensibile, dotato di un elevato senso artistico, ricco di idee originali e rivoluzionarie; anticonformista, affascinante, sfuggente, trasandato sia nell'aspetto sia nella gestione dei propri affari (una delle cose che irrita i Forsyte), è lui l'unico che riesce dove i Forsyte hanno fallito, cioè conquistare il cuore della bella Irene e da allora in poi per lui il denaro e il successo saranno cose di nessuna importanza.
Irene è la consorte infelice di Soames; intrappolata in un matrimonio di convenienza e non d'amore, che odia il marito con tutta se stessa. Giovane donna dall'eleganza innata, sofisticata, raffinata, affascinante, inafferrabile, dall'indole riflessiva e dalla bellezza evanescente ed eterea; nessuno dei Forsyte riesce a comprenderla perché la considerano solo una bella statua di marmo silenziosa e imperscrutabile. Per Soames resta un mistero: non riesce a capirla, sfugge con ostinazione alla sua smania di possesso, è indifferente ai suoi regali e alla ricchezza di cui egli la riveste; lei al massimo lo guarda con freddezza e non gli rivolge le parola se non per rispondere con sussurri forzati.
Irene però nel finale rivela tutto la sua forza e il suo coraggio, quando per amore prende una decisione che la famiglia o meglio la società condannano.
Come Elena di Troia sarà per lei e a causa delle sue scelte che accadranno gli eventi e sempre per lei si consumerà la tragedia.
Dei due amanti ed elementi estranei alla famiglia non riusciamo a sapere nulla del punto di vista, dei loro pensieri, delle paure, dei dialoghi, dei sentimenti; ogni esperienza è vista e filtrata dalla visione che i diversi componenti della famiglia Forsyte provano nei loro confronti.

Galsworthy si rivela un abile scrittore che sin dalle primissime pagine ci prende per mano e ci invita a seguirlo nella scoperta di questa famiglia, per mostrarci come vivevano e come pensavano le persone dell'epoca. Dentro vi è di tutto: amori contrastati, invidie, gelosie, intreccio tra affari e potere, angoscia, tristezza, invidia, meschinità e solitudine; il coraggio, la dignità, i sentimenti si scontrano con la durezza della vita e con la rigidità delle regole sociali.
Sin dall'inizio sono rimasta totalmente avvinta e coinvolta da questo romanzo (tanto che non vedo l'ora di proseguire con gli altri libri della saga) che, nonostante sia stato scritto ad inizio secolo scorso, è terribilmente attuale, profondo e molto moderno.
Il possidente è un romanzo dall'ambientazione magistrale e suggestiva, ricca di particolari, dalla prosa essenziale ed elegante, spesso sublime soprattutto nei dialoghi, nelle descrizioni, nella caratterizzazione e nell'introspezione dei personaggi. Un quadro dettagliato, coinvolgente ed appassionante delle sorti e alle vicissitudini di questa famiglia, cui non si può rimanere indifferenti e, attraverso le loro vicende, il libro ci parla della situazione del paese in cui loro si trovano. Un'opera che non annoia mai il lettore (non si prova neanche una volta il desiderio di saltare qualche parola o pagina) e dove non mancano i momenti comici; dalla scrittura impareggiabile, in cui la narrazione è vivace e divertente, lo stile è superbo, lineare e scorrevole.
Nonostante la complessità narrativa, la mole di personaggi ed eventi, il lettore è reso partecipe e letteralmente travolto dalle vicende tanto che è impossibile non rimanere catturati, nell'intreccio di questo superbo racconto, sino all'amaro e spiazzante finale.

Un premio nobel quasi dimenticato che merita di essere riscoperto.

“La mia famiglia” rispose Joylon il giovane “non ha nulla di estremo, è come tutte le altre famiglie: ha certo le sue particolarità; ma possiede soprattutto in grado notevole due qualità che sono le vere caratteristiche dei Forsyte: il potere di non darsi mai anima e corpo a qualcosa e l'istinto della proprietà.”

[Michael Cabus · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Justice, there is no justice for men, for they are forever in the dark"

In some novels, the author's admiration for their creations is obvious; in varying degrees, a novelist will let you in on who is their favorite, sometimes annoyingly so (as much as I liked the Harry Potter books, the refrain of "Harry, Ron and Hermonie" that constantly began chapters became, dare I say, tiresome).

Here the reader doesn't get the sense that Galsworthy really admires any of his subjects, expect perhaps for Old Jolyon and Young Jolyon. It was at times reminiscent of Trollope's The way we live now; like that wonderful novel, it constructed a story that questioned ideas of principle at the basis of the upper class. Here, Galsworthy equates it all with property; indeed, a redemptive moment in the novel, when a character comes to a realization about his behavior and and a scope broader than himself, it is couched as behavior that it unpractical (and, hence, in the Forsyte parlance, useless).

Here we see the notion of property as principle taken to its extreme, and it is disquieting. For all the television shows on now that rely on some shock, and persistent violence, it is the quiet novels that come to a fore that, in my mind, are the most awakening and powerful. J.M. Coetze's novel Disgrace does the same, in almost the same manner: ideas of property and possession that seem sound but taken to their extreme are seen as the source of so much grief. We have that here, and its hard to see the character in the same way, hard to forgive him, even if he has that unpractical redemptive realization.

Must we always live forever in the dark, thus having any true sense of justice allude us? This seems to be the question of the novel and it hinges on our susceptibility to rigid ways of living, to purely self-interested pursuit.

I'd intended to read the others in this series, with books 2 and 3 ready for me in audio book during my commute. The Forsyte's, so far, though, have proved to be like a side of your family (or in-laws) you are eager to hear about and perhaps gossip about, and visit briefly, but also feel a bit relieved when you board the airplane to go home. "The more I see of people", young Jolyon quips, "the more I am convinced that they are never good or bad – merely comic, or pathetic." Dickens believed in the good souls as lights of the world, in the midsts of the comic, or pathetic; and as much as I may agree with Young Jolyon's sentiments, if pressed for an absolute answer, I feel better under the illusion that the world is a bit more Dickensian, sometimes against all evidence to the contrary.

A+

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm currently listening to this on audio as go about my housework and my daily walks. I've long thought about reading the series but I feel listening to it that this is easier. I've watched the two older tv series of it and enjoyed them both. Watching the latest one I thought it was time to dive into the books as the new series is very loosely based on them. They've changed a lot of it.
I mostly enjoyed the book. Parts of it are quite verbose and at times I found my mind wandering. Irene is a little too good to be true. The way men are suppose to fall at her feet is coming it a bit too strong. My favourite character has always been Jolyon Forsythe. That he was the one to stand up to his family and go his own way was brave. They all had to toe the line and follow convention but not him. Soames is a study on his own. A very complex character.

[Emmy B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not a book I'd recommend to everybody - whether you enjoy it or not is simply dependent on whether you like this style of story or not. One in which not a person, but a family is the protagonist. And one in which everything progresses quite slowly. That being said, it's still an excellent book, and one the message of which is still valid and important today. I was particularly struck by Galsworthy's surprisingly progressive attitude. It's obvious that while he satirises the Forsytes (not very subtly), he does so with a sharp and very critical eye. I enjoyed it, even though it often made me nervous and anxious as events unfolded in inevitable but sometimes disturbing ways.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of the nine volume Forsyte Saga. I didn't watch the tv series so I had no particular expectations about this book but I liked it a lot. The story of the large Forsyte family is told in the third person with irony and wit. The central event is the affair of Irene Forsyte with the young, impoverished architect Bosinney and how her husband Soames handles the affair (not very effectively), however the upper middle class clan of Forsytes is full of interesting members. I loved the way in which both the physical characteristics and the personalities of the characters were described. In the view of Irene's father in law, Bosinney is "sharper than he had thought and better looking than he had hoped".

The book touches on many issues, including the legal system, family estrangements, the position of women in society and aging. I don't know whether I was supposed to sympathize with Irene, who married Soames for his money, but I really felt that both Soames and Bosinney's fiancé were ill used by her.

I doubt that I will read the entire saga, but I will definitely read the next book. The narration by David Case of the audiobook was excellent.

[Siv30 · Rating 4 out of 5]

הספר הראשון הוא אקספוזיציה לבני המשפחה והדמויות השונות שיהיה להן תפקיד בספר. הבעיה היא שבאמת ישנן הרבה דמויות ויש קושי לזכור את כולן. מה גם שישנו ג'וליאן האב וג'וליאן הבן, והמאהבים והחברים ובקיצור הרבה דמויות.

משפחת פורסייט היא משפחת מתעשרים. הם לא אצולה ארסטוקרטית אלא הצליחו להתעשר לכן כל התפיסה שלהם של כסף היא תפיסה מודרנית המבוססת על צמצום הוצאות למינימום ההכרחי. הם גם לא מעריכים נכונה את חסרי הכסף והכל נמדד אצלהם דרך המטבע. הסיפור מתחיל בשלהי המאה ה 19.

אחרי הקדמה די מקרטעת, הסיפור נכנס לקצב ומתרכז במערכת היחסים העכורה שבין סומס (האות מ מנוקדת בשווא) ואיירין אישתו. איירין יפיפיה ומושכת אליה תשומת לב גברית רבה. סומס בעלה רואה בה רכוש וחפץ בכל ליבו לשלוט גם בנפש ובמח שלה. אבל איירין שלא שבעת רצון מהנישואים ומהיחס של בעלה, ישנה בחדר נפרד ומעניקה לו בעיקר יחס קר של שתיקה. זכרונותיו מהתקופה שלפני הנישואים לא מצביעים על אהבה גדולה של איירין אליו וכל היחס שלה אליו מוציא אותו מדעתו. היא חסרת הכנסות במושגים של אותו הזמן ולכן סומס בטוח שהיא תישאר איתו.

סומס אובססיבי ביחס לאיירין והוא אפילו רוצה שהיא תביט עליו במבט שהיא מביטה על החתול. כל דבר גורם לו לקינאה בוערת.

הוא רוכש בית בכפר אותו הוא משפץ ובמהלך הספר הוא נמצא עסוק בבניה ושיפוצים עם בוסינט האדריכל. בהתחלה הוא לא רואה למעשה את מה שקורה תחת אפו, או שהוא רואה ומתעלם. איירין איננה מגיבה מטוב עד רע על השינוי העתידי בסביבת החיים שלהם ועל התוכניות .אבל כל אלה מדרדרים יותר את מערכת היחסים בין הבעל לאישה.

איירין ובוסינט מתאהבים למרות שהיא נשואה והוא מאורס לג'ון חברתה הטובה של איירין ובת דודו של סומס. הפיתולים שנגרמים בעקבות המשיכה / האהבה הזו מחזיקים לפחות רבע מהספר הראשון. הבעל המקורנן רודף את אישתו המסרבת להיכנע לו ולדרישותיו כבעל.

המאהב בוסינט, נקלע גם הוא לסחרחרה עם הבעל המרוגז, כאשר הוא חורג מתקציב השיפוץ של הבית.

קראתי על הספר ניתוחים שונים אז אני יודעת את המקור ליחס של איירין לסומס, אבל עד כה, מחצית מהספר הוא לא כל כך חד משמעי כשקוראים את הספר וממילא אני לא רוצה לספיילר. בכל אופן בחלק האחרון של הספר מערכת היחסים העכורה מגיעה לשיאה כאשר סומס כופה את עצמו על אישתו באלימות. האלימות אינה חד פעמית אלה מתגברת ככל שאיירין מתגרה בו ומסרבת להיכנע לו.

כתוצאה מכך מתחילה שרשרת אירועים טראגית שבסופה איירין עוזבת את סומס, שמוכר את הבית לגוליאן הזקן.

לספר מצורף אינטרלוד. סיפור קצר על קיץ אינדיאני בסוף חיו של גוליאן בבית של סומס ואיירין. הסיפור מתרחש כחמש שנים לאחר האירועים הדרמטיים ועזיבת איירין.

איירין חוזרת לבית שבו התאהבה בבוסינט שם היא פוגשת את גוליאן הזקן. למרות גילו ולמרות שאיירין פגעה אנושות בנכדתו ג'ון הוא מבלה עם איירין אחר צהרים שבהם הוא מראה לה את הבית.

גוליאן הזקן מעריץ את יופיה של איירין ובסוף חיו היא מהווה נחמה. על רקע ידידות המתפתחת בינהם, הוא מתחיל להיפגש איתה באופן סדיר בלי שהמשפחה תדע ומחליט להוריש לה חלק מהירושה שלו.


האמת שכל הדמויות בספר בלתי נסבלות עד גורמות להקאה. איירין הבוגדנית, מהלכת קסם על הגברים שבחייה. חוסר האושר שלה הוא המחיר של מעשיה. סומס האומלל שאין לו מנוחה מדמותה של אישתו הבוגדנית עד שהוא יוצא מדעתו ואף נוהג כלפיה באלימות. בוסינט שיוצא מדעתו בגלל אהבתו לאיירין וסופו המר. גם הוא אוכל את הדייסה שבישל. גון האומללה שאוהבת את בוסינט ולא מבינה שאיבדה אותו לעולמים. גוליאן הזקן התככן שמעניש למעשה את סומס אחיינו בגלל מערכת יחסים עכורה עם אחיו גיימס.

למרות המאפיינים של הדמויות ומערכות היחסים העכורות, זה ספר מצויין שכתוב היטב, קולח.

[J.J. Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Dime que odias a tu familia rica sin decirme que odias a tu familia rica”. Es la forma más sencilla de describir el primer libro de la saga de los Forsyte.

No es un misterio ni es desconocido el hecho de que John Galsworthy, a la postre Premio Nobel de Literatura, modeló esta historia de gentes sentimentalmente desgraciadas pero pecuniariamente agraciadas en su propia familia. Y que se nota que ésta no le gustaba mucho.

La disección que hace el autor de esta forma de pensar tardo-victoriana es poco menos que inmisericorde, precisa y por puntos hasta carnicera. Especialmente en detallar cómo pese a estar motivados por un aparente refinamiento y búsqueda de lo mejor, los Forsyte mayores no logran desprenderse de una obvia corriente de vulgaridad ulterior. También el buscar justificar ese pretendido refinamiento en una historia de familia, el "a nuestro padre le gustaba beber vino de Madeira" y a verse perplejos de que éste fuera un campesino. En estas latitudes a gente similar se le añadirían las características de buscar y/o alardear de su más cercano antecesor nacido en Europa o de descender de una familia de hacendados, qué-sé-yo. En la generación más joven, la que ya creció con dinero, conviven más el desenfreno, la tranquilidad de poderse dedicar sin culpas a cosas como las artes y sobre todo la duda de por qué a pesar de ser "gente de propiedad" y de querer más y más cosas no pueden ser felices.

Por supuesto que la trama principal es un melodrama. Y un melodrama que no adolece de las florituras normales de la época: Galsworthy hace gala de una gran prosa en ciertas descripciones, pero tiende a desviarse y a recargar el asunto a niveles entorpecedores para el lector contemporáneo. Más o menos como ocurre en escritores tan disímbolos como Jerome K Jerome y George Du Maurier. Quizá es por esto que James Michener en su obra "La Novela" pone en boca de un personaje crítico literario que Galsworthy era un escritor soberanamente sobrevalorado. Sin embargo, el ojo clínico e inmisericorde del autor, la disección de la familia en un tiempo y un lugar específicos y la suavidad con la que entrega el comentario social de la novela la ponen para mí como un ejemplo de gran litertura eduardiana.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primul volum al acestei Saga de familie mi-a dat putine batai de cap mai ales prin numarul extrem de mare de personaje care apar in acelasi timp in scena, fara explicatii ale istoricului lor si ale relatiilor ce le leaga. Usor, usor, incepi sa-ti dai seama care sunt cele principale, pe care trebuie sa le urmaresti mai cu atentie, si cele care, cel putin, in acest volum, sunt doar figuranti.

Ceea ce remarca orice cititor, fie ca reuseste sa duca romanul la bun sfarsit, fie ca renunta la el, este complexitatea acestuia, fiind fara doar si poate o constructie fictionala care prezinta moravurile si societatea britanica in epoca ei de aur, perioada victoriana. Neamul Forsyte reprezinta imaginea generica a stalpiilor societatii britanice, pietrele de temelie ale conventiilor sociale, "tot ceea ce este admirabil".

Titlul, desi initial trebuia sa fie simplu "Forsyte Saga", pana cand Galswhorty si-a dat seama ca trebuie sa continue povestea neamului in cauza, prezinta prin simplitatea si franchetea sa una dintre cele doua insusiri care formeaza pecetea unui Forsyte: "puterea de a nu se darui cu trup" si "simtul de proprietate".

Morala primul volum ar putea fi rezumata, in opinia mea, astfel: omul sarac nu va putea reusi niciodata in detrimentul celui bogat, nici cand are impresia ca il poate stapani, pentru moment. Moartea va fi pedeapsa pentru cel ce crede contrariul, o "interventie a Providentei". Iubirea nu te inalta, atunci cand esti, fara voia ta, "proprietatea" unui Forsyte, iar scapare din colivia de aur nu exista decat atunci cand acesta realizeaza ca isi impune stapanirea cu forta, ceea ce, poate, nu va avea niciodata slabiciunea sa accepte.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in London in the late 19th century, this is the first volume in a trilogy (not counting the interludes) describing the evolving fortunes of the Forsyte family. All of them, at least in this first part, more or less subscribe to the same 'family philosophy': property (get cheap and keep). Not unlike many other English, then as well as now, worrying about property ladders, 'buy to let', and what not.

Not too much happens, but it is always surprising and oftentimes funny, especially when circumstances demand that the family motto be ignored. Excellent light reading. Looking forward to the other books and very glad that I did not watch any of the TV series adaptations to spoil the fun.

[library ghost (farheen) · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's even silly of me to wonder whether I would like a book set in 19th century England because it's literally my fav thing to read about

[Ruthiella · Rating 4 out of 5]

“He had long forgotten how he had hovered, lanky and pale, in side whiskers of chestnut hue, round Emily, in the days of his own courtship. He had long forgotten the small house in the purlieus of Mayfair, where he had spet the early days of his married life, or rather, he had long forgotten the early days, not the small house,-a Forsyte never forgot a house-he had afterwards sold it at a clear profit of four hundred pounds .“

I know I read this in my late 20’s or early 30s, but I don’t remember much of the story, so I was glad to pick it up again for that reason. But also, I wonder if it didn’t stick with me because I read it too young. I suspect that I understand the themes, character motivations and satire much better now that I am older and a better reader. It was also interesting to read since the character St. John Clark from A Dance to the Music of Time was allegedly modeled on Galsworthy.

Published in 1906, The Man of Property, is the first book in the 9 book Forsyte saga, reads like a Victorian novel and takes place in the late Victorian period. The “Man of Property” is Soames Forsyte, the second generation of a very respectable, large upper-middle class English family. All Forsytes appreciate money and possessions and one of Soames’ more prized possessions is his beautiful wife, Irene who does not love him. Another major plot line is that of Old Jolyon, the patriarch of the family who longs to reconcile with his disgraced son. In many ways, this is a very soapy novel full of affairs and gossip. But it is also quite touching and moving and with a sharp satirical bite. And that ending! Pow! The edition I read (not pictured) also contains the novella/epilogue Indian Summer of a Forsyte which is interesting to read, but somewhat dilutes the power of the final page of The Man of Property.

[Dana Loo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valutazione 4,5
Una bellissima prosa, a tratti essenziale, a tratti sublime nelle descrizioni, nei dialoghi, nelle introspezioni e nella caratterizzazione dei personaggi. Un primo libro della Saga dei Forsyte che invoglia a continuare la lettura per scoprire la vera essenza di questa granitica famiglia vittoriana così tenacemente chiusa e morbosamente legata a quell'istinto di proprietà che li contraddistingue e che non riguarda solo i loro beni terreni ma anche le persone e i loro sentimenti. Una storia antica eppur moderna nelle dinamiche familiari: gelosie, avidità, rigidità, sprezzo ma anche sentimenti sotterranei che li rendono meno "aridi" agli occhi del lettore...

[Rick Slane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bad marriage 1880

[ნინო კერესელიძე · Rating 4 out of 5]

სანამ უშუალოდ წიგნს დავიწყებდი, სადღაც ამოვიკითხე, რომ ნობელის პრემია გოლზუორთმა თხრობის გამორჩეული მანერის გამო მიიღოო, რაც საუკეთესოდ მჟღავნდება “ფორსაიტების საგაშიო”. იქამდე გაგონილი მქონდა, რომ კარგი წიგნია, თუმცა რაღაც მომენტებში დამღლელიცო, რასაც რადიკალურად არ ვეთანხმები და მიმაჩნია, რომ ერთ-ერთი ყველაზე კარგად საკითხავი წიგნია, მათ შორის რაც კი აქამდე წამიკითხავს და რა თქმა უნდა, თხრობის მანერა უდავოდ გამორჩეული აქვს.
გოლზუორთი ბურჟუაზიის ზედა ფენის წარმომადგენელი ოჯახის ისტორიას ძალიან საინტერესოდ მოგვითხრობს და კონკრეტული ოჯახის ამბის აღწერით მთელი საზოგადოების სურათს წარმოგვიჩენს.
ფორსაიტიზმი განზოგადებულ ტერმინად გადაიქცევა და გამოიყენება ისეთ ადამიანებზე სასაუბროდ, რომელთაც მესაკუთრეობა სენად ჰქცევიათ, რომელთათვისაც ქონება და ფული ყოველივეზე მაღლა დგას. რომლებიც სილამაზეს, ხელოვნებას, სიყვარულს არ აფასებენ და არ აქვთ მშვენიერების აღქმა. მთავარი კონფლიქტიც წიგნში ესაა, სილამაზისა და სიყვარულის საკუთრების გრძნობასთან დაპირისპირება. ფორსაიტებს ე.წ. ცხოვრებისეულ მოტოდაც ის უქცევიათ, რომ არასდროს მისცენ გრძნობებს მათი ბიურგერული ცხოვრების არევის უფლება, მიიჩნევენ, რომ ადამიანი არაფერმა უნდა გაიტაცოს ისე, თუნდაც ეს მშვენიერებით ტკბობა, ან სიყვარული იყოს, რომ თავი დააკარგვინოს და და სისულელეები ჩაადენინოს.
არ შემიძლია არ აღვნიშნო, ავტორის ირონიული დამოკიდებულება, რომელიც წიგნის სათაურშივე ჩანს, “საგა” უნდა მოგვითხრობდეს საგმირო საქმეების ისტორიაზე, თუმცა თავად გოლზუორთი გვეუბნება, რომ ამ წიგნის ფურცლებზე ყველაზე ნაკლები დოზით შეიძლება გადავაწყდეთ გმირობას. მთელ წიგნს გასდევს ეს ირონია, თავად წიგნის დასაწყისშივეც ამბობს ავტორი, რომ ფსიქოლოგიური ანალიზის თვისება ფორსაიტებს შორის თუ ვინმეს გამოაჩნდებოდა უგუვლებელყოფდა, რადგანაც ამ თვისებას ფულადი ღირებულება არ გააჩნდა. ასევე ახსენებს, რომ ფორსაიტები ოპტიმისტებიც მხოლოდ მაშინ იყვნენ, როცა ოპტიმიზმისგან რაიმე სარგებელს ელოდნენ.
ორიოდე სიტყვის თქმა შეიძლება ხელოვნებისადმი დამოკიდებულებაზე. სომსი, რომლის გამოც ჰქვია ტრილოგიის პირველ წიგნს “მესაკუთრე”, ნახატების კოლექციას აგროვებს. თუმცა არა იმიტომ, რომ ესთეტიკური სიამოვნება მიიღოს ან სილამაზით დატკბეს, ხელოვნება მისთვის მხოლოდ იმდენად არსებობს, რამდენადაც ის ფულის მომტანია. ახსენებს, ჩემთვის ერთ-ერთ საყვარელ მხატვარს კამილ კოროს, რომელიც იმ პერიოდში ახალი გამოჩენილია მხატვრობაში, სომსს ფორსაიტული ალღო უბიძგებს, რომ მისი ნახატები შეიძინოს, რადგან გრძნობს რომ პერსპექტიული მხატვარია და მომავალში მისი შემოქმედებიდან დიდ მოგებას მიიღებს.
ფორსაიტების მრავალ საინტერესო თვისებათაგან, მნიშვნელოვანია, რომ ისინი არასდროს აქებენ იმას, რაც გულით მოსწონთ, ოჯახურ ამბებს არავითარ შემთხვევაში არ განიხილავენ უცხო ადამიანებთან და იმის მიუხედავად, რომ ქონება საკმარისზე მეტი აქვთ, არასდროს ხარჯავენ ერთი პენით მეტსაც კი.
ყველაზე მნიშვნელოვანი კი, მათ თვისებებს შორის, ჩემი აზრით, მესაკუთრის გამძაფრებული ინსტიქტია, სურთ თავიანთ საკუთრებაში მოაქციონ ყოველივე მატერიალური თუ არამატერიალური, იქნება ეს ფერწერული ნამუშევრები, სახლი, თუ ცოლი.
უკვე ძალიან გამიგრძელდა და საბოლოოდ ვიტყვი, რომ ჩემთვის ერთ-ერთი ყველაზე საინტერესო წიგნში ბოსინისა და ახალგაზრდა ჯოლიონის საუბარი აღმოჩნდა, კერძოდ, კი, ის მომეტი, როდესაც ფორსაიტების თვისებებს ამხელს თავად ჯოლიონ ფორსაიტი. მისი თქმით, ფორსაიტი უჩვეულო ცხოველი სულაც არაა, ნებისმიერგან შეიძლება შეხვდე ფორსაიტებს, ფორსაიტიზმის “სენით” დაავადებულ ადამიანებს და მათი ცნობაც ძალზედ ადვილია, მესაკუთრის აზრებითა და გრძნობებით ადვილად იცნობ. ზუსტად ამ საუბარში იკვეთება გოლზუორთის სათქმელი, რომ ფორსაიტიზმი განზოგადდება და თუ ყურადღებით დააკვირდები, მოძებნა სულაც არ დაგჭირდება მათი, საზოგადოების ძალიან ბევრი წევრი აღმოჩნდება ფორსაიტი, მესაკუთრე და ყოველივე გრძნობის უარმყოფელი.
მართლაც, დიადი წიგნი დაწერა გოლზუორთმა.

[Eddie Clarke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in Galsworthy’s trilogy The Forsyte Saga (itself the first in a lengthy series The Forsyte Chronicles).

I found the first half really tough going; the soap opera melodrama only hits its stride in the last third, becoming very effective - and the novel then ends on a cliff-hanger: it’s not a stand-alone at all! This must have been very annoying for the original readers, as it was first published in 1906 and they had to wait until 1920 for the second part.

Literary satires on the moral vacuity of the wealthy are certainly not original, and have been done much better. Galsworthy really labours this hackneyed theme, hammering home the stolid philistinism of ‘Forsytism’ with virtually every second sentence. It’s tiresome.

However, he is not without talent, and every so often a startling phrase or image emerges from the flow of his grandiloquent verbiage. As mentioned before, he does construct a good denouement to his melodrama.

His trick in this book is to almost overload the reader with extraneous detail but simultaneously to strenuously avoid close examination of two of the main characters, Bosinney and Irene. One sees them almost entirely through the eyes of the other characters, yet their story is the main matter of the book.

Just about all the characters are really repulsive. Noone is attractive or sympathetic. And boy there are thousands - I had frequent recourse to the helpful family tree at the front to sort my way through this vast extended family (FYI - it’s way too helpful if you want to avoid major spoilers).

I was slightly amused to notice some parallels with EM Forster’s ‘Howard’s End’ (1910). Both books are concerned with the state of the nation, particularly that of the propertied classes. The status and role of women in society are a concern in both. Both books have ludicrously melodramatic plots. Both books feature nefarious manoeuvrings around ownership of a particular property as a core feature of the plot and theme of the book. And both authors engineer ridiculous comeuppances for the déclassé insurgents into the placid world of the wealthy.

To be fair, Forster’s melodramatic ending is beyond Galsworthy’s in the ludicrous stakes. But Howard’s End’s beautiful style, its poetic symbolism, and the emotional immediacy of its characters, make the book a masterpiece. A Man of Property is by comparison a potboiler - yet I am relatively keen to move on to book 2.

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just reread this for the third/fourth time, and loved it unreservedly again. The Nobel Prize winners often seem inaccesible to me, but not so Galsworthy. I am again enthralled, pulled in to this very real story of real people with very human failings and foibles. I feel for poor Soames, the villain of the piece, who is emotionally crippled, recognising and desiring beauty, but only as a possession, and thus bound to destroy his own happiness and that of others around him. I would love Old Jolyon as a grandfather. I wish Irene had more courage. And despite the Forsytes being a very particular class of people in a particular country at a particular time in history, I recognise them.

My favourite pieces of writing are in the closing interlude, Indian Summer of a Forsyte

The stable clock struck four; in half an hour she would be here. He would have just one tiny nap, because he had had so little sleep of late; and then he would be fresh for her, fresh for youth and beauty, coming towards him across the sunlit lawn - lady in grey! And settling back in his chair he closed his eyes. Some thistledown came on what little air there was, and pitched on his moustache more white than itself. He did not know; but his breathing stirred it, caught there. A ray of sunlight struck through and lodged on his boot. A bumble-bee alighted and stolled on the crown of his Panama hat, and the head swayed forward and rested on his breast. Summer - summer! So went the hum.

The stable clock struck the quarter past. The dog Balthasar stretched and looked up at his master. The thistledown no longer moved. The dog placed his chin over the sunlit foot. It did not stir. The dog withdrew his chin quickly, rose, and leaped on old Jolyon's lap, looked in his face, whined; then, leaping down, sat on his haunches, gazing up. And suddenly he uttered a long, long howl.

But the thistledown was still as death, and the face of his old master.

Summer - summer- summer! The soundless footsteps on the grass!

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous start to the trilogy The Forsyte Saga. It's rather refreshing to be reading about the upper middle class; my literature in the past has tended to focus on either the aristocracy (or at least the upper class) or the working man/poor. It makes sense as at this time the middle class was growing and, perhaps, very understandably they were obsessed with money and 'property'. It was this that a man strived for, to increase his prosperity and secure a place for his family. Education and culture was all very well but money was the foundation that they stood upon and, in the end, it was the only thing that really counted.

Soames, the 'coming man' embodies the values of this upper middle class way of thinking. He comes from a wealthy family and is intent on working hard, increasing his prosperity and establishing himself as a man of consequence. His wife, Irene, might not feel the same way although she is so silent and withdrawn it is hard to tell.

The players in this family drama were well drawn by John Galsworthy - none of them perhaps were truly likeable, being rather shallow and selfish in their various ways, but they are all extremely human. I especially found Irene to be maddening, so much so that I had some sympathy for Soames in his frustrated treatment of her, something I never thought I'd be able to do.

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Forsythe family are a tight knit clan despite their cattiness and envy of each other. Galsworthy depicts a large, wealthy, late-Victorian family not dissimilar from his own, with all its warts. There are redeeming characters and even the rest exhibit a loyalty to the family admirable as it is rare. Superb writing!

[Osama Siddique · Rating 5 out of 5]

"“What was her father?”
“Heron was his name, a Professor, so they tell me.”
Roger shook his head.
“There’s no money in that,” he said.
“They say her mother’s father was cement.”
Roger’s face brightened."

The excerpt epitomizes the Forsytes whom Galsworthy memorably chronicles as the quintessential upper-middle class English men and women of enterprise, upward mobility & business acumen who rise from humble rural background to dedicated accumulators of property, successful professionals and leaders of commerce in 19th century London. The book opens with a vast family tree stemming from Jolyon Forsyte with engaging characters of various ages and inclinations but in the first book of the three novel saga, the action essentially revolves around a few of them. They are 'The Man of Property' himself i.e., the ambitious, emotionally frigid, art-loving, reserved and austere successful solicitor Soames Forsyte and his hard as nails and yet deeply emotional uncle Old Jolyon Forsyte. Both men are highly adept in matters of business and property and only an imprudent person would cross them, but are condemned to face their respective emotional challenges, that deepen as the novel progresses. In Soames's case it is his joyless marriage with the beautiful and progressively estranged Irene and in "Old" Jolyon's case it his falling out with his genial and artistic son "Young" Jolyon and his family as well as his emotional dependance on his feisty and emotionally vulnerable granddaughter June in the loneliness of his oncoming dotage.

Galsworthy's prose is lyrical, elegant and stylish and he takes great joy in describing not just people and customs but also locales, nature, architecture and seasons. London and its environs shine through radiantly in the book. At the same time, this is a great work of social and cultural satire that satires without caricaturing, is subtle and sharp in its mocking, and sensitive at the same time to the exigencies, complexes, strengths, complexities, idiosyncrasies and proclivities of his characters, which makes them believable and hence compelling. I will have to revisit Thackeray's Vanity Fair to compare the styles in which these two great writers explore the intricacies of class prejudice and upward mobility. Even as he lovingly describes London, the disturbing thought of its divide between the advantaged and the disadvantaged is never far from Galsworthy's mind:

"...that wonderful London sky, dusted with the innumerable reflection of countless lamps; a dome woven over between its stars with the refraction of human needs and human fancies—­immense mirror of pomp and misery that night after night stretches its kindly mocking over miles of houses and gardens, mansions and squalor, over Forsytes, policemen, and patient watchers in the streets."

The Forsytes are are very well established but by no means Old Money and this at times jars and further conditions them to weigh and gauge things in terms material, ever imbued with the desire for further financial stability and constant prudence. However, with money has also come an appreciation of the arts and life's finer things; though perhaps they have only recently graduated from that stage where in the words of Wilde one knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. The house Soames commissions to Bosinney to design for him is central to the plot and the varied reactions to it from the Forsyte family provide important insights to how they envision property, aesthetics, and emotions. The narrative is full of sharp and witty observations about the overwhelming acquisitive and possessory Forsyte characteristic and the resulting lack of sentimentality.

"There was little sentimentality about the Forsytes. In that great London, which they had conquered and become merged in, what time had they to be sentimental."

And because of the rigidity of social form and values, anything sentimental, any notion of the pursuit of love with abandon, was like a wild flower, not to be plucked.

"...it had been forgotten that Love is not a hot-house flower, but a wild plant, born of wet night, born of a hour of sunshine; sprung from wild seed, blow along the road by a wild wind. A wild plant that, when it blooms by chance within the hedge of our gardens, we call a flower; and when it blooms outside we call a weed, whose scent and color are always wild...
...where this wild plant springs, men and women are but moths around he pale, flame-like blossom."

At the same time, this is not just high quality social satire. In fact Galsworthy is a revelation to me in terms of the dexterity and sensitivity of his exploration of human relationships, failings, foibles and emotions. There is Soame's and Irene's lusterless marriage - so powerful is Galsworthy's depiction of their mismatch, the aridity of their exchanges, the joylessness of their mutual existence, Soame's bewilderment as his unsentimental mind simply cannot fathom why his wife would not find being married to him a boon, and Irene's growing aversion, and eventually loathing, for someone who possesses him rather than being married to him. Quite radical for its times Galsworthy both adopts a sympathetic approach to an unhappy married woman who eventually has an affair with the fiancé of June (raising great family complications, no little gossip, and an eventual secretive stance on the matter by the family) but also marital rape. Economic disempowerment plays a huge role in Irene's, and indeed her romantic partner, the architect Philip Bosinney's inability to break away social shackles and escape unhappy relationships. A scathing critique of hidebound social norms and traditions that perpetuate certain economic arrangements and hierarchies as well as unhappy marriages. A system where the less economically secure, women, and those not materially minded or ambitious, such as artists and those of literary talent, will always be at a great disadvantage. The Man of Property, therefore, continues to resonate strongly at multiple levels in this unequal age and in most societies.

Galsworthy trained as a lawyer and the novel has sharp witticisms and insights into the legal profession. Soames only displays emotions when blinding jealousy grips him and he uses the law to send Bosinney to ruination. The legal scenes are particularly strong. There is a mocking also of the type of people being sent to the colonies at that time.

"It appears that not the best stock was always sent our way, as usually believed.

“Always spoke of his three eldest boys as ‘good creatures, but so dull’; they’re all doing capitally in the Indian Civil!”

Galsworthy is simply spectacular in his exploration of old age. "Old" Jolyon is drawn splendidly - his life-time of staid, discipline in matters familiar and commercial; his devotion to June and his grandchildren as well as gnawing regret at his sundered relationship with his son; his sharp observation and shrewd assessment of people; his touchy relationship with many of his siblings; his iron-fisted convening of board meetings; and, his thoughtful contemplation of his past and the darkening shadows of old age and its relentless loneliness. We discover additional and fascinating facets of his personality in one of the interludes that Galsworthy wrote in between the novels - "Indian Summer of a Forsyte."

The opening book of the Forsyte Saga is a sharp and insightful examination of the 19th century propertied class in England, its value system, its aspirations, and its foibles. At the same time it is a brilliant exploration of the acquisitive spirit, unhappy matrimony, passion, jealousy, family loyalties, old age, and loneliness. Like all great literature the book continues to resonate across ages and in different social contexts.

[Terris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than I expected to! It was a little hard for me to get into, but once I got into the story it really kept my attention. Looking forward to Part #2 In Chancery :)

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first book in the Forsyte family saga reminded me of Downton Abbey in the beginning, but featuring more men than women. It had a certain amount of that dry British humor that I enjoy. Perhaps just a bit long, it was nevertheless enjoyable to the end. I’m not sure when I will get to the next two in the series, but I probably will read them.