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Green Mansions
A failed revolutionary attempt drives the hero of Hudson's novel to seek refuge in the primeval forests of south-western Venezuela. There, in the 'green mansions' of the title, Abel encounters the wood-nymph Rima, the last survivor of a mysterious aboriginal race. The love that flowers between them is soon overshadowed by cruelty and sorrow... One of the acknowledged masters of natural history writing, W. H. Hudson forms an important link between nineteenth-century Romanticism and the twentieth-century ecological movement.
First published in 1904 and a bestseller after its reissue a dozen years later, Green Mansions offers its readers a poignant meditation on the loss of wilderness, the dream of a return to nature, and the bitter reality of the encounter between savage and civilized man.
First published in 1904 and a bestseller after its reissue a dozen years later, Green Mansions offers its readers a poignant meditation on the loss of wilderness, the dream of a return to nature, and the bitter reality of the encounter between savage and civilized man.
358 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1904
294 people are currently reading
3880 people want to read
About the author
William Henry Hudson
347 books98 followersWilliam Henry Hudson was an Anglo-Argentine author, naturalist and ornithologist. His works include
Green Mansions
(1904).
Argentines consider him to belong to their national literature as Guillermo Enrique Hudson, the Spanish version of his name. He spent his youth studying the local flora and fauna and observing natural and human dramas on then a lawless frontier, publishing his ornithological work in Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society, initially in an English mingled with Spanish idioms. He settled in England during 1874. He produced a series of ornithological studies, including Argentine Ornithology (1888-1899) and British Birds (1895), and later achieved fame with his books on the English countryside, including Hampshire Days (1903), Afoot in England (1909) and A Shepherd's Life (1910). People best know his nonfiction in Far Away and Long Ago (1918). His other works include: The Purple Land (That England Lost) (1885), A Crystal Age (1887), The Naturalist in La Plata (1892), A Little Boy Lost (1905), Birds in Town and Village (1919), Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn (1920), and A Traveller in Little Things (1921).
Argentines consider him to belong to their national literature as Guillermo Enrique Hudson, the Spanish version of his name. He spent his youth studying the local flora and fauna and observing natural and human dramas on then a lawless frontier, publishing his ornithological work in Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society, initially in an English mingled with Spanish idioms. He settled in England during 1874. He produced a series of ornithological studies, including Argentine Ornithology (1888-1899) and British Birds (1895), and later achieved fame with his books on the English countryside, including Hampshire Days (1903), Afoot in England (1909) and A Shepherd's Life (1910). People best know his nonfiction in Far Away and Long Ago (1918). His other works include: The Purple Land (That England Lost) (1885), A Crystal Age (1887), The Naturalist in La Plata (1892), A Little Boy Lost (1905), Birds in Town and Village (1919), Dead Man's Plack and an Old Thorn (1920), and A Traveller in Little Things (1921).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 339 reviews
December 16, 2017
Sigh… this is a novel that has lived in my memory as a beloved book from my late teenage years. I first stumbled across this book deep in the stacks of my university library while randomly browsing in order to take a break from proving some tedious, complicated mathematical theorem. Perhaps it was the dullness of the mathematical formulas that in comparison led me to believe this book was truly magical. I became completely obsessed with the book and at the time considered it to be one of the most romantic stories ever written! I read this perhaps three times over the course of the next five years following my first reading, and my opinion did not alter. Then time slipped away, I moved out of town, the book was a precious memory… I eventually forgot about it. Then I joined Goodreads and tried to recall some novels that made an impact on me in my younger days. This one came to mind, but for the life of me I could not recall the title or the author… yes, some 25 years or so had passed, but still… perhaps this should have been a sign to leave well enough alone. I eventually figured it out, and back it went onto my to-read shelf. Needless to say, it did not have the same impact this time around!
The story is narrated by a young man, Abel, who has taken refuge with an Indian tribe in the tropical forests of Venezuela. The tribe fears entering the depths of one part of the jungle; their fear deriving from a superstition regarding the daughter of the “Didi”, who they believe wishes them harm. Abel, however, does not harbor any misgivings about the forest, and ventures out to explore. The vivid and beautiful descriptions of the local flora and fauna are the most redeeming qualities of the book, in my opinion. They were captivating and reflect the true love that W.H. Hudson had for the natural world. It is here that Abel then encounters the object of the tribe’s superstition – Rima, an ethereal, bird-like girl; her mysterious and enchanting songs will lure Abel farther and farther into the forest. "… before I had been resting many moments it was broken by a low strain of exquisite bird-melody, wonderfully pure and expressive, unlike any musical sound I had ever heard before. … its greatest charm was its resemblance to the human voice – a voice purified and brightened to something almost angelic. … The blood rushed to my heart as I listened; my nerves tingled with a strange new delight, the rapture produced by such music heightened by a sense of mystery." Rima represents all that is lovely and pure in nature. Abel quickly falls in love with this angelic creature. Rima seems to be the last survivor of some mystical race of people, yet in her isolation she seeks to find more of her kind. She sets out on a journey with the help of Abel and her ‘grandfather’, Nuflo. This journey becomes likened to a battle between mankind and nature, paralleling man’s greed and exploitation with the peace and harmony of the natural world.
On the surface, this is still a decent novel. Unfortunately, perhaps as a product of its time (written in 1904), the racist language is pervasive throughout. In his narration, Abel frequently refers to the South American Indian tribes as ‘savages’, ‘inferior’, and of the white man being intellectually superior. I have found that I am not a big fan of Romanticism, having read one or two other works from this period that have seemed too flowery or overwritten. I do enjoy descriptive writing, but this style in particular grates on my nerves a bit. While I was quite fond of Rima, Abel on the other hand was arrogant and rather unlikeable. I do appreciate the fact he exhibited some growth towards the end of the novel, yet this did not manage to ultimately endear him to me. I think this book is a worthwhile read in the sense that it is an excellent reminder about what we as human beings need to consider if we truly desire to protect our natural resources and ensure the longevity of our planet. I can’t really wholeheartedly recommend Green Mansions any longer; yet for nostalgic purposes, some splendid descriptions of nature, and the vital message contained within, I will rate this one 3 stars.
"The sense of the beautiful is God’s best gift to the human soul." – W.H. Hudson
The story is narrated by a young man, Abel, who has taken refuge with an Indian tribe in the tropical forests of Venezuela. The tribe fears entering the depths of one part of the jungle; their fear deriving from a superstition regarding the daughter of the “Didi”, who they believe wishes them harm. Abel, however, does not harbor any misgivings about the forest, and ventures out to explore. The vivid and beautiful descriptions of the local flora and fauna are the most redeeming qualities of the book, in my opinion. They were captivating and reflect the true love that W.H. Hudson had for the natural world. It is here that Abel then encounters the object of the tribe’s superstition – Rima, an ethereal, bird-like girl; her mysterious and enchanting songs will lure Abel farther and farther into the forest. "… before I had been resting many moments it was broken by a low strain of exquisite bird-melody, wonderfully pure and expressive, unlike any musical sound I had ever heard before. … its greatest charm was its resemblance to the human voice – a voice purified and brightened to something almost angelic. … The blood rushed to my heart as I listened; my nerves tingled with a strange new delight, the rapture produced by such music heightened by a sense of mystery." Rima represents all that is lovely and pure in nature. Abel quickly falls in love with this angelic creature. Rima seems to be the last survivor of some mystical race of people, yet in her isolation she seeks to find more of her kind. She sets out on a journey with the help of Abel and her ‘grandfather’, Nuflo. This journey becomes likened to a battle between mankind and nature, paralleling man’s greed and exploitation with the peace and harmony of the natural world.
On the surface, this is still a decent novel. Unfortunately, perhaps as a product of its time (written in 1904), the racist language is pervasive throughout. In his narration, Abel frequently refers to the South American Indian tribes as ‘savages’, ‘inferior’, and of the white man being intellectually superior. I have found that I am not a big fan of Romanticism, having read one or two other works from this period that have seemed too flowery or overwritten. I do enjoy descriptive writing, but this style in particular grates on my nerves a bit. While I was quite fond of Rima, Abel on the other hand was arrogant and rather unlikeable. I do appreciate the fact he exhibited some growth towards the end of the novel, yet this did not manage to ultimately endear him to me. I think this book is a worthwhile read in the sense that it is an excellent reminder about what we as human beings need to consider if we truly desire to protect our natural resources and ensure the longevity of our planet. I can’t really wholeheartedly recommend Green Mansions any longer; yet for nostalgic purposes, some splendid descriptions of nature, and the vital message contained within, I will rate this one 3 stars.
"The sense of the beautiful is God’s best gift to the human soul." – W.H. Hudson
November 25, 2023
Green Mansions: a Romance of the Tropical Forest (1904) is an exotic romance by W. H. Hudson (1841-1922) about a traveller to the Guyana jungle of southeastern Venezuela and his encounter with a forest dwelling girl named Rima. Hudson was born in Argentina, son of settlers of U.S. origin.
He spent his youth studying the local flora and fauna and observing both natural and human dramas on what was then a lawless frontier, publishing his ornithological work in Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society, initially in an English mingled with Spanish idioms. He settled in England during 1869. He produced a series of ornithological studies which helped foster the back-to-nature movement of the 1920s and 1930s. He was a founding member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Hudson wrote more than three dozen books during his life but by far his best known novel is Green Mansions, and his best known non-fiction is a memoir, Far Away and Long Ago (1918).
When I began to reread Green Mansions recently I instantly remembered why it impressed me so much. More than most other authors Hudson is able to instill the sense of wonder through his protagonist Abel who, while living by the Orinoco river in Venezuela, is drawn to the forest lands by strange bird-like singing. There he discovers a young girl named Rima and it is her story that takes up much of the remainder of the novel. She is unspoiled and wild like the animals among whom she lives. She knows neither the evil nor guile common to most civilized humans. This gives her supernatural stature in the eyes of the worldly Abel, who falls passionately in love with her.
Hudson based Rima and her lost tribe on persistent rumors about a tribe of white people who lived in the mountains. Temple paintings often showed light-skinned people, and Spanish Conquistadors were at first thought to be gods. I first read this novel when I was in high school and the memory of its' evocative and lyrical prose has lingered over the intervening decades. With qualities of a striking and original sort it has an enchantment; its pages are haunted by an unearthly perception of beauty and a wonderment that stirs the imagination. The story is one of people who are almost in an original state of nature, a romantic, if flawed, view that suggests their world may be better than civilization.
Green Mansions is one of the few novels ever to become an undisputed classic during the author's lifetime. It inspired a statue of Rima that you can find in Kensington Garden, London. It is a book I found to be truly enthralling and full of romantic magic making it a great read.
He spent his youth studying the local flora and fauna and observing both natural and human dramas on what was then a lawless frontier, publishing his ornithological work in Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society, initially in an English mingled with Spanish idioms. He settled in England during 1869. He produced a series of ornithological studies which helped foster the back-to-nature movement of the 1920s and 1930s. He was a founding member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Hudson wrote more than three dozen books during his life but by far his best known novel is Green Mansions, and his best known non-fiction is a memoir, Far Away and Long Ago (1918).
When I began to reread Green Mansions recently I instantly remembered why it impressed me so much. More than most other authors Hudson is able to instill the sense of wonder through his protagonist Abel who, while living by the Orinoco river in Venezuela, is drawn to the forest lands by strange bird-like singing. There he discovers a young girl named Rima and it is her story that takes up much of the remainder of the novel. She is unspoiled and wild like the animals among whom she lives. She knows neither the evil nor guile common to most civilized humans. This gives her supernatural stature in the eyes of the worldly Abel, who falls passionately in love with her.
Hudson based Rima and her lost tribe on persistent rumors about a tribe of white people who lived in the mountains. Temple paintings often showed light-skinned people, and Spanish Conquistadors were at first thought to be gods. I first read this novel when I was in high school and the memory of its' evocative and lyrical prose has lingered over the intervening decades. With qualities of a striking and original sort it has an enchantment; its pages are haunted by an unearthly perception of beauty and a wonderment that stirs the imagination. The story is one of people who are almost in an original state of nature, a romantic, if flawed, view that suggests their world may be better than civilization.
Green Mansions is one of the few novels ever to become an undisputed classic during the author's lifetime. It inspired a statue of Rima that you can find in Kensington Garden, London. It is a book I found to be truly enthralling and full of romantic magic making it a great read.
July 22, 2024
Woodland Nymph of Redemption
Green Mansions is a re-read, of course I read it many years ago and also enjoyed the enchanting movie with Audrey Hepburn back then. There are some books that fail to touch the same chords they struck in me when I was younger and this was one of them. I still have to give this story five stars as the writing is nothing short of poetic and borders on the mystical.
Abel is driven out of Venezuela by a failed political revolution, and when he is returned to his lands and finances he is a seemingly selfless man. He tells a friend the story of why he keeps a jar of ashes and must be a good man. The story is of him fleeing Venezuela and finding refuge in a rainforest with the natives who warn him of the spirit girl who lives in a nearby forest. The natives won’t go there, but Abel finds it beautiful and filled with wondrous birds and foliage he has never seen before. There is abundant game and he can’t imagine why his friends don’t hunt there, but they warn that sending a spear or blow dart at something would be caught and thrown back by the daughter of Didi.
One day Abel is bitten by a Coral snake and nearly dies, but awakens in a rude hut near an old man who tells him that his granddaughter saved him from the snake. The man’s name is Rufalo and soon he seen a beautiful girl that Rufalo calls Rima. Abel realizes that the enchanting calls he has been lured through the forest with have been made by the delicate woman who shys away from him and he is smitten. Rima speaks with her own musical bird like language and knows everything that happens in the forest. Her grandfather believes Rima’s mother was a saint and therefore Rima is in special contact with the other side.
This is a touching and enchanting tale, but I found that in my having grown accustomed to instant gratification with stories that it seemed to drag on longer than I remembered. It is still a beautiful story, but I wasn’t quite as starry eyed as I was in my teens. Still five stars.
Green Mansions is a re-read, of course I read it many years ago and also enjoyed the enchanting movie with Audrey Hepburn back then. There are some books that fail to touch the same chords they struck in me when I was younger and this was one of them. I still have to give this story five stars as the writing is nothing short of poetic and borders on the mystical.
Abel is driven out of Venezuela by a failed political revolution, and when he is returned to his lands and finances he is a seemingly selfless man. He tells a friend the story of why he keeps a jar of ashes and must be a good man. The story is of him fleeing Venezuela and finding refuge in a rainforest with the natives who warn him of the spirit girl who lives in a nearby forest. The natives won’t go there, but Abel finds it beautiful and filled with wondrous birds and foliage he has never seen before. There is abundant game and he can’t imagine why his friends don’t hunt there, but they warn that sending a spear or blow dart at something would be caught and thrown back by the daughter of Didi.
One day Abel is bitten by a Coral snake and nearly dies, but awakens in a rude hut near an old man who tells him that his granddaughter saved him from the snake. The man’s name is Rufalo and soon he seen a beautiful girl that Rufalo calls Rima. Abel realizes that the enchanting calls he has been lured through the forest with have been made by the delicate woman who shys away from him and he is smitten. Rima speaks with her own musical bird like language and knows everything that happens in the forest. Her grandfather believes Rima’s mother was a saint and therefore Rima is in special contact with the other side.
This is a touching and enchanting tale, but I found that in my having grown accustomed to instant gratification with stories that it seemed to drag on longer than I remembered. It is still a beautiful story, but I wasn’t quite as starry eyed as I was in my teens. Still five stars.
December 14, 2013
I feel ambivalent about this book. I did finish it, and on the whole I'm glad I read it, but I'm not sure I'd say I liked it--it holds on to three stars by its toe nails. It's considered a minor classic, and it was a favorite book of someone I knew in high school. How many classics are loved and read (unassigned) by teenagers? It was a favorite of novelist John Galsworthy as well, who provided the introduction in the Project Gutenberg edition I downloaded--he ranks Hudson with Tolstoy and called him his favorite living author (the book was published in 1904).
The "green mansions" of the title is the Venezuelan Amazon rainforest. And Hudson was not only a respected novelist in his day, but a naturalist--and it shows. His descriptions of the rainforest, his depiction of his heroine Rima, who embodies nature, was the most appealing side of the book. I wouldn't particularly call myself a nature lover--and certainly no environmentalist, but even I wasn't immune to how he painted everything from the canopy of trees to a moth or spider. Lyrical--vivid--it was all that. So was Rima--one of the most original and memorable heroines I've read in literature. She's described as "bird-like" and so mystically in tune with nature she gains her raiment from a spider's silk and can cuddle up to a coral snake with impunity. The area's tribe won't hunt in her domain, which is under her protection--they fear her as something supernatural. That's the good part of the book, and a big reason I kept turning the pages was to read more of Rima and find out what happened to her.
Then there's Abel. Abel is our narrator and hero--and boy, did I ever despise him. I'm far from politically correct--and I can make allowances for the times--remember, this was published in 1904. The problematic racial aspects of Gone With the Wind don't keep me from loving the book and film--ditto Kipling. So when I say Abel continually annoyed and repelled me with his attitude toward the indigenous inhabitants (which he called "savages") that says a lot. I'm not sure in the end if this really reflects Hudson's own attitudes or just how he depicted a character--because in the end I found Abel so despicable, so arrogant, I'm not so sure I am supposed to be on this side--although I think yes. In the end this is the first person narrator through which all the events are filtered, and he's framed as telling all this to his friend, who is flattering about his character. I can only tell you that if Rima is the reason I kept reading, Abel was the reason I was tempted to stop reading. If you can tolerate the character though, and some admittedly florid writing (1904 remember) as Abel goes into raptures about Rima's beauty--well, especially if you love nature, you might find yourself happy you took the journey.
The "green mansions" of the title is the Venezuelan Amazon rainforest. And Hudson was not only a respected novelist in his day, but a naturalist--and it shows. His descriptions of the rainforest, his depiction of his heroine Rima, who embodies nature, was the most appealing side of the book. I wouldn't particularly call myself a nature lover--and certainly no environmentalist, but even I wasn't immune to how he painted everything from the canopy of trees to a moth or spider. Lyrical--vivid--it was all that. So was Rima--one of the most original and memorable heroines I've read in literature. She's described as "bird-like" and so mystically in tune with nature she gains her raiment from a spider's silk and can cuddle up to a coral snake with impunity. The area's tribe won't hunt in her domain, which is under her protection--they fear her as something supernatural. That's the good part of the book, and a big reason I kept turning the pages was to read more of Rima and find out what happened to her.
Then there's Abel. Abel is our narrator and hero--and boy, did I ever despise him. I'm far from politically correct--and I can make allowances for the times--remember, this was published in 1904. The problematic racial aspects of Gone With the Wind don't keep me from loving the book and film--ditto Kipling. So when I say Abel continually annoyed and repelled me with his attitude toward the indigenous inhabitants (which he called "savages") that says a lot. I'm not sure in the end if this really reflects Hudson's own attitudes or just how he depicted a character--because in the end I found Abel so despicable, so arrogant, I'm not so sure I am supposed to be on this side--although I think yes. In the end this is the first person narrator through which all the events are filtered, and he's framed as telling all this to his friend, who is flattering about his character. I can only tell you that if Rima is the reason I kept reading, Abel was the reason I was tempted to stop reading. If you can tolerate the character though, and some admittedly florid writing (1904 remember) as Abel goes into raptures about Rima's beauty--well, especially if you love nature, you might find yourself happy you took the journey.
October 5, 2009
If you have never heard of the book Green Mansions and didn't know it was a classic, you're not alone. Neither did I before I saw it on my library's "We Recommend" table. It certainly looked old and, on a whim, I checked it out. After looking up the title on Amazon.com and Goodreads, I realized it was, indeed, a classic and thought I'd add a lesser known, or forgotten title to my list of twenty. You know, step outside the box. Maybe help shed some light on a great old book.
Well, classics are classics for a reason and there is a reason this book has been forgotten. It's not very good. In fact, I may as well say it. It's bad.
Abel, a member of the aristocratic class of Venezuela, flees to the uncivilized jungles after a failed coup. Because he is able to pick up languages easily, he learns to communicate and eventually live among several different indigenous tribes. Just like any great guest, he spends his time wowing them with his guitar, waits for his meals while he hangs out in his hammock and laughs at their silly traditions. Eventually, driven by boredom, he explores a cursed part of the forest where he eventually meets an unusual girl unlike any one he's ever seen. She seems able to talk to birds and snakes, climbs trees and appears to live all alone in her "green mansion." Most interesting to Abel is the paleness of her white skin, noticeably different from the savages (his words) that inhabit this area. Rima, as she is called by a spanish speaking man who raised her, is the last surviving member of an extinct tribe. How she came to live with him is more complicated than I care to explain, as William Henry Hudson unravels her origins in an excruciatingly slow discovery, but suffice it to say that when Rima and Abel fall in love, it spells doom for both of them.
While there is the romance, which is actually unsatisfying because it follows that melodramatic pattern of 19th century romanticism where there seems to be no passion accompanied with the unexplained devotion, this book is really more about the forest than the girl. Hudson uses most of his words to describe every tree, every vine, and every undergrowth. It becomes ridiculous to think that he is really including these mind-numbing descriptive details in his explanation of his tragic past to his friend.
In addition to the superfluous language, the book is unforgivably racist and outdated. I kept wondering why I was being less forgiving than I was with, say, A Town Like Alice, which also exposes its age with its no longer acceptable prejudices. All I can say is that Alice at least redeems itself with its other, better qualities. Green Mansions doesn't. Its attitude towards the aboriginals of Venezuela, as described by a superior white man, is blatantly offensive. Uncomfortably so.
Skip it. There's really no reason to read this book.
Well, classics are classics for a reason and there is a reason this book has been forgotten. It's not very good. In fact, I may as well say it. It's bad.
Abel, a member of the aristocratic class of Venezuela, flees to the uncivilized jungles after a failed coup. Because he is able to pick up languages easily, he learns to communicate and eventually live among several different indigenous tribes. Just like any great guest, he spends his time wowing them with his guitar, waits for his meals while he hangs out in his hammock and laughs at their silly traditions. Eventually, driven by boredom, he explores a cursed part of the forest where he eventually meets an unusual girl unlike any one he's ever seen. She seems able to talk to birds and snakes, climbs trees and appears to live all alone in her "green mansion." Most interesting to Abel is the paleness of her white skin, noticeably different from the savages (his words) that inhabit this area. Rima, as she is called by a spanish speaking man who raised her, is the last surviving member of an extinct tribe. How she came to live with him is more complicated than I care to explain, as William Henry Hudson unravels her origins in an excruciatingly slow discovery, but suffice it to say that when Rima and Abel fall in love, it spells doom for both of them.
While there is the romance, which is actually unsatisfying because it follows that melodramatic pattern of 19th century romanticism where there seems to be no passion accompanied with the unexplained devotion, this book is really more about the forest than the girl. Hudson uses most of his words to describe every tree, every vine, and every undergrowth. It becomes ridiculous to think that he is really including these mind-numbing descriptive details in his explanation of his tragic past to his friend.
In addition to the superfluous language, the book is unforgivably racist and outdated. I kept wondering why I was being less forgiving than I was with, say, A Town Like Alice, which also exposes its age with its no longer acceptable prejudices. All I can say is that Alice at least redeems itself with its other, better qualities. Green Mansions doesn't. Its attitude towards the aboriginals of Venezuela, as described by a superior white man, is blatantly offensive. Uncomfortably so.
Skip it. There's really no reason to read this book.
October 30, 2009
A nice romantic and unusual story set in Victorian era in the forests of Venzuela. Interesting narrative, a bit difficult to get into, however it's worth it if you are patient.
I am actually revising this review. After being done with this book after a few days, I realize that I am still thinking about it and when that happens, I need to re-evaluate my feelings.
I think I finally get this story. This is about nature vs man, Rima is our representation of nature. SHe is everything beautiful, innocent and pure. Her relationships with all around her, including man is how it should be for everyone. However, man's ignorance and greed and corruptability know only how to do one thing well and that's destroy and kill all beauty around them. We see it everyday with logging companies destroying our forests, animals go endangered or extinct due to the man's destruction nature. Our oceans are full of pollutants and we kill for profit daily with corporate machines. This is a story of man told in it's simplest, most heartbreaking way.
Highly recommend.
I am actually revising this review. After being done with this book after a few days, I realize that I am still thinking about it and when that happens, I need to re-evaluate my feelings.
I think I finally get this story. This is about nature vs man, Rima is our representation of nature. SHe is everything beautiful, innocent and pure. Her relationships with all around her, including man is how it should be for everyone. However, man's ignorance and greed and corruptability know only how to do one thing well and that's destroy and kill all beauty around them. We see it everyday with logging companies destroying our forests, animals go endangered or extinct due to the man's destruction nature. Our oceans are full of pollutants and we kill for profit daily with corporate machines. This is a story of man told in it's simplest, most heartbreaking way.
Highly recommend.
June 17, 2022
This is an all-time nostalgic classic for me. I read it as a teenager, and I remember being so moved by the dreamlike quality of the prose. It is the definition of a book that haunts you long after you've finished.
October 27, 2019
In my recent review of Frank Aubrey's lost-race novel "The King of the Dead" (1903), which transpires in the jungle depths of Brazil, I mentioned that the author, in an attempt to add realism to his descriptions of the terrain, had quoted liberally from works by the famed Argentinian writer William Henry Hudson. And well he might! Hudson at that point was 62 years old, and well known for being both a naturalist and ornithologist, his specialty being the birds of his native South America; he'd already written any number of books on the subject, as well as his first piece of fiction, a dystopian novel entitled "A Crystal Age" (1887). One could hardly do better than quoting from a W. H. Hudson book, when describing both the flora and fauna of Brazil! But today, of course, Hudson is best known for his second novel, which was released one year after "The King of the Dead." The book was "Green Mansions," which, since its first incarnation as a Gerald Duckworth & Co. hardcover in 1904, has seen dozens of various editions around the world; a perennial favorite that has rarely, if ever, been out of print. This reader had had the 1959 Bantam paperback (cover price: 50 cents) sitting on his shelf, unread, for ages; at this point, I cannot even recall when or where I acquired it. But it is a very nice edition, indeed, the movie tie-in edition, and featuring charming illustrations by Sheilah Beckett throughout. A beautifully written piece of magical realism, as it turns out, Hudson's most famous work has been captivating the hearts and minds of readers for well over a century now...and for very good reason!
The book is narrated by an old man named Abel Guevez de Argensola, in an attempt to explain to an English friend of his how he became the person he is today. It seems that back in the mid-1870s, Abel, a young Venezuelan, had been a member of a faction that was involved in a failed takeover of the government in Caracas. Fleeing for his life, Abel had decided to indulge an urge of his that he'd had for the longest time: an exploration of the largely unmapped region south of the Orinoco. After many wanderings and hardships, he’d tried to locate the gold deposits supposedly residing near the Parahuari tribe, in the largely unexplored area where Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil meet. Failing in this attempt, he'd resided with the Parahuari themselves and made rough friends with their chief, Runi, as well as one of the young warriors, Kua-ko. Abel was given the liberty to come and go as he pleased, only being warned against venturing into the nearby forest on the other side of a desolate savannah. But Abel had gone exploring in that forest anyway, drawn back repeatedly after hearing the call of a bird such as he’d never heard before. He was warned by the Parahuari that the forest was haunted by the "daughter of the Didi," a monstrous spirit of sorts, and ultimately, Abel did indeed encounter the dreaded woman herself, after he'd attempted to kill a poisonous coral snake. The woman turned out to be named Rima, in actuality, a 17-year-old child of nature who talked to the birds and other animals, wore a gown made of spun spider silk, and was wholly averse to the destruction of any living creature. Rima had been living in the forbidden wood with an old man named Nuflo, who claimed to be her grandfather. And soon enough, Abel had fallen in love with the beautiful forest girl, and had helped her and her grandfather search for the land, Riolama, where her mother had come from, thus angering the nearby natives and resulting in tragedy for all concerned....
I mentioned a little earlier that "Green Mansions" is a very fine example of magical realism, and indeed, there is very little in Hudson's book that could not actually transpire in real life. Rima, of course, is the book's foremost element of fascination and wonder, but even this charming creature, who runs along the uppermost branches of the trees, subsists on berries and various gums, and befriends even the lowest and most dangerous forms of wildlife (spiders and snakes, for example), is not necessarily outside the bounds of credibility. To add realism to his conceit, Hudson regales us with his hard-won knowledge of South American wildlife (we get to hear of the camoodi, troupial, accouri, campanero bird, sakawinki, cotinga), the exotic flora (the mora tree, the cecropia, the greenheart), and the native beliefs, dress, weapons and drink (the Curupita monster, the queyou loincloth, the zabatana blowgun, the casserie liquor made of masticated cassava). His book is remarkably well written--the sophomore novel shows every sign of being penned by a master--and much of the book's appeal rests in the lyrically written, poetic passages that Hudson showers upon the reader. When describing the sounds emitted by a passing flock of birds, we’re told "...there was something ethereal too in those drops of melodious sound, which fell into my heart like raindrops falling into a pool to mix their fresh heavenly water with the water of earth...." When describing the bell-like notes of the campanero bird, Hudson writes: "...so bell-like, so like the great wide-travelling sounds associated in our minds with Christian worship. And yet so unlike. A bell, yet not made of gross metal dug out of earth, but of an ethereal, sublimer material that floats impalpable and invisible in space--a vital bell suspended on nothing, giving out sounds in harmony with the vastness of blue heaven, the unsullied purity of nature, the glory of the sun, and conveying a mystic, a higher message to the soul than the sounds that surge from tower and belfry...."
Whew! In one of the book's more rapturous moments, the smitten Abel tells his lovely nature woman "...this is love, Rima, the flower and the melody of life, the sweetest thing, the sweet miracle that makes our two souls one...." And I just love when Abel, during his initial four-page description of Rima, who enters the story roughly at the novel's one-quarter point, asks us "...why has Nature, maker of so many types and of innumerable individuals of each, given to the world but one being like this?"
Although boasting any number of tremendous set pieces--Abel's first glimpse of Rima, the trio's journey to Riolama, the multiple tragic incidents that occur back to back to back near the book's end, Abel's descent into madness and hallucinatory wandering as the story draws to its close--it is Hudson's beautiful verbiage, his engendering of a magical, poetical atmosphere, his quintet of sharply etched characters, his evocative descriptions and, of course, the one-of-a-kind Rima that combine to make "Green Mansions" the classic that it remains today. Hudson makes only one misstep in the course of his tale: when he tells us that Runi's archenemy, Managa, dwells to the southwest; 234 pages later, Managa is said to live to the northwest. But other than this one gaffe, Hudson's novel is sheer perfection; a book that I devoured with relish. Not for nothing does my 1959 Bantam movie tie-in edition call it "pure enchantment...one of the most romantic and enthralling in all literature." I could not agree more.
And, oh...as long as I have broached the subject of that film, which was released in May 1959, a quick word on that topic. It is a perfectly decent little film--one that I watched the day after I finished the Hudson book--that simply pales into insignificance when compared to its classic source. Screenwriter Dorothy Kingsley--who had previously been responsible for the scripts for "Kiss Me Kate," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "Pal Joey," and who would go on to create the screenplays for "Can-Can" and, uh, "Valley of the Dolls"--adds much incident not present in the Hudson book and, sadly, deletes still more; even the novel's tragic ending has been changed to shoehorn in a patently phony happy ending. The film strips away all the magic and poetry from Hudson's book and leaves us with a typical Hollywood jungle adventure, replete with dancing natives and a chase over a swaying rope bridge. Thus, the movie feels closer in spirit and DNA to something like the great 1954 thriller "The Naked Jungle" than its source novel. Still, neither the film's director, Mel Ferrer, nor its small cast of excellent actors can be blamed; it's just that Kingsley's script, ticking off the bare plot points of Hudson's story as it does, lets them all down.
As for the actors, they are probably all miscast, although I cannot say who I would have replaced them with, in a story that may well be unfilmable. Thus, playing the Venezuelans, we have Belgian Audrey Hepburn as Rima (she'd been married to Ferrer for five years at this point and would remain married to him for nine more); L. A.-born Anthony Perkins as Abel (how odd it is to hear Rima tell him that her dead mother feels "so near that I talk to her," as the very next year, Perkins would gain eternal fame playing a character who does the exact same thing, in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"); the great, N.Y.C.-born, Jewish character actor Lee J. Cobb, practically unrecognizable here behind a thick white beard, as Nuflo; the terrific, N.Y.C.-born, Sicilian/Portuguese character actor Henry Silva as Kua-ko; and the Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa as Runi. All give it their professional best, but again, can only do so much with that Kingsley script. Perhaps only Jerusalem-born Nehemiah Persoff seems apt here, in his role as a shopkeeper...a character not even present in Hudson's book!
Despite Hepburn's participation--an actress who was riding high after 1957's "Funny Face" and who, two months later, would appear in July 1959's smash hit "The Nun's Story"--"Green Mansions" was a box-office flop and a critical failure. Still, the news is not all bad. The film looks fairly impressive, and many of the picture's outdoor shots were indeed filmed in British Guiana, Venezuela and Colombia, although it is patently obvious that none of the principal actors traveled there. And OMG, that Audrey Hepburn! I don’t think I've ever seen her look more beautiful than she does here, and that one shot of her cuddling a baby fawn is one that you'll want to freeze and marvel at. Still, the film and the book are vastly different entities. My friend Debbie tells me that when she had to read the book in high school, she cheated and watched the film instead, and then wrote an essay based on that. Her teacher busted her for it immediately, so different are the two creations! As mentioned, the film is a perfectly decent, romantic action film, but the book is where the magic, poetry and true beauty reside. Three stars for the film, and a perfect five for Hudson's most enduring work....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ … a most ideal destination for all fans of magical realism-type fare....)
The book is narrated by an old man named Abel Guevez de Argensola, in an attempt to explain to an English friend of his how he became the person he is today. It seems that back in the mid-1870s, Abel, a young Venezuelan, had been a member of a faction that was involved in a failed takeover of the government in Caracas. Fleeing for his life, Abel had decided to indulge an urge of his that he'd had for the longest time: an exploration of the largely unmapped region south of the Orinoco. After many wanderings and hardships, he’d tried to locate the gold deposits supposedly residing near the Parahuari tribe, in the largely unexplored area where Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil meet. Failing in this attempt, he'd resided with the Parahuari themselves and made rough friends with their chief, Runi, as well as one of the young warriors, Kua-ko. Abel was given the liberty to come and go as he pleased, only being warned against venturing into the nearby forest on the other side of a desolate savannah. But Abel had gone exploring in that forest anyway, drawn back repeatedly after hearing the call of a bird such as he’d never heard before. He was warned by the Parahuari that the forest was haunted by the "daughter of the Didi," a monstrous spirit of sorts, and ultimately, Abel did indeed encounter the dreaded woman herself, after he'd attempted to kill a poisonous coral snake. The woman turned out to be named Rima, in actuality, a 17-year-old child of nature who talked to the birds and other animals, wore a gown made of spun spider silk, and was wholly averse to the destruction of any living creature. Rima had been living in the forbidden wood with an old man named Nuflo, who claimed to be her grandfather. And soon enough, Abel had fallen in love with the beautiful forest girl, and had helped her and her grandfather search for the land, Riolama, where her mother had come from, thus angering the nearby natives and resulting in tragedy for all concerned....
I mentioned a little earlier that "Green Mansions" is a very fine example of magical realism, and indeed, there is very little in Hudson's book that could not actually transpire in real life. Rima, of course, is the book's foremost element of fascination and wonder, but even this charming creature, who runs along the uppermost branches of the trees, subsists on berries and various gums, and befriends even the lowest and most dangerous forms of wildlife (spiders and snakes, for example), is not necessarily outside the bounds of credibility. To add realism to his conceit, Hudson regales us with his hard-won knowledge of South American wildlife (we get to hear of the camoodi, troupial, accouri, campanero bird, sakawinki, cotinga), the exotic flora (the mora tree, the cecropia, the greenheart), and the native beliefs, dress, weapons and drink (the Curupita monster, the queyou loincloth, the zabatana blowgun, the casserie liquor made of masticated cassava). His book is remarkably well written--the sophomore novel shows every sign of being penned by a master--and much of the book's appeal rests in the lyrically written, poetic passages that Hudson showers upon the reader. When describing the sounds emitted by a passing flock of birds, we’re told "...there was something ethereal too in those drops of melodious sound, which fell into my heart like raindrops falling into a pool to mix their fresh heavenly water with the water of earth...." When describing the bell-like notes of the campanero bird, Hudson writes: "...so bell-like, so like the great wide-travelling sounds associated in our minds with Christian worship. And yet so unlike. A bell, yet not made of gross metal dug out of earth, but of an ethereal, sublimer material that floats impalpable and invisible in space--a vital bell suspended on nothing, giving out sounds in harmony with the vastness of blue heaven, the unsullied purity of nature, the glory of the sun, and conveying a mystic, a higher message to the soul than the sounds that surge from tower and belfry...."
Whew! In one of the book's more rapturous moments, the smitten Abel tells his lovely nature woman "...this is love, Rima, the flower and the melody of life, the sweetest thing, the sweet miracle that makes our two souls one...." And I just love when Abel, during his initial four-page description of Rima, who enters the story roughly at the novel's one-quarter point, asks us "...why has Nature, maker of so many types and of innumerable individuals of each, given to the world but one being like this?"
Although boasting any number of tremendous set pieces--Abel's first glimpse of Rima, the trio's journey to Riolama, the multiple tragic incidents that occur back to back to back near the book's end, Abel's descent into madness and hallucinatory wandering as the story draws to its close--it is Hudson's beautiful verbiage, his engendering of a magical, poetical atmosphere, his quintet of sharply etched characters, his evocative descriptions and, of course, the one-of-a-kind Rima that combine to make "Green Mansions" the classic that it remains today. Hudson makes only one misstep in the course of his tale: when he tells us that Runi's archenemy, Managa, dwells to the southwest; 234 pages later, Managa is said to live to the northwest. But other than this one gaffe, Hudson's novel is sheer perfection; a book that I devoured with relish. Not for nothing does my 1959 Bantam movie tie-in edition call it "pure enchantment...one of the most romantic and enthralling in all literature." I could not agree more.
And, oh...as long as I have broached the subject of that film, which was released in May 1959, a quick word on that topic. It is a perfectly decent little film--one that I watched the day after I finished the Hudson book--that simply pales into insignificance when compared to its classic source. Screenwriter Dorothy Kingsley--who had previously been responsible for the scripts for "Kiss Me Kate," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "Pal Joey," and who would go on to create the screenplays for "Can-Can" and, uh, "Valley of the Dolls"--adds much incident not present in the Hudson book and, sadly, deletes still more; even the novel's tragic ending has been changed to shoehorn in a patently phony happy ending. The film strips away all the magic and poetry from Hudson's book and leaves us with a typical Hollywood jungle adventure, replete with dancing natives and a chase over a swaying rope bridge. Thus, the movie feels closer in spirit and DNA to something like the great 1954 thriller "The Naked Jungle" than its source novel. Still, neither the film's director, Mel Ferrer, nor its small cast of excellent actors can be blamed; it's just that Kingsley's script, ticking off the bare plot points of Hudson's story as it does, lets them all down.
As for the actors, they are probably all miscast, although I cannot say who I would have replaced them with, in a story that may well be unfilmable. Thus, playing the Venezuelans, we have Belgian Audrey Hepburn as Rima (she'd been married to Ferrer for five years at this point and would remain married to him for nine more); L. A.-born Anthony Perkins as Abel (how odd it is to hear Rima tell him that her dead mother feels "so near that I talk to her," as the very next year, Perkins would gain eternal fame playing a character who does the exact same thing, in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"); the great, N.Y.C.-born, Jewish character actor Lee J. Cobb, practically unrecognizable here behind a thick white beard, as Nuflo; the terrific, N.Y.C.-born, Sicilian/Portuguese character actor Henry Silva as Kua-ko; and the Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa as Runi. All give it their professional best, but again, can only do so much with that Kingsley script. Perhaps only Jerusalem-born Nehemiah Persoff seems apt here, in his role as a shopkeeper...a character not even present in Hudson's book!
Despite Hepburn's participation--an actress who was riding high after 1957's "Funny Face" and who, two months later, would appear in July 1959's smash hit "The Nun's Story"--"Green Mansions" was a box-office flop and a critical failure. Still, the news is not all bad. The film looks fairly impressive, and many of the picture's outdoor shots were indeed filmed in British Guiana, Venezuela and Colombia, although it is patently obvious that none of the principal actors traveled there. And OMG, that Audrey Hepburn! I don’t think I've ever seen her look more beautiful than she does here, and that one shot of her cuddling a baby fawn is one that you'll want to freeze and marvel at. Still, the film and the book are vastly different entities. My friend Debbie tells me that when she had to read the book in high school, she cheated and watched the film instead, and then wrote an essay based on that. Her teacher busted her for it immediately, so different are the two creations! As mentioned, the film is a perfectly decent, romantic action film, but the book is where the magic, poetry and true beauty reside. Three stars for the film, and a perfect five for Hudson's most enduring work....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ … a most ideal destination for all fans of magical realism-type fare....)
September 10, 2021
Okudukça neden Orwell'in Hemingway'in etkilendiğini anlıyorsunuz. Yazarın kendisi de dönemdaşı Wells'i okumuş mudur bilemiyorum...
Zaten doğa bilimci olduğundan ortam tasvirleri çok detaylı. Dünyanın el değmemiş bölgesinde son üyeleri kalmış bir gizemli ırk keşfediliyor. Sonrası malum, aşklar, kızı kurtarma isteği...
Zaten doğa bilimci olduğundan ortam tasvirleri çok detaylı. Dünyanın el değmemiş bölgesinde son üyeleri kalmış bir gizemli ırk keşfediliyor. Sonrası malum, aşklar, kızı kurtarma isteği...
November 3, 2014
Abel narrates a story about his mysterious past in the "green mansions" of the Venezuelan rainforest. When he was a young revolutionary, he had to go into hiding in an Indian village in the Parahuari Mountains. He went exploring in a nearby forest where the Indians refused to walk, fearing the presence of an evil spirit, the Daughter of the Didi. She was a half-wild girl named Rima who lived close to nature, hiding while singing with soft warbling sounds. "Again and again as I stood there listening it sounded, now so faint and apparently far off as to be scarcely audible; then all at once it would ring out bright and clear within a few yards of me, as if the shy little thing had suddenly grown bold; but, far or near, the vocalist remained invisible, and at length the tantalising melody ceased altogether."
This romantic fantasy show the author's love of the natural world of South America. It portrayed an allegorical ideal world where man lives in harmony with nature. Although Hudson's writing is very descriptive and flowery, the book kept my interest because of its imaginative quality. Published in 1904, some parts of the book would be considered offensive by today's standards concerning native people. It mentioned the superiority of the white man even though the native Indians provided help to Abel, and kept him from starving to death many times during the course of his adventures.
This romantic fantasy show the author's love of the natural world of South America. It portrayed an allegorical ideal world where man lives in harmony with nature. Although Hudson's writing is very descriptive and flowery, the book kept my interest because of its imaginative quality. Published in 1904, some parts of the book would be considered offensive by today's standards concerning native people. It mentioned the superiority of the white man even though the native Indians provided help to Abel, and kept him from starving to death many times during the course of his adventures.
March 25, 2025
I read this book in high school. My teacher was Richard Peck, the author, yes that Richard Peck. I was at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook Illinois. I can say that he really “got” his students.
He was the best teacher I ever had and he had all of us hanging on his every word - even diagramming sentences. This was where I became a reader, a real reader.
I can’t remember much of the book now so I will have to do a re-read. But my teenaged self found it exciting and romantic. But I remember that I loved it.
Publisher: A failed revolutionary attempt drives the hero of Hudson's novel to seek refuge in the primeval forests of south-western Venezuela. There, in the 'green mansions' of the title, Abel encounters the wood-nymph Rima, the last survivor of a mysterious aboriginal race. The love that flowers between them is soon overshadowed by cruelty and sorrow... One of the acknowledged masters of natural history writing, W. H. Hudson forms an important link between nineteenth-century Romanticism and the twentieth-century ecological movement.
First published in 1904 and a bestseller after its reissue a dozen years later, Green Mansions offers its readers a poignant meditation on the loss of wilderness, the dream of a return to nature, and the bitter reality of the encounter between savage and civilized man.
He was the best teacher I ever had and he had all of us hanging on his every word - even diagramming sentences. This was where I became a reader, a real reader.
I can’t remember much of the book now so I will have to do a re-read. But my teenaged self found it exciting and romantic. But I remember that I loved it.
Publisher: A failed revolutionary attempt drives the hero of Hudson's novel to seek refuge in the primeval forests of south-western Venezuela. There, in the 'green mansions' of the title, Abel encounters the wood-nymph Rima, the last survivor of a mysterious aboriginal race. The love that flowers between them is soon overshadowed by cruelty and sorrow... One of the acknowledged masters of natural history writing, W. H. Hudson forms an important link between nineteenth-century Romanticism and the twentieth-century ecological movement.
First published in 1904 and a bestseller after its reissue a dozen years later, Green Mansions offers its readers a poignant meditation on the loss of wilderness, the dream of a return to nature, and the bitter reality of the encounter between savage and civilized man.
February 10, 2011
Considered W H Hudson's masterpiece and promoted as an exotic romance, Green Mansions lived up to its reputation. An old man, Mr Abel, tells his tale to a close friend. Mr Abel, a Venezuelan, had become embroiled in a political plot to overthrow his government back when he was an unwise young man of twenty-three. The plot was discovered, forcing him to flee for his life. Consequently he spent some years wandering the jungle and living with savages.
Mr Abel met a mysterious young woman who besides her great beauty, also spoke an unknown language and had a mystical relationship with the flora and fauna of the jungle. Between the bird-girl Rina and Mr Abel, a passionate love grew and though he did everything within his power to bring her happiness, tragedy was the result of their relationship.
The most amazing aspect of the novel is the telling of the story with not one word of dialogue. It is all description: of the jungle, the natives, the bird-girl and her strange "grandfather," and of the states of mind along with the adventures of Mr Abel. Never have I read a novel in this form that was so compelling. It is full of action, emotion, danger, passion, extreme adventure and continuous suspense, as though the reader were also in the jungle and in the mind of Mr Abel.
I became aware of Green Mansions years ago and have had a yellowed used paperback on my shelves for almost two decades. Thanks to one of my reading groups, I have read it at last and understand why it appears on so many reading lists. An investment of $2.50 and two evenings of reading time brought me more entertainment than I ever expected.
Mr Abel met a mysterious young woman who besides her great beauty, also spoke an unknown language and had a mystical relationship with the flora and fauna of the jungle. Between the bird-girl Rina and Mr Abel, a passionate love grew and though he did everything within his power to bring her happiness, tragedy was the result of their relationship.
The most amazing aspect of the novel is the telling of the story with not one word of dialogue. It is all description: of the jungle, the natives, the bird-girl and her strange "grandfather," and of the states of mind along with the adventures of Mr Abel. Never have I read a novel in this form that was so compelling. It is full of action, emotion, danger, passion, extreme adventure and continuous suspense, as though the reader were also in the jungle and in the mind of Mr Abel.
I became aware of Green Mansions years ago and have had a yellowed used paperback on my shelves for almost two decades. Thanks to one of my reading groups, I have read it at last and understand why it appears on so many reading lists. An investment of $2.50 and two evenings of reading time brought me more entertainment than I ever expected.
July 2, 2013
When I was studying Jungian psychology, many years ago, I came across this book which hangs its narrative upon his "night journey" concept (a prevalent theme in books and films including Coppala's Apocalypse Now, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Oliver Stone's Platoon), that of a journey into the self personified by a physical reality, a jungle, dessert, cave etc. In this reality lies a shadow figure to be overcome/slain/or fallen to, representative of the hero's unrecognized unconscious, and an anima (for the male) or animus (for the female), a transcendent and creative figure that helps the hero/heroine overcome their personal psyche.
In Green Mansions by William Henry Hudson, we see this played out perhaps better than in any other story with the exception of Conrad's Heart of Darkness. From an era of many lost tribes and hidden jungle haunts (Edgar Rice Burroughs comes instantly to mind), Rima the bird girl (our protagonist's anima) is so strikingly drawn and made such an impression on me as a young writer, that I've used the name in stories of my own.
Don't be put off by all the psycho-babble, Green Mansions is a solid entertaining story that will wrap you in its jungle foliage and carry you along to its sad and revealing conclusion. Recommended for all readers.
In Green Mansions by William Henry Hudson, we see this played out perhaps better than in any other story with the exception of Conrad's Heart of Darkness. From an era of many lost tribes and hidden jungle haunts (Edgar Rice Burroughs comes instantly to mind), Rima the bird girl (our protagonist's anima) is so strikingly drawn and made such an impression on me as a young writer, that I've used the name in stories of my own.
Don't be put off by all the psycho-babble, Green Mansions is a solid entertaining story that will wrap you in its jungle foliage and carry you along to its sad and revealing conclusion. Recommended for all readers.
August 23, 2021
Like Heart of Darkness, this is a long recounted tale about a journey among ‘savages’. After a prologue, the narrator soon cedes storytelling duties to Mr. Abel, whom he met in Georgetown, Guyana in 1887. Searching for gold and fighting off illness, the 23-year-old Abel took up the habit of wandering the Venezuelan forest. The indigenous people were superstitious and refused to hunt in that forest. Abel began to hear strange noises – magical bird calls or laughter – that, siren-like, drew him deeper in. His native friend warned him it was the daughter of an evil spirit.
One day, after being bitten by a snake, Abel woke up in the dwelling of an old man and his 17-year-old granddaughter, Rima – the very wood sprite he’d sensed all these times in the forest; she saved his life. Recovering in their home and helping Rima investigate her origins, he romanticizes this tree spirit in a way that struck me as smarmy. It’s possible this could be appreciated as a fable of connection with nature, but I found it vague and old-fashioned. (Not to mention Abel’s condescending attitude to the indigenous people and to women.) I ended up skimming the last three-quarters.
My husband has read nonfiction by Hudson; I think I was under the impression that this was a memoir, in fact. Perhaps I’d enjoy Hudson’s writing in another genre. But I was surprised to read high praise from John Galsworthy in the foreword (“For of all living authors—now that Tolstoi has gone—I could least dispense with W. H. Hudson”) and to note how many of my Goodreads friends have read this; I don’t see it as a classic that stands the test of time.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
One day, after being bitten by a snake, Abel woke up in the dwelling of an old man and his 17-year-old granddaughter, Rima – the very wood sprite he’d sensed all these times in the forest; she saved his life. Recovering in their home and helping Rima investigate her origins, he romanticizes this tree spirit in a way that struck me as smarmy. It’s possible this could be appreciated as a fable of connection with nature, but I found it vague and old-fashioned. (Not to mention Abel’s condescending attitude to the indigenous people and to women.) I ended up skimming the last three-quarters.
My husband has read nonfiction by Hudson; I think I was under the impression that this was a memoir, in fact. Perhaps I’d enjoy Hudson’s writing in another genre. But I was surprised to read high praise from John Galsworthy in the foreword (“For of all living authors—now that Tolstoi has gone—I could least dispense with W. H. Hudson”) and to note how many of my Goodreads friends have read this; I don’t see it as a classic that stands the test of time.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
July 2, 2016
This is definitely an odd story – and original, but not perfect (more on that later).
It is hard to categorize exactly where this work of fiction lies; maybe in the mystical realm. However, towards the end a hard gloomy aspect descends upon the narrative.
The story resolves around a man in his thirties, named Abel, who having to flee urban Venezuela for political reasons,hides in the jungles near the border of Guyana. His life is constantly shifting between that of a small indigenous tribe and a young girl (Rima) and her grandfather who live some distance from the tribe in the interior of the jungle forests.
Rima is a nature girl who, we are lead to believe, lives in complete harmony with the animals and plants of the forests. She serves as an evasive temptress to Abel, who eventually falls “in love” with her. The author has us believe that Rima goes for Abel too, but I found this less convincing.
Eventually Abel leads Rima and her grandfather back to where Rima was born. At this stage the novel enters a very dark phase –
Some further remarks:
> The final quarter of the book describing the journey of the three main characters is its strongest feature.
> Many of the descriptions of the jungle floral and the romantic feelings of Abel and Rima are a flow of words and simply too prolonged.
> Our narrator, Abel, is a most conceited and ungrateful fellow. He shows no appreciation for all the free nourishment provided to him by both the tribe and Rima’s grandfather. His superiority becomes obnoxious.
> Abel is much older than Rima, who is a young naive teenage girl brought up in isolation. I came to view Abel as a sexual predator. Fortunately, aside from a few stolen kisses, nothing much transpires between the two. Get someone your own age Abel!
> The repetitive hide-and-seek scenes of Abel and Rima, of Abel and the indigenous tribe were tiresome.
Certainly a unique story, quite unlike any other I have read.
It is hard to categorize exactly where this work of fiction lies; maybe in the mystical realm. However, towards the end a hard gloomy aspect descends upon the narrative.
The story resolves around a man in his thirties, named Abel, who having to flee urban Venezuela for political reasons,hides in the jungles near the border of Guyana. His life is constantly shifting between that of a small indigenous tribe and a young girl (Rima) and her grandfather who live some distance from the tribe in the interior of the jungle forests.
Rima is a nature girl who, we are lead to believe, lives in complete harmony with the animals and plants of the forests. She serves as an evasive temptress to Abel, who eventually falls “in love” with her. The author has us believe that Rima goes for Abel too, but I found this less convincing.
Eventually Abel leads Rima and her grandfather back to where Rima was born. At this stage the novel enters a very dark phase –
Some further remarks:
> The final quarter of the book describing the journey of the three main characters is its strongest feature.
> Many of the descriptions of the jungle floral and the romantic feelings of Abel and Rima are a flow of words and simply too prolonged.
> Our narrator, Abel, is a most conceited and ungrateful fellow. He shows no appreciation for all the free nourishment provided to him by both the tribe and Rima’s grandfather. His superiority becomes obnoxious.
> Abel is much older than Rima, who is a young naive teenage girl brought up in isolation. I came to view Abel as a sexual predator. Fortunately, aside from a few stolen kisses, nothing much transpires between the two. Get someone your own age Abel!
> The repetitive hide-and-seek scenes of Abel and Rima, of Abel and the indigenous tribe were tiresome.
Certainly a unique story, quite unlike any other I have read.
May 20, 2016
This book has a pervasive and oppressive atmosphere of racism, which really bothered me throughout. The story starts slowly but builds. The most remarkable thing about the book is the growth of the main character Abel (with the exception of his intense racism which he never shakes in the least). In the end although I don't agree with all of the theology the final conclusion of the book is laudable even beautiful.
January 21, 2008
Abel, a wealthy young European, leaves Caracas after a failed political revolution and finds an Indian settlement in the jungles of Venezuala. While wandering the jungle he discovers a bird-like woman, Rima, with whom he ultimately falls in love, and her grandfather, Nuflo. As time passes Abel discovers more of Rima's secrets including her past and her ancestry, all of which put Abel at as much risk as it does Rima and her grandfather.
An interesting and visual location for a Victorian romance (worth specifying written by a man), Green Mansions is fantastic as well as romantic. The things Abel has always known and believed are put to question by his adventures in the jungle and this is a classic novel of man vs. man, man vs. nature, etc. While the ending felt rather abrupt and discordant, as a whole the story is wonderful and Hudson's personal experiences living in the jungle and his studies of nature are encorporated into his delicious prose.
An interesting and visual location for a Victorian romance (worth specifying written by a man), Green Mansions is fantastic as well as romantic. The things Abel has always known and believed are put to question by his adventures in the jungle and this is a classic novel of man vs. man, man vs. nature, etc. While the ending felt rather abrupt and discordant, as a whole the story is wonderful and Hudson's personal experiences living in the jungle and his studies of nature are encorporated into his delicious prose.
April 15, 2011
In my humble opinion, this book is great. True, story, fantasy, or other - the book can be interpreted in many ways. The individual passages are mesmerizing. One chapter take you away so the other chapters are forgotten. Initially, I just happened to stumble upon the book in a used book store somewhere. The used books stores are disappearing, hopefully this review will keep up the interest.
Enjoy.
PS It was just as mystifying in a second read a few years ago.
Enjoy.
PS It was just as mystifying in a second read a few years ago.
May 16, 2016
This book definitely has flaws, plot holes and politically incorrect views compared to today, but I was intrigued with it and kept wanting to find out more!
January 27, 2024
ENGLISH: Although I usually like Hudson's short stories, I've found the plot of this novel absurd. This is a love story in the jungles of Venezuelan Guyana, spoiled for me a little from the beginning by the narrator's references to "the woman I had loved" before finding his new love, a teenager who is looking for her lost people, who apparently speak a language similar to bird chirps.
The novel is absurd because of the way the romance ends. As Mark Twain seems to have said, there are many scapegoats, but the most common is Providence.
The end of the novel is, in addition, somewhat gruesome.
ESPAÑOL: Aunque los relatos cortos de Hudson me suelen gustar, el argumento de esta novela me parece absurdo. Se trata de una historia de amor en las selvas de la Guayana venezolana, que me estropean un poco desde el principio las referencias del narrador a "la mujer que había amado" antes de encontrar a su nuevo amor, una adolescente que anda buscando a su pueblo perdido, que al parecer habla un lenguaje parecido a gorjeos de pájaros.
La novela es absurda por la forma en que acaba el romance. Como parece que dijo Mark Twain, hay muchos chivos expiatorios, pero el más frecuente es la Providencia.
El final de la novela resulta, por añadidura, bastante truculento.
The novel is absurd because of the way the romance ends. As Mark Twain seems to have said, there are many scapegoats, but the most common is Providence.
The end of the novel is, in addition, somewhat gruesome.
ESPAÑOL: Aunque los relatos cortos de Hudson me suelen gustar, el argumento de esta novela me parece absurdo. Se trata de una historia de amor en las selvas de la Guayana venezolana, que me estropean un poco desde el principio las referencias del narrador a "la mujer que había amado" antes de encontrar a su nuevo amor, una adolescente que anda buscando a su pueblo perdido, que al parecer habla un lenguaje parecido a gorjeos de pájaros.
La novela es absurda por la forma en que acaba el romance. Como parece que dijo Mark Twain, hay muchos chivos expiatorios, pero el más frecuente es la Providencia.
El final de la novela resulta, por añadidura, bastante truculento.
May 13, 2019
Mi ha appassionato, l'ho letto in due giorni, non riuscivo a staccarmi dalle pagine, forse merito di questi giorni di pioggia ma credo proprio che sia una grande opera; non è complicato anzi è scorrevole, chiaro, lo può leggere anche un ragazzino. Parla del Venezuela, dei suoi popoli nativi, di avventure nella foresta, ci descrive l'ambiente, il rapporto con la natura "Ebbi l'intuito di una segreta innocenza e spiritualità latenti nella natura. La prescienza (ho cercato il significato preciso, prae+scio = prima+sapere da pro+gnosis greco, una pre-conoscenza) di un termine forse infinitamente distante verso il quale tutti ci muoviamo; il presentimento di un tempo in cui la pioggia celeste ci avrà purificato di ogni macchia ed impurità. Quella pace trovata senza cercarla aveva, lo sentivo, un valore molto superiore a quello dell'introvabile metallo giallo". Il rapporto con la natura, raccontato così in prima persona, nella foresta venezuelana non è per niente male.
La descrizione dell'ambiente circostante è molto curata, ad esempio parlando delle luci "in quel luogo l'ombra dei grandi alberi dava l'impressione di un eterno tramonto". Mi è capitato nel bosco proprio di avere delle sensazioni simili, delle luci particolari, delle atmosfere che trovi solo in certi delimitati fazzoletti di terreno e basta che ti sposti di alcuni metri che la poesia svanisce oppure mi capita spesso di ammirare i vari colori "verde" soprattutto a maggio, ci sono un infinità di verdi, fateci caso, influenzati dalle inclinazioni della luce e delle ombre, in questo libro Hudson fa vivere proprio quelle sensazioni di contatto vivo con la natura, con i suoi rumori, le sue ombre, con il respiro del corpo intero della natura.
Dopo alcuni giorni nella foresta il nostro protagonista ci racconta "Con uno sforzo di volontà mi liberai per quanto mi fu possibile della mia esperienza di vita e delle mie cognizioni per evocare le generazioni scomparse dei miei progenitori, che provenivano da quei boschi ai tempi lontani e dimenticati".
Ci troviamo a leggere un diario, che descrive quanto visto e soprattutto quanto sentito, con i sentimenti, parte che in questo commento ho escluso completamente perché è il cuore della storia. Una storia bella, che potremmo dire favola, ma che va creduta.
La descrizione dell'ambiente circostante è molto curata, ad esempio parlando delle luci "in quel luogo l'ombra dei grandi alberi dava l'impressione di un eterno tramonto". Mi è capitato nel bosco proprio di avere delle sensazioni simili, delle luci particolari, delle atmosfere che trovi solo in certi delimitati fazzoletti di terreno e basta che ti sposti di alcuni metri che la poesia svanisce oppure mi capita spesso di ammirare i vari colori "verde" soprattutto a maggio, ci sono un infinità di verdi, fateci caso, influenzati dalle inclinazioni della luce e delle ombre, in questo libro Hudson fa vivere proprio quelle sensazioni di contatto vivo con la natura, con i suoi rumori, le sue ombre, con il respiro del corpo intero della natura.
Dopo alcuni giorni nella foresta il nostro protagonista ci racconta "Con uno sforzo di volontà mi liberai per quanto mi fu possibile della mia esperienza di vita e delle mie cognizioni per evocare le generazioni scomparse dei miei progenitori, che provenivano da quei boschi ai tempi lontani e dimenticati".
Ci troviamo a leggere un diario, che descrive quanto visto e soprattutto quanto sentito, con i sentimenti, parte che in questo commento ho escluso completamente perché è il cuore della storia. Una storia bella, che potremmo dire favola, ma che va creduta.
January 27, 2022
I first read Green Mansions as a teenager. Or at least I think I did—the magical figure of Rima stayed with me, the whole pretty part, the green mansions, the birds and animals. But I wonder if I finished the book, because on this current reading, Rima seems almost the least of the story and the story itself cautionary. The writing and the story set up are Romantic and Victorian in tone, passionate and highly colored. The main character Abel is a white Venezuelan who is on the run and loses himself among the Indians, who engage him with their Primitive ways. (This book was written in 1904 so there are terms used throughout of which we do not approve.)
What I remembered from my first reading was a love story, white man falls in love with aboriginal girl who talks to the birds. But I’d have to say that actually the book is about corruption and that all the players, except Rima, are sketchy to greater or lesser degrees. As a result Rima stands out to me now as more a symbol, representing an unattainable ideal, her presence flattened. It makes me a little sad. But it also makes the book more interesting and thrusts it into our own day for its focus on human greed and destructiveness in relation to the natural world. Indeed, Hudson was a proto-environmentalist and his view of humanity seems jaundiced. It occurs to me on closing the book a second time that Abel never deserved a love such as Rima. But I guess that is also the difference between reading at 16 and at 70.
What I remembered from my first reading was a love story, white man falls in love with aboriginal girl who talks to the birds. But I’d have to say that actually the book is about corruption and that all the players, except Rima, are sketchy to greater or lesser degrees. As a result Rima stands out to me now as more a symbol, representing an unattainable ideal, her presence flattened. It makes me a little sad. But it also makes the book more interesting and thrusts it into our own day for its focus on human greed and destructiveness in relation to the natural world. Indeed, Hudson was a proto-environmentalist and his view of humanity seems jaundiced. It occurs to me on closing the book a second time that Abel never deserved a love such as Rima. But I guess that is also the difference between reading at 16 and at 70.
July 10, 2024
This is one of the more unusual fantasy/ historical/ classic type novels one could ever encounter. Set in the exotic forests of Venezuela, it is a unique classic romance and adventure.
The basis for the plot is the narrator, Abel, being given a proposal to go to a different setting after fleeing a desperate revolution on an island. He travels though a place named Paraguarí, supposedly notable for its riches, in the hope of changing his fortunes. He later makes friends with one of the tribe and its leader.
Later, upon exploring this location, he finds a forest that is forbidden by the tribe, one where an enchanting and melodious sound enthralls him:
“After that tempest of motion and confused noises the silence of the forest seemed very profound; but before I had been many moments it was broken by a low strain of exquisite bird melody, wonderfully pure and expressive, unlike any musical sound I had ever heard before.”
One enjoyable aspect of the novel is how the author captures the mystery and aura of the forest and nature and its vividness through such lyrical prose. Abel’s quest to identify the source of the harmonious sounds emanating from the forest coincides with the local’s superstitions about a girl who dwells within it and is thought to the “Daughter of the Didi.”
Eventually, Abel discovers a forest girl named Rima, who lives with her “grandfather” and Abel quickly becomes enraptured in the mystery encompassing Rima.
The novel’s title seemingly embodies the majesty and beauty of Abel’s experiences with nature and the forest and with Rima (“…those green mansions where I had found so great a happiness”).
There is a deep conflict, however, between those who had initially taken Abel in in this region and the place with Rima he now call home. Those two forces come into play in the novel’s second half.
The one downside of this novel comes from the rather antiquated viewpoints from our narrator. I suppose these were unfortunately a product of its time.
Overall, however, Green Mansions is a captivating classic story that fuses the genres of fantasy, adventure, and romance. I heard there is a film adaptation out there with Anthony Perkins and Aubrey Hepburn that I might check out.
The basis for the plot is the narrator, Abel, being given a proposal to go to a different setting after fleeing a desperate revolution on an island. He travels though a place named Paraguarí, supposedly notable for its riches, in the hope of changing his fortunes. He later makes friends with one of the tribe and its leader.
Later, upon exploring this location, he finds a forest that is forbidden by the tribe, one where an enchanting and melodious sound enthralls him:
“After that tempest of motion and confused noises the silence of the forest seemed very profound; but before I had been many moments it was broken by a low strain of exquisite bird melody, wonderfully pure and expressive, unlike any musical sound I had ever heard before.”
One enjoyable aspect of the novel is how the author captures the mystery and aura of the forest and nature and its vividness through such lyrical prose. Abel’s quest to identify the source of the harmonious sounds emanating from the forest coincides with the local’s superstitions about a girl who dwells within it and is thought to the “Daughter of the Didi.”
Eventually, Abel discovers a forest girl named Rima, who lives with her “grandfather” and Abel quickly becomes enraptured in the mystery encompassing Rima.
The novel’s title seemingly embodies the majesty and beauty of Abel’s experiences with nature and the forest and with Rima (“…those green mansions where I had found so great a happiness”).
There is a deep conflict, however, between those who had initially taken Abel in in this region and the place with Rima he now call home. Those two forces come into play in the novel’s second half.
The one downside of this novel comes from the rather antiquated viewpoints from our narrator. I suppose these were unfortunately a product of its time.
Overall, however, Green Mansions is a captivating classic story that fuses the genres of fantasy, adventure, and romance. I heard there is a film adaptation out there with Anthony Perkins and Aubrey Hepburn that I might check out.
December 30, 2019
*Possible mild spoilers*
There are certain books one should read at a certain period in their lives, else they become trivial to the point of utmost silliness. 'Green Mansions' by W. H. Hudson is one such.
My father used to travel a lot while I was a kid. As is usual, he used to bring back goodies for his children. Unsurprisingly, I was interested only in books. This book was such a gift, given to me more than four decades ago, which slept on my shelf till it was read as my last book of 2019.
(Perhaps it was the hope of my dad to wean me of the "junk" I used to read. The fact that it remained unread on my shelf so long is proof of the fact that he failed miserably.)
I understand that this book is considered a classic; and reading the treacly sentimental tale written in cloyingly dense Victorian prose, one can understand why it was popular in its day. As I said at the beginning, I would have enjoyed it much better had I read it as a preteen, because such books were standard fare for youngsters in a world where young adult literature did not exist; the tale of exotic jungle adventure. However, this story is different from the ones of H. Rider Haggard or Edgar Rice Burroughs - the emphasis is more on romance and less on adventure.
This is the nineteenth century tale of Abel, a South American gentleman who had to take to the Amazon forests to escape governmental wrath and Rima, the mysterious forest woman he falls in love with. It is pretty much predictable in its genesis, development and conclusion - a Victorian tragedy in all its sentimental glory. The attitude is racist (the way the "savage" forest Indians are referred to will make one cringe), the prose is prolix and the narrative meandering - I had to skim through large portions to reach the end. There is not even the sense of adventure and excitement that is usually part and parcel of such stories. The only thing that rescues this tale from being a total disaster is the creation of Rima, the mysterious bird-woman with her strange tongue and her way of communing with all the forest-creatures.
Rima is the last of a lost race. She lives in the forest among the animals and birds and speaks a strange language, intelligible only to herself (and her long-dead mother). She abhors the killing of any living being, and has a strange control over all the dwellers of the jungle, even the dangerous ones. She even converts her lover and adoptive parent to veganism! This character is much ahead of her time, taking birth during an era when the killing of animals for sport was the norm.
However, it seems that the novelist lost his plot after lovingly creating his heroine, because her backstory is left totally blank. She and her mother takes birth from the void and returns to it. While a certain amount of mystery is desirable to tantalise readers, this absolute blackout is just bewildering. One would be pardoned for concluding that the author couldn't come up with a plausible story.
A "classic" which can safely be ignored.
And this rounds off 2019 for me. 😊
There are certain books one should read at a certain period in their lives, else they become trivial to the point of utmost silliness. 'Green Mansions' by W. H. Hudson is one such.
My father used to travel a lot while I was a kid. As is usual, he used to bring back goodies for his children. Unsurprisingly, I was interested only in books. This book was such a gift, given to me more than four decades ago, which slept on my shelf till it was read as my last book of 2019.
(Perhaps it was the hope of my dad to wean me of the "junk" I used to read. The fact that it remained unread on my shelf so long is proof of the fact that he failed miserably.)
I understand that this book is considered a classic; and reading the treacly sentimental tale written in cloyingly dense Victorian prose, one can understand why it was popular in its day. As I said at the beginning, I would have enjoyed it much better had I read it as a preteen, because such books were standard fare for youngsters in a world where young adult literature did not exist; the tale of exotic jungle adventure. However, this story is different from the ones of H. Rider Haggard or Edgar Rice Burroughs - the emphasis is more on romance and less on adventure.
This is the nineteenth century tale of Abel, a South American gentleman who had to take to the Amazon forests to escape governmental wrath and Rima, the mysterious forest woman he falls in love with. It is pretty much predictable in its genesis, development and conclusion - a Victorian tragedy in all its sentimental glory. The attitude is racist (the way the "savage" forest Indians are referred to will make one cringe), the prose is prolix and the narrative meandering - I had to skim through large portions to reach the end. There is not even the sense of adventure and excitement that is usually part and parcel of such stories. The only thing that rescues this tale from being a total disaster is the creation of Rima, the mysterious bird-woman with her strange tongue and her way of communing with all the forest-creatures.
Rima is the last of a lost race. She lives in the forest among the animals and birds and speaks a strange language, intelligible only to herself (and her long-dead mother). She abhors the killing of any living being, and has a strange control over all the dwellers of the jungle, even the dangerous ones. She even converts her lover and adoptive parent to veganism! This character is much ahead of her time, taking birth during an era when the killing of animals for sport was the norm.
However, it seems that the novelist lost his plot after lovingly creating his heroine, because her backstory is left totally blank. She and her mother takes birth from the void and returns to it. While a certain amount of mystery is desirable to tantalise readers, this absolute blackout is just bewildering. One would be pardoned for concluding that the author couldn't come up with a plausible story.
A "classic" which can safely be ignored.
And this rounds off 2019 for me. 😊
February 22, 2020
I typically hold with the idea that classics deserve a second chance and in keeping with that theory I embarked on a re-read. The first time I read this I was a teenager and I hated it, but I thought perhaps now—with more life experience—I might see the book differently. Find something redeeming in it, something to recommend it. Nope. In my opinion this book deserves to sink in obscurity.
All the characters are unsavory in their own way but the protagonist and narrator, Abel, is the worst. He's arrogant and superior, hypocritical, demeaning in his thoughts and actions toward the local Indians. And accordingly the Indians are drawn with the same ugly strokes that allowed Hudson to endow his main character with such a bigoted, nasty outlook. I'm willing to grant some leeway to works of fiction written in a different time, with different views and mores, but the constant reference to "savages," their stupidity, slyness, dishonesty was hard to overlook. Even Rima, the supposedly ethereal forest girl acts in strange, unreasonable ways, sometimes she's enchanting and sometimes she's a bossy shrew. There was not a single character I could sympathize with or invest myself in.
The best thing about reading this is that I can now get rid of the book and clear up space on my bookshelf.
Not recommended.
All the characters are unsavory in their own way but the protagonist and narrator, Abel, is the worst. He's arrogant and superior, hypocritical, demeaning in his thoughts and actions toward the local Indians. And accordingly the Indians are drawn with the same ugly strokes that allowed Hudson to endow his main character with such a bigoted, nasty outlook. I'm willing to grant some leeway to works of fiction written in a different time, with different views and mores, but the constant reference to "savages," their stupidity, slyness, dishonesty was hard to overlook. Even Rima, the supposedly ethereal forest girl acts in strange, unreasonable ways, sometimes she's enchanting and sometimes she's a bossy shrew. There was not a single character I could sympathize with or invest myself in.
The best thing about reading this is that I can now get rid of the book and clear up space on my bookshelf.
Not recommended.
April 2, 2009
This was a unique book but somewhat sleep-inducing. It takes place in Venezuela and Guyana and since I read it soon after I was in Costa Rica I could really envision the rain forests and other scenery. The characters I was not as enamored of. Abel, who is condescending and racist, just liked to chase after nubile native women. I developed more respect for him by the end because of his devotion to his true love, Rima. Rima, on the other hand was too mystical to ever develop any affection for. All in all, it was worth reading this book just to learn about another culture in another time.
October 9, 2009
I gave this book 4 stars... out of the memory of loving this book as a child...
Rereading it... Ugh! What I saw in it back then is not what I see in it now. The protagonist is a self centered, pretentious... pedophile! At least that's what I get from it now. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood but I never got past halfway through... I just couldn't take it any more. I'm changing the stars to one, and wish I hadn't tampered with the memory of a book I once enjoyed.
Rereading it... Ugh! What I saw in it back then is not what I see in it now. The protagonist is a self centered, pretentious... pedophile! At least that's what I get from it now. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood but I never got past halfway through... I just couldn't take it any more. I'm changing the stars to one, and wish I hadn't tampered with the memory of a book I once enjoyed.
April 13, 2012
One of those wonderfully quirky fictions that would never, ever be printed today. Worse luck. From the experience, years ago, of reading slush piles, I know that such books are around-- just not in print. Maybe the rise of ebooks will make them once again available, these eccentric and magic imaginings.
May 20, 2016
I found this book to be slow and sometimes boring, but I really liked the end. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say I like what the main character has learned for himself by the last page.
watched-film-only
April 12, 2017Added 4/12/17. (First published in 1904)
FILM: "Green Mansions" (1959)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052864/?...
"A young man in the jungles of Venezuela meets a strange girl of the forest and falls in love with her."
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Perkins, Lee J. Cobb
I discovered this film on the TCM Channel, 4/12/17.
BELOW IS FROM A GOODREADS MEMBER REVIEW:
==================================
"This is about nature vs man, Rima is our representation of nature. SHe is everything beautiful, innocent and pure. Her relationships with all around her, including man is how it should be for everyone. However, man's ignorance and greed and corruptibility know only how to do one thing well and that's destroy and kill all beauty around them. We see it everyday with logging companies destroying our forests, animals go endangered or extinct due to the man's destruction nature. Our oceans are full of pollutants and we kill for profit daily with corporate machines. This is a story of man told in it's simplest, most heartbreaking way."
FROM: Rose's review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
====================================
PS-WIKI says: "In 1959, the book was adapted into a movie, also entitled Green Mansions, starring Audrey Hepburn as Rima, with Anthony Perkins as Abel. The film, which was directed by Hepburn's husband, Mel Ferrer, was a critical and box office failure." ... "The title may spring from the Bible quote "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2), implying the pristine forest is a natural and sacred cathedral."
FROM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_M...
FILM: "Green Mansions" (1959)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052864/?...
"A young man in the jungles of Venezuela meets a strange girl of the forest and falls in love with her."
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Perkins, Lee J. Cobb
I discovered this film on the TCM Channel, 4/12/17.
BELOW IS FROM A GOODREADS MEMBER REVIEW:
==================================
"This is about nature vs man, Rima is our representation of nature. SHe is everything beautiful, innocent and pure. Her relationships with all around her, including man is how it should be for everyone. However, man's ignorance and greed and corruptibility know only how to do one thing well and that's destroy and kill all beauty around them. We see it everyday with logging companies destroying our forests, animals go endangered or extinct due to the man's destruction nature. Our oceans are full of pollutants and we kill for profit daily with corporate machines. This is a story of man told in it's simplest, most heartbreaking way."
FROM: Rose's review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
====================================
PS-WIKI says: "In 1959, the book was adapted into a movie, also entitled Green Mansions, starring Audrey Hepburn as Rima, with Anthony Perkins as Abel. The film, which was directed by Hepburn's husband, Mel Ferrer, was a critical and box office failure." ... "The title may spring from the Bible quote "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2), implying the pristine forest is a natural and sacred cathedral."
FROM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_M...
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