The Forsyte Saga

by John Galsworthy

Kuigi J. Galsworthy on tuntud oma suurejoonelise romaanitsükliga "Forsyte'ide saaga", ilmus autor kirjandusse novellistina.

Antud valimiku nimijutustus on esimeseks visandiks Forsyte'idest. Siin, näiliselt juhuslikus seigas, kehastab Swithin Forsyte tüüpilist omandimaailma inimest, kes on kurt ilu kutsele, ei mõista häid ning õilsaid loomusi ja kohates seesuguseid jääb truuks omaenda tõekspidamiste piiratusele ja väiklusele.
Oma teistes novellides pakub Galsworthy huvi autorina, kelle kangelased kuuluvad sageli ühiskonna põhjakihtidesse, kuid säilitavad ümbritseva keskkonna kiuste ning kas või enese hukatuseks inimliku suuruse, seades o m a õiglustunde vastu kehtivatele tavapärastele ja moonutatud tõdedele.

Genres: Classics, Fiction

946 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

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

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

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

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was published in 1922 and written between 1906 - 1921.
The time frame of the story was the 1890’’s. The Forsyths were an upper and middle class family that originated from the commercial class. The Forsyth clan did their best to forget their origins. These were people who had leisure time and the intricate societal norms were very well defined and woe to those who did not live within the strict set of rules. There were characters in the extended family that did not live up to those rules and they were cut by all of the rest of the family..

What came across to me in the novel was what strivers The Forssyths were. They had money and wanted those they came in contact with to know it. They were nouveau riche but did not realize it.

If the rules were strict for men, for women they were gilded cages. Their main functions were to bring beauty into the world and to have children. The women’s lives were bereft of intellectual or artistic meaning.It seems that for women of their time and class their purpose was to follow social rules and to run a large house with servants as well as to procreate and look attractive.

The Forsyth family were not a likable group. Yet, the author managed to humanize and make them interesting. I will read the next part of the saga.

[Adam Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not poorly written nor devoid of decent characters, I found the book more long than anything else (this edition containing all the Forsyte novels). It tells of a "new money" family trying to maintain prestige and wealth across generations.

[cp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive, even if the descriptions do go on a bit too long for my taste.

[Tomas Stambera Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Na tuhle knihu jsem se strašně dlouho chystal, protože se mi líbil seriál se skvělým Damienem Lewisem. Navíc Galsworthy dostal Nobelovu cenu (1932) a to je záruka.
Měl jsem vydání, kde jsou všechny tři díly spojeny do jedné knihy asi o 1000 stranách, ale Sága je tak dobře napsané dílo, že to opravdu ani nezaregistrujete. V dnešní záplavě lehké četby, o které knihkupci ve videích na Youtube básní, jako by vyšel další Zločin a trest (a o které následně už nikdy neuslyšíte ani slovo), je takto hluboké dílo požehnání. (Ne že by se mi recenze na Youtube nelíbily :) )

https://tomasstambera.cz/clanek/saga-...