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The Forsyte Chronicles #4
The White Monkey
FOURTH IN THE FORSYTE CHRONICLES FOLLOWING THE FORSYTE FAMILY FROM THE 1886 THROUGH THE 1920'S.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1924
48 people are currently reading
858 people want to read
About the author
John Galsworthy
2,420 books474 followersLiterary 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."
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."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
June 22, 2018
Nueva joyita del amigo Galsworthy.
Esta es la continuación directa de uno de mis libros preferidos 'La saga de los Forsyte', y aunque está claro que no llega al nivel de aquella, sigue siendo un libro maravillosamente bien escrito, con un análisis incisivo y muy claro de la sociedad inglesa de los años 20.
Soames no es tan protagonista (ooohhhhh! Que quede claro que soy fan de Soames, aunque fue un monstruo en varios momentos de su pasado, he llegado a amarlo dentro de sus maravillosas incongruencias), se reparte el protagonismo con su hija Fleur, su marido (otro gran personaje) y algunos secundarios realmente interesantes.
Es una novela mucho menos ambiciosa que su anterior trilogía, ligera y suuuuper entretenida (al fin y al cabo forma parte de la trilogía "Una comedia moderna") pero sigue siendo Galsworthy en todo su esplendor ♥
Seguiré pronto con la trilogía porque este hombre crea adicción.
Esta es la continuación directa de uno de mis libros preferidos 'La saga de los Forsyte', y aunque está claro que no llega al nivel de aquella, sigue siendo un libro maravillosamente bien escrito, con un análisis incisivo y muy claro de la sociedad inglesa de los años 20.
Soames no es tan protagonista (ooohhhhh! Que quede claro que soy fan de Soames, aunque fue un monstruo en varios momentos de su pasado, he llegado a amarlo dentro de sus maravillosas incongruencias), se reparte el protagonismo con su hija Fleur, su marido (otro gran personaje) y algunos secundarios realmente interesantes.
Es una novela mucho menos ambiciosa que su anterior trilogía, ligera y suuuuper entretenida (al fin y al cabo forma parte de la trilogía "Una comedia moderna") pero sigue siendo Galsworthy en todo su esplendor ♥
Seguiré pronto con la trilogía porque este hombre crea adicción.
July 2, 2025
“La Scimmia Bianca” è il primo episodio della seconda trilogia dedicata da John Galsworthy [ 1867-1933] ai Forsyte: la maggioranza dei Forsyte apprezzati e amati in precedenza è qui assente perché nel romanzo rifulge come protagonista la figura di Fleur, la figlia che Soames Forsyte ha avuto in seconde nozze da Annette. Fleur, che ancora giovanissima ha da poco sposato Michael Mont di lei innamoratissimo, vive un momento difficile perché ancora scossa dal ricordo dell’amore per il giovane Jolyon tanto contrastato dalle famiglie dei protagonisti al punto da costringerli, loro malgrado, alla rottura, non riesce a vivere con spontaneità e abbandono la relazione affettiva con il marito. Tra scaramucce amorose, tentennamenti del cuore e incertezze dell’animo, un’inattesa notizia smorzerà ogni affanno. Galsworthy si mostra anche in questa ulteriore puntata narratore raffinato e sagace, razionale scrutatore dell’animo umano fin nelle più intime fibre senza perdere quel nocciolo di poesia e romanticismo che l’ha sempre contraddistinto.
June 27, 2015
I remember finding the first volume of The Forsyte Saga difficult to get into, and being very irritated with Soames, and this one was no exception, although Soames seemed to be slightly improved.
I was also a little irritated with his daughter, Fleur, at times, although I also felt some sympathy for her restlessness as I’ve felt like that as well on occasion. I felt sorry for her husband, Michael, as he was obviously a very good man and loved her very much and would do anything to please her.
I enjoyed the story of the Bickets who wanted to save enough money to get to Central Australia and would love to know what happened to them!
I was also a little irritated with his daughter, Fleur, at times, although I also felt some sympathy for her restlessness as I’ve felt like that as well on occasion. I felt sorry for her husband, Michael, as he was obviously a very good man and loved her very much and would do anything to please her.
I enjoyed the story of the Bickets who wanted to save enough money to get to Central Australia and would love to know what happened to them!
March 4, 2024
Romanzo dal titolo curioso, La scimmia bianca cronologicamente è il quarto romanzo della saga dei Forsyte, ma è anche il romanzo che segna l'esordio la seconda trilogia che prende il nome di Commedia moderna.
Siamo nel 1922 e sono passati soltanto pochi mesi dagli avvenimenti che chiudevano la prima trilogia. Fleur Forsyte è sposata con Michael Mont, figlio di un baronetto, che è innamoratissimo della moglie il cui amore, però, lei non ricambia con la stessa intensità e passione.
I due giovani sposi conducono una vita mondana, ma è soprattutto Fleur a condurre una vita frenetica fatta di cene, cocktail party, incontri mondani, eventi culturali, tutti improntati ad un unico obiettivo: aumentare il suo prestigio sociale. I due giovani coniugi hanno alcuni problemi matrimoniali che si acuiscono quando il poeta Wilfrid Dessert, compagno d'armi e amico di vecchia data di Michael, si innamora di Fleur. Questo fatto apre una crisi coniugale fra i due sposi e una fraterna tra i due amici.
Alla vita dei coniugi Mont, Galsworthy contrappone le vicende dei coniugi Bickett; una giovane coppia proletaria che vuole immigrare in Australia. Lui, Tony, è stato licenziato dal suo impiego presso la casa editrice di Michael perché è accusato di aver rubato alcune copie di un libro che ha rivenduto privatamente; in seguito al licenziamento si butta nel commercio dei palloncini ma questo lavoro non gli permette di guadagnare i soldi necessari per il viaggio, perché riesce a malapena a portare del cibo sulla tavola. Quando la moglie Victorine viene a sapere delle difficoltà economiche del marito decide di fare qualcosa per aiutare entrambi a realizzare il loro sogno.
Il quadro da cui il romanzo prende il titolo La scimmia bianca - opera che Soames compra da suo cugino George Forsyte - è un'allegoria della società degli anni '20, società che ho trovato molto simile a quell'attuale. Il quadro raffigura una scimmia che stringe tra le mani un frutto e tutt'attorno a lei sono sparse le bucce, ma lo sguardo arrabbiato dei suoi occhi rivela tutta la sua insoddisfazione per quel che possiede in mano bramando qualcosa nuovo, di diverso che la possa soddisfare. Il suo comportamento riflette quello degli esseri umani del periodo, che si “ingozza” dei piaceri della vita incurante degli sprechi e senza pensare al futuro.
La società inglese ed europea di quegli anni attraversa grandi cambiamenti in ambito civile, artistico, economico e politico. Tutti i personaggi presenti nel romanzo rispecchiano i contrasti presenti in società. I giovani provati e sopravvissuti alla Grande Guerra non sanno più in che cosa credere, faticano a trovare un senso di completezza e di speranza nel futuro in un Inghilterra inquieta, sconvolta dalla disoccupazione e da cambiamenti epocali; giovani desiderosi di cultura, libertà e ricchezza, che vogliono avere tutto e subito ma che comunque si sentono perennemente insoddisfatti e disorientati. Una società descritta magistralmente e analizzata con incisività e chiarezza dall'autore inglese; una descrizione che mi ha ricordato quelle fatte da un'altra autrice, Irène Némirovsky, in alcuni suoi romanzi ambientati in quel periodo.
In questo volume oramai i vecchi membri di questa grande e sfaccettata famiglia non ci sono più e l'autore concentra la sua e la nostra attenzione su pochi personaggi della famiglia: Soames, Fleur e suo marito Michael Mont.
Anche in questo romanzo ritroviamo la penna sublime e delicata dell'autore inglese che si rivela ancora una volta un grande indagatore dell'animo umano, regalandoci ritratti credibili di ognuno di loro; riuscendo con il suo incredibile talento a farci capire e comprendere le personalità, le emozioni, i desideri anche di personaggi che in precedenza ci sono apparsi imperfetti o riprovevoli; ed è proprio quello che mi è accaduto con il personaggio di Soames. Nel primo romanzo lo avevo trovato un personaggio veramente odioso ma man mano che procedo con la lettura della saga scopro un personaggio in continua evoluzione; uno dei personaggi meglio sfaccettati, delineati e scandagliati della letteratura mondiale. Soames si dimostra sempre un uomo perspicace, intuitivo e competente negli affari; un uomo pragmatico, concreto e attaccato ai valori della famiglia. Simbolo vivente dell'epoca vittoriana è nostalgico del passato e avverso al presente (e alle sue diavolerie) - che trova superficiale e frettoloso - che lo porta però a porsi delle domande esistenziali. Sua figlia Fleur è la sua stella polare e cerca sempre di proteggerla da tutto e da tutti. In questo romanzo è alle prese con problemi finanziari della società di cui fa parte e di cui è consigliere di amministrazione. Stavolta nel tentativo di agire in modo onorevole si ritrova coinvolto in uno scandalo finanziario in cui rischia di perdere tutto ciò che ha, anche la sua reputazione negli affari.
Quando appare sulla scena il romanzo si fa subito più interessante e scorrevole, al contrario di ciò che accade quando appare sua figlia Fleur. Forse ho qualche problema con le donne delineate da Galswothy perché sia Irene sia Fleur le trovo antipatiche e insopportabili. Fleur, in questo romanzo, è superficiale come sempre. Le importa poco di tutto; è interessata solo a collezionare personaggi importanti od oggetti che possono arricchire il suo salotto “cinese” e di conseguenza il suo prestigio sociale. L'autore inglese però ci rivela anche un lato che lei non mostra a tutti, il suo io più profondo permeato dalla malinconia e dall'amarezza per l'amore perduto, che la porta a divenire sempre insoddisfatta, irrequieta, annoiata ed egoista soprattutto nel suo rapporto con il marito Michael Mont; quest'ultimo è il personaggio che mi è piaciuto di più tra i tanti presenti. È quello che viene scandagliato più nel profondo dall'autore; è un ragazzo simpatico, buono, generoso, paziente, perbene, laborioso, un vero amico con i suoi amici, che ama moltissimo sua moglie (che non se lo merita) e farebbe di tutto per compiacere ogni suo desiderio.
La scimmia bianca è un libro coinvolgente e piacevole, narrato con la scrittura sempre splendida ed elegante di Galsworthy, che riesce a risollevare una trama altrimenti un po' povera soprattutto nella I^ parte, ma che migliora decisamente il ritmo nelle restanti due (forse perché Fleur appare meno). Al suo interno ritroviamo la penna eccelsa dell'autore inglese, il suo linguaggio ricco, il suo umorismo tagliente, la sua sottile satira sociale, le sue descrizioni ambientali concise e vivide, che grazie all'uso di poche frasi o parole l'autore riesce a delineare perfettamente.
Amo la saga dei Forsyte perché l'autore ci accompagna all'interno di quattro generazioni della famiglia inglese tra odi, intrighi, drammi, amori e rivalità.
Non vedo l'ora di proseguire con i restanti volumi che la compongono.
«La vita! Oh, pensiamo che sia un enigma, ma abbiamo ormai rinunciato a risolverlo. Vogliamo godere la vita, convinti che nulla possa durare. Ma come goderla non lo sappiamo neanche noi. Svolazziamo qua e là, cercando e sperando.»
Siamo nel 1922 e sono passati soltanto pochi mesi dagli avvenimenti che chiudevano la prima trilogia. Fleur Forsyte è sposata con Michael Mont, figlio di un baronetto, che è innamoratissimo della moglie il cui amore, però, lei non ricambia con la stessa intensità e passione.
I due giovani sposi conducono una vita mondana, ma è soprattutto Fleur a condurre una vita frenetica fatta di cene, cocktail party, incontri mondani, eventi culturali, tutti improntati ad un unico obiettivo: aumentare il suo prestigio sociale. I due giovani coniugi hanno alcuni problemi matrimoniali che si acuiscono quando il poeta Wilfrid Dessert, compagno d'armi e amico di vecchia data di Michael, si innamora di Fleur. Questo fatto apre una crisi coniugale fra i due sposi e una fraterna tra i due amici.
Alla vita dei coniugi Mont, Galsworthy contrappone le vicende dei coniugi Bickett; una giovane coppia proletaria che vuole immigrare in Australia. Lui, Tony, è stato licenziato dal suo impiego presso la casa editrice di Michael perché è accusato di aver rubato alcune copie di un libro che ha rivenduto privatamente; in seguito al licenziamento si butta nel commercio dei palloncini ma questo lavoro non gli permette di guadagnare i soldi necessari per il viaggio, perché riesce a malapena a portare del cibo sulla tavola. Quando la moglie Victorine viene a sapere delle difficoltà economiche del marito decide di fare qualcosa per aiutare entrambi a realizzare il loro sogno.
Il quadro da cui il romanzo prende il titolo La scimmia bianca - opera che Soames compra da suo cugino George Forsyte - è un'allegoria della società degli anni '20, società che ho trovato molto simile a quell'attuale. Il quadro raffigura una scimmia che stringe tra le mani un frutto e tutt'attorno a lei sono sparse le bucce, ma lo sguardo arrabbiato dei suoi occhi rivela tutta la sua insoddisfazione per quel che possiede in mano bramando qualcosa nuovo, di diverso che la possa soddisfare. Il suo comportamento riflette quello degli esseri umani del periodo, che si “ingozza” dei piaceri della vita incurante degli sprechi e senza pensare al futuro.
La società inglese ed europea di quegli anni attraversa grandi cambiamenti in ambito civile, artistico, economico e politico. Tutti i personaggi presenti nel romanzo rispecchiano i contrasti presenti in società. I giovani provati e sopravvissuti alla Grande Guerra non sanno più in che cosa credere, faticano a trovare un senso di completezza e di speranza nel futuro in un Inghilterra inquieta, sconvolta dalla disoccupazione e da cambiamenti epocali; giovani desiderosi di cultura, libertà e ricchezza, che vogliono avere tutto e subito ma che comunque si sentono perennemente insoddisfatti e disorientati. Una società descritta magistralmente e analizzata con incisività e chiarezza dall'autore inglese; una descrizione che mi ha ricordato quelle fatte da un'altra autrice, Irène Némirovsky, in alcuni suoi romanzi ambientati in quel periodo.
In questo volume oramai i vecchi membri di questa grande e sfaccettata famiglia non ci sono più e l'autore concentra la sua e la nostra attenzione su pochi personaggi della famiglia: Soames, Fleur e suo marito Michael Mont.
Anche in questo romanzo ritroviamo la penna sublime e delicata dell'autore inglese che si rivela ancora una volta un grande indagatore dell'animo umano, regalandoci ritratti credibili di ognuno di loro; riuscendo con il suo incredibile talento a farci capire e comprendere le personalità, le emozioni, i desideri anche di personaggi che in precedenza ci sono apparsi imperfetti o riprovevoli; ed è proprio quello che mi è accaduto con il personaggio di Soames. Nel primo romanzo lo avevo trovato un personaggio veramente odioso ma man mano che procedo con la lettura della saga scopro un personaggio in continua evoluzione; uno dei personaggi meglio sfaccettati, delineati e scandagliati della letteratura mondiale. Soames si dimostra sempre un uomo perspicace, intuitivo e competente negli affari; un uomo pragmatico, concreto e attaccato ai valori della famiglia. Simbolo vivente dell'epoca vittoriana è nostalgico del passato e avverso al presente (e alle sue diavolerie) - che trova superficiale e frettoloso - che lo porta però a porsi delle domande esistenziali. Sua figlia Fleur è la sua stella polare e cerca sempre di proteggerla da tutto e da tutti. In questo romanzo è alle prese con problemi finanziari della società di cui fa parte e di cui è consigliere di amministrazione. Stavolta nel tentativo di agire in modo onorevole si ritrova coinvolto in uno scandalo finanziario in cui rischia di perdere tutto ciò che ha, anche la sua reputazione negli affari.
Quando appare sulla scena il romanzo si fa subito più interessante e scorrevole, al contrario di ciò che accade quando appare sua figlia Fleur. Forse ho qualche problema con le donne delineate da Galswothy perché sia Irene sia Fleur le trovo antipatiche e insopportabili. Fleur, in questo romanzo, è superficiale come sempre. Le importa poco di tutto; è interessata solo a collezionare personaggi importanti od oggetti che possono arricchire il suo salotto “cinese” e di conseguenza il suo prestigio sociale. L'autore inglese però ci rivela anche un lato che lei non mostra a tutti, il suo io più profondo permeato dalla malinconia e dall'amarezza per l'amore perduto, che la porta a divenire sempre insoddisfatta, irrequieta, annoiata ed egoista soprattutto nel suo rapporto con il marito Michael Mont; quest'ultimo è il personaggio che mi è piaciuto di più tra i tanti presenti. È quello che viene scandagliato più nel profondo dall'autore; è un ragazzo simpatico, buono, generoso, paziente, perbene, laborioso, un vero amico con i suoi amici, che ama moltissimo sua moglie (che non se lo merita) e farebbe di tutto per compiacere ogni suo desiderio.
La scimmia bianca è un libro coinvolgente e piacevole, narrato con la scrittura sempre splendida ed elegante di Galsworthy, che riesce a risollevare una trama altrimenti un po' povera soprattutto nella I^ parte, ma che migliora decisamente il ritmo nelle restanti due (forse perché Fleur appare meno). Al suo interno ritroviamo la penna eccelsa dell'autore inglese, il suo linguaggio ricco, il suo umorismo tagliente, la sua sottile satira sociale, le sue descrizioni ambientali concise e vivide, che grazie all'uso di poche frasi o parole l'autore riesce a delineare perfettamente.
Amo la saga dei Forsyte perché l'autore ci accompagna all'interno di quattro generazioni della famiglia inglese tra odi, intrighi, drammi, amori e rivalità.
Non vedo l'ora di proseguire con i restanti volumi che la compongono.
«La vita! Oh, pensiamo che sia un enigma, ma abbiamo ormai rinunciato a risolverlo. Vogliamo godere la vita, convinti che nulla possa durare. Ma come goderla non lo sappiamo neanche noi. Svolazziamo qua e là, cercando e sperando.»
June 10, 2012
The epic story of the Forsyte family continues into the 1920's with the focus on Fleur and her husband Michael Mont. Fleur, who is marrying Michael because she can't have her cousin Jon Forsyte, struggles with a marriage that is empty of love and a sense of purpose. Soames is caught in a banking scandal that throws him once more in the public eye. What is sadly missing from this story is anything about the Jolyon Forsyte side of the family. Jon is briefly mentioned in passing as now living in the United States, but the focus is really on Fleur and her father. What I found interesting is that in the past volumes of the Forsyte Saga, these 2 were the villains of the story for me. I found them despicable and really disliked the way they manipulated people. Although their personalities remain the same, they become much more complex and redeeming qualities arise in both of them. I actually found myself cheering for Soames in one part. A good story, but I miss Jon and Irene. I think they appear in later stories, so I'll read on.
August 2, 2015
Awww yes, Soames reading self-help books, buying balloons, and telling off the shareholders. You tell 'em Soames. Fleur continues to be Fleur.
Also, gotta love the good old days when, if you spurned a lover, he would go travelling in the middle east, instead of, like, drunk texting you at 3am.
Also, gotta love the good old days when, if you spurned a lover, he would go travelling in the middle east, instead of, like, drunk texting you at 3am.
September 19, 2025
(3.5) Fleur is charming but everyone is too wrapped up in her. The same sort of thing never happened with Irene and so, while I think the narrative theme is stronger or just as strong as the first trilogy, the heart of the story is a bit stagnant. I think I loved the struggles of Victorine and her husband much more.
December 19, 2021
Somewhere in the middle of this book Soames (I think it was him) comments that the world was at it's height in 1880, and it has all been downhill since then. That seems to be the overarching theme of the this book and perhaps the entire second group of three Forsyte books. Michael Mont and all of other men of his generation are fussy and weak. They have some excuse in having passed through the horrors of the Great War and in the ensuing decline of the British Empire, but it's more than that. It's somehow an overall thinning of the blood. When Soames was their age, he was a lion - a greedy despicable lion, singularly focused on the acquisition and control of property, but a magnificent lion nonetheless, and he had a depth of character beneath his ruthless exterior. The next generation lacks his strength. And there's not much sign of the Forsyte power in Fleur. Her home decorating and social ambitions are shallow. In her relationships with Michael and Wilfred she dithers. A young female Soames would have had the situation well in hand. Even Soames is beginning to weaken, trapped by the spirit of the times. In trying to act honorably, he gets caught in a scandal; he would have been better off acting the brazen robber baron as would have been his instinct when he was younger. The whole thing reminded me of the decline of the great merchant family in Buddenbrooks.
June 21, 2024
This is the fourth instalment in the Forsyte Chronicles but the first one in 'A modern comedy'. The main focus of this trilogy is the new generation of the roaring twenties, we meet Fleur and her husband Michael who are having marriage troubles quite early on in their union and there is also a parallell storyline that focuses on a couple of the lower class, completely unrelated to the Forsyte family. The contrast between the two worlds is executed well by Galsworthy and so is the changing spirit of the times. Victorian ideals have now been completely thrown out to make place for new, modern ideas and customs that not everyone from the older generation quite understands. The Great War has passed, but now looms as something more than a memory and shapes the minds and hearts of the people affected by it. I did enjoy this book, however I found it lacking something that the first three novels in the series had; but nevertheless it was an entertaining and interesting read!
August 22, 2011
This is the fourth book in the Foresyte Chronicles, the first three published together as The Foresyte Saga. The previous volume ended with the patriarch at the family plot reflecting on the passing of an era. Although this book picks up only 2 years after the end of the previous, it is clear that England has begun a new chapter. There is a sense of directionlessness about the advancement of the plot. Watching the lives of this family, and glimpsing moments in the lives of a few new characters, somewhat peripheral ones, the reader is drawn into the restlessness of the age. It is the 1920s in London. The younger generation has walked away from the cautious restraint of their Victorian ancestors to embrace the abundance and freedom of life. But, rather than feeling satiated and content, they are left with a craving and disorientation that they can’t quite name. The mood jumps off the page and permeates the reader who longs to find some restored meaning in the next installment of the Chronicles.
June 17, 2015
The White Monkey is the first novel in John Galsworthy’s second Forsyte trilogy, entitled A Modern Comedy and is the fourth book out of the total nine that I plan to read this year. I am devastated (that is no understatement) to discover that this second trilogy should contain two interludes (like in the first volume) and my copy doesn’t. I may have to go in search of e-book copies of them.
The year is 1922; the Labour party are in the ascendency, The Great War still a bitter memory. Fleur has been married to Michael Mont for almost two years, despite not being even twenty one yet. Their marriage is a little one sided, for Fleur has never quite forgotten Jon Forsyte – the great love from whom she was separated two years earlier. One can’t help but make comparisons with Fleur’s hasty marriage and Soame’s ill-fated union with Irene.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2015/...
The year is 1922; the Labour party are in the ascendency, The Great War still a bitter memory. Fleur has been married to Michael Mont for almost two years, despite not being even twenty one yet. Their marriage is a little one sided, for Fleur has never quite forgotten Jon Forsyte – the great love from whom she was separated two years earlier. One can’t help but make comparisons with Fleur’s hasty marriage and Soame’s ill-fated union with Irene.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2015/...
September 14, 2025
Fjärde boken, en sorts fortsättning på Forsyte-Sagan. Nu med Fleur Forsytes generation i blickpunkten. Skriven 1924, handlar den om 1922-1923, när fransmännen invaderade Rhur och proppen gick ur den tyska ekonomin. Och hur det påverkar den brittiska ekonomin, naturligtvis. Soames är fortfarande en viktig mitten-kugge, och blir allt mer sympatisk i mina ögon, hans förvirring inför den nya förvirrade tiden. Och den unga generationens likgiltighet inför 'alla gamla värden' så här efter första världskriget. Oron. Försöken att blunda för realiteter, och hänge sig åt konstnärliga 'poser'.
Galsworthy är skicklig, i sina dialoger, och karaktärernas svårigheter att hitta ett nytt fotfäste i tillvaron. Skriven redan 1924, utan facit i hand, är det helt briljant. Här ställer han alltså sina frågor mitt i samtiden, till skillnad från tidigare Forsyte-böcker som såg tillbaka på den Viktorianska eran och dess nedmontering.
Den Vita Apan, är en tavla i kinesisk stil - som Soames köper till dotterns lilla salong inredd i kinesisk stil - 'novelties' är högsta mode. Apan som symbol för människan och hennes djuriska natur. Att äta livets frukter, kasta skalen omkring sig, och inte inse vad hon gör för fel, men ändå straffas. Men boken berör också några gräsrötter, som har små möjligheter att överleva, drabbas av arbetslöshet, och drömmer om Australien som ett nytt paradis. Och ärlighet vs att sko sig på andras bekostnad.
1920-talets virvlar. Väl åskådliggjord mitt i Galsworthys samtid. Nobelpriset 1932 räknade säkert in den här boken också i utmärkelsen.
Galsworthy är skicklig, i sina dialoger, och karaktärernas svårigheter att hitta ett nytt fotfäste i tillvaron. Skriven redan 1924, utan facit i hand, är det helt briljant. Här ställer han alltså sina frågor mitt i samtiden, till skillnad från tidigare Forsyte-böcker som såg tillbaka på den Viktorianska eran och dess nedmontering.
Den Vita Apan, är en tavla i kinesisk stil - som Soames köper till dotterns lilla salong inredd i kinesisk stil - 'novelties' är högsta mode. Apan som symbol för människan och hennes djuriska natur. Att äta livets frukter, kasta skalen omkring sig, och inte inse vad hon gör för fel, men ändå straffas. Men boken berör också några gräsrötter, som har små möjligheter att överleva, drabbas av arbetslöshet, och drömmer om Australien som ett nytt paradis. Och ärlighet vs att sko sig på andras bekostnad.
1920-talets virvlar. Väl åskådliggjord mitt i Galsworthys samtid. Nobelpriset 1932 räknade säkert in den här boken också i utmärkelsen.
April 2, 2011
~BE THE MONKEY?~
The Forsyte Saga: A Modern Comedy, Book One
While the "initial" Forsyte Saga ends after its third book (To Let, 1921), with the dissolving of Fleur and Jon's romance, Galsworthy continued the series and in 1924 wrote The White Monkey which shifts attention onto the relations of the new generation. Here we still meet Soames (and learn a touch about Jon and his mother, Irene, in the interlude that follows), but the main focus of the fourth book of the Forsyte Saga (and the first one in the Modern Comedy series) is on Fleur, her husband Michael and the passions and rush to live of the generation of the Roaring 20-es.Fleur is "collecting" the curious types of her level of the society; she longs for passion and yet is "French enough" to evaluate her life in cool head and heart. Finally, she decides to become a mother: two years have passed since her marriage to Michael and Soames was getting worried that she might get too involved into "white monkey ways" of the "literary types" surrounding her. Parallel plots of lives of less privileged members of the society give the full picture of the UK in the beginning of the 20th century.
The book is filled with exquisite social satire in the image of the White Monkey that became a "symbol" of the generation, which "eats oranges", enjoys the moment and does not think about the meaning and purpose of it all, but the pleasure gained here and now. The allegory of the civilization is striking and seems to be written about us, the generation of the 21st century. Perhaps, the Wheel of Fortune has done a full circle and we are on the same spot all over again: not in a hurry to start families, looking for pleasures of the moment, not relying on the trusted values. I do not have the English original of the book, but to translate from Russian, we "talk too much; too much and too quick! Due to it, they (current generation) is to loose interest to all in life, soon, very soon. They suck out the life and trow the orange peel away..."
Reading Galsworthy series one dives into the society and the mood of the era author writes about, even such moments as the wide popularity of Freud's work and the growing fondness of affirmations: Fleur thinks that the baby in her womb "becomes more and more a boy!", Soames repeats that he is calm, Annet became so "relaxed" that put on excess weight. Just think that soon to be 100 years since, and we still repeat that "every day in every way I become better and better!" Isn't it the "prove" of "running on one spot"?...
So, what does the generation of the Roaring 20-es - and we - put our faith in? I agree with Soames' son in law, Michael,(translated from Russian): "Oh, it isn't true that there is nothing outside of a man that would touch him in earnest: there is, damn it, there is! Feelings are not dead; faith and hope are not vanished. Perhaps, they are just changing the skins, becoming butterflies freeing from their cocoons. It is possible that hope, feelings, faith have hidden themselves: but they exist in in Old Forsyte and in him, Michael, too."
Victoria Evangelina Belyavskaya
April 5, 2016
Y con este libro empieza una nueva saga de los Forsyte, que sigue justo donde terminó la anterior, con Fleur casada.
En este caso, tenemos menos Forsytes en la historia, salvo algún momento "estrella invitada". Todo gira en torno a Fleur y su marido y el mundo artístico que los rodea. Bueno, también está Soames. De nuevo, Galbraith evita pintarlo como un villano unidimensionaly muestra compasión por él. Sigue cayéndome mal, pero es de agradecer que Galbraith construya personajes tan bien perfilados.
Esta vez, Galbraith se centra más en contar el mundo literario y artístico en general, tal vez porque tenía conocimiento directo de él. Sus comentarios sobre la moda, la juventud y la filosofía de la época son precisas y reveladoras. Y es realmente fascinante cómo un hombre que vivía a principios de los años 20 del siglo XX podía prever lo que iba a ocurrir. Al fin y al cabo, hablamos de los "alegres años 20" y Galbraith ya veía una crísis económica. Sigue hablando también de la élite económica de su país, por supuesto, y reflejando el mundo de los negocios, siendo éste una trama secundaria del relato, aunque como he mencionado, tal vez le dé más importancia a la descripción del mundillo cultural de entonces.
Como siempre, está escrito magistralmente y de forma muy clara, siendo tan fácil de leer que se llega al final en un suspiro, y estoy deseando seguir con la trilogía.
En este caso, tenemos menos Forsytes en la historia, salvo algún momento "estrella invitada". Todo gira en torno a Fleur y su marido y el mundo artístico que los rodea. Bueno, también está Soames. De nuevo, Galbraith evita pintarlo como un villano unidimensionaly muestra compasión por él. Sigue cayéndome mal, pero es de agradecer que Galbraith construya personajes tan bien perfilados.
Esta vez, Galbraith se centra más en contar el mundo literario y artístico en general, tal vez porque tenía conocimiento directo de él. Sus comentarios sobre la moda, la juventud y la filosofía de la época son precisas y reveladoras. Y es realmente fascinante cómo un hombre que vivía a principios de los años 20 del siglo XX podía prever lo que iba a ocurrir. Al fin y al cabo, hablamos de los "alegres años 20" y Galbraith ya veía una crísis económica. Sigue hablando también de la élite económica de su país, por supuesto, y reflejando el mundo de los negocios, siendo éste una trama secundaria del relato, aunque como he mencionado, tal vez le dé más importancia a la descripción del mundillo cultural de entonces.
Como siempre, está escrito magistralmente y de forma muy clara, siendo tan fácil de leer que se llega al final en un suspiro, y estoy deseando seguir con la trilogía.
January 27, 2013
As the story builds it gets better. You can't help admiring, and then finding, unbidden, that you have actually come to like Soames. The development of his relationship with Michael Mont is like listening to the gradual and reluctant burgeoning friendship between Alan Coren and jeremy Hardy on The News Quiz. A seasoned and clear sighted observer coming to recognise that wisdom and decency are not the sole preserve of the old. Running through the novel is the oncoming Great Depression and the problems of the German economy affecting the insurance firm that Soames is on the board of. The denouement makes you want to stop and join Michael in shouting "Bravo Old Forsyte".
August 18, 2023
These novels are excellent. I’m reading them all fairly quickly so it’s as if they are one long novel.
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December 21, 2022Кажется, впервые я так долго не перечитывала Сагу. Она по-прежнему становится лучше с каждым разом.
March 8, 2008
Well, it's hard to sustain the same level of brilliance across multiple novels and, much as I remembered, Volume 4 is where Galsworthy begins to falter. The White Monkey is inferior to the three volumes that precede it on several counts. At the most fundamental level, the plot is wafer-thin: very little of consequence happens in this book, to any of the characters. Also, the Forsytes no longer occupy the central role that they played in the initial trilogy - of his generation, only Soames and Winifred maintain much of a presence, Jon and Irene are an ocean and a continent away, so that this book shifts its focus to concentrate more or less exclusively on Soames's daughter, Fleur. Problem is that the new characters - Fleur's husband, Michael Mont, and his family, his war buddy, the poet Wilfrid Desert, the artists and writers who populate Fleur's salon never rise above the level of cardboard cutout figures, dragged on stage in an obvious effort by Galsworthy to cover all his bases. There is a ridiculously clunky subplot involving a worker, Bicket, who is let go from Michael Mont's firm, and his wife, which might as well be sequestered off in its own optional section, with the label "travails of the working class".
So, a lot of quivering and soul-searching by Fleur as she reluctantly comes to the conclusion that she's not going to be able to manage to juggle husband and passionate admirer (Desert) successfully; further soul-searching about whether or not to have a child, all carried out in the presence of some kind of hideous lapdog, Ting-a-Ling. It's never a good sign when the Chinese lapdog is one of the more memorable characters in a book.
With an odd 15-page coda ("A Silent Wooing") to fill us in on Jon's progress. He's living in North Carolina now! He meets an American girl! They get married! Neither seems to have a discernible personality! If there's not a payoff in Book 6 for wading through all this boring stuff, I'll be really pissed off.
The book's title? Refers to a painting which Galsworthy uses as a symbol with which to bludgeon the reader.
Let's hope things improve in Volume 5, though I seem to remember that he doesn't actually regain his original form until the sixth book.
So, a lot of quivering and soul-searching by Fleur as she reluctantly comes to the conclusion that she's not going to be able to manage to juggle husband and passionate admirer (Desert) successfully; further soul-searching about whether or not to have a child, all carried out in the presence of some kind of hideous lapdog, Ting-a-Ling. It's never a good sign when the Chinese lapdog is one of the more memorable characters in a book.
With an odd 15-page coda ("A Silent Wooing") to fill us in on Jon's progress. He's living in North Carolina now! He meets an American girl! They get married! Neither seems to have a discernible personality! If there's not a payoff in Book 6 for wading through all this boring stuff, I'll be really pissed off.
The book's title? Refers to a painting which Galsworthy uses as a symbol with which to bludgeon the reader.
Let's hope things improve in Volume 5, though I seem to remember that he doesn't actually regain his original form until the sixth book.
February 27, 2013
It has been some time since I read the first 3 of Galsworthy's novels in the 9 book series. I was pleasantly surprised by "The White Monkey" and recommend it strongly not on the basis of continuity with Galsworthy's previous books but for what I consider his very thoughtful observations on the perspective of English society after WWI.
The symbol of the white monkey is key to the whole undercurrent of the novel and is a far more important issue than any of the lesser illustrative dramas that engage the characters, however interesting/distracting they may be. The question of what values one has to live for, if any, following such tremendous upheaval in society is fascinating to see explored by a great writer so soon after WWI. I found Michael's newfound hope in life with the birth of an heir at the end of the book difficult to celebrate with the realization (one that Galsworthy could not share) that such an individual was likely to be fighting in WWII as a young man.
It struck me reading this book that many of the questions and confusions that beset Western society after WWI remain with us today; The White Monkey gives a good read on the beginning of the modern perspective which we are stuck with, like it or not.
The symbol of the white monkey is key to the whole undercurrent of the novel and is a far more important issue than any of the lesser illustrative dramas that engage the characters, however interesting/distracting they may be. The question of what values one has to live for, if any, following such tremendous upheaval in society is fascinating to see explored by a great writer so soon after WWI. I found Michael's newfound hope in life with the birth of an heir at the end of the book difficult to celebrate with the realization (one that Galsworthy could not share) that such an individual was likely to be fighting in WWII as a young man.
It struck me reading this book that many of the questions and confusions that beset Western society after WWI remain with us today; The White Monkey gives a good read on the beginning of the modern perspective which we are stuck with, like it or not.
October 30, 2016
This is one of the books I bought without an idea of what it contained. However, after reading the first five pages, I knew that I was in for a treat. The only sad thing about this book is the fact that I did not buy it at first when I had the chance. For that reason, I was forced to read the story from the fourth volume as I go backward. It would be naive of me to suggest that this has not affected my understanding of the book.
The challenges I experienced when reading this book is understanding the nature of the relationships between the characters. Be that as it may, I did my best with what I have and kept going back to the family tree to understand the characters better. Another challenge I had is understanding the history of the characters. This I will only understand after reading the initial volumes. Hopefully I will during my lifetime.
The background of the book is given in this site and I will not dwell on that. I will point out the main themes as I understood from the book. We have wealth, honesty, poverty, generational differences and marriage.
The challenges I experienced when reading this book is understanding the nature of the relationships between the characters. Be that as it may, I did my best with what I have and kept going back to the family tree to understand the characters better. Another challenge I had is understanding the history of the characters. This I will only understand after reading the initial volumes. Hopefully I will during my lifetime.
The background of the book is given in this site and I will not dwell on that. I will point out the main themes as I understood from the book. We have wealth, honesty, poverty, generational differences and marriage.
May 26, 2015
Perhaps 3½ stars. Very well written as shown by the fact that Galsworthy managed to change my feelings about Soames from dislike bordering on hatred to sympathetic understanding in this first novel of "The Modern Comedy" but I missed the grand sweep of the family connections. This entry in The Forsyte Chronicles focuses almost exclusively on Soames & Fleur and a new couple called Bickett. Some of the other members of the Forsyte clan made fleeting appearances (such as June swooping in and and then never appearing again). I hope that we see some more of the other branches of the family in the next installment!
May 14, 2019
Four stars only, despite this being the most readable so far of the F.Saga (in my view). One learns a good deal about Edwardian/wartime/post-war society from Galsworthy, but there's always a writing-by-numbers quality to his writing that's hard to put one's finger on. Many fine passages, much also that is stylistically avant-garde; but a pervasive 'constructedness' - I don't feel quite able to forget that a Novel Is Being Written. Still enjoyed it - many fine things. Will be reading vols 5 & 6 soon enough.
June 8, 2018
This might be my favorite author. He's in that class of authors that makes me happy to read every time. There are some very beautiful parts in this book. He sees humanity like so few authors ever can.
April 28, 2021
Продолжение "Саги о Форсайтах", где главные герои Сомс Форсайт, его дочь Флер и ее муж Майкл Монт. Сомс раскрывается с новой стороны, как человек чести. Флер, несмотря на всю кутерьму со светскими приемами, кажется мающейся и потерянной, но симпатии и сочувствия как-то не вызывает.
Аллегория с белой обезьяной - сильная. Сохраню себе на память.
“Развернув картину. Флер внесла ее в комнату и, прислонив к зеленому дивану, отошла и стала рассматривать. Она сразу оценила большую белую обезьяну с беспокойными карими глазами, как будто внезапно потерявшую всякий интерес к апельсину, который она сжимала лапой, серый фон, разбросанную кругом кожуру — яркие пятна среди мрачных тонов.”
“— Папа, это Обри Грин. Отец только что принес мне эту картину, Обри. Чудо — не правда ли?
Художник молча остановился перед картиной. Его глаза перестали скользить, волосы перестали струиться.
— Фью! — протянул он.
Сомс встал. Он ожидал насмешки, но в тоне художника он уловил почтительную нотку, почти изумление.
— Боже! Ну и глаза! — сказал Обри Грин. — Где вы ее отыскали, сэр?
— Она принадлежала моему двоюродному брату, любителю скачек. Это его единственная картина.
— Делает ему честь. У него был неплохой вкус.
Сомс удивился: мысль, что у Джорджа был вкус, показалась ему невероятной.
— Нет, — сказал он внезапно, — ему просто нравилось, что от этих глаз человеку становится не по себе.
— Это одно и то же. Я никогда не видел более порясающей сатиры на человеческую жизнь.
— Не понимаю, — сухо сказал Сомс.
— Да ведь это превосходная аллегория, сэр. Съедать плоды жизни, разбрасывать кожуру и попасться на этом, В этих глазах воплощенная трагедия человеческой души. Вы только посмотрите на них! Ей кажется, что в этом апельсине что-то скрыто, и она тоскует и сердится, потому что не может ничего найти. Ведь эту картину следовало бы повесить в Британском музее и назвать «Цивилизация, как она есть».
— Нет, — сказала Флер, — ее повесят здесь и назовут «Белая обезьяна».
— Это то же самое.”
Аллегория с белой обезьяной - сильная. Сохраню себе на память.
“Развернув картину. Флер внесла ее в комнату и, прислонив к зеленому дивану, отошла и стала рассматривать. Она сразу оценила большую белую обезьяну с беспокойными карими глазами, как будто внезапно потерявшую всякий интерес к апельсину, который она сжимала лапой, серый фон, разбросанную кругом кожуру — яркие пятна среди мрачных тонов.”
“— Папа, это Обри Грин. Отец только что принес мне эту картину, Обри. Чудо — не правда ли?
Художник молча остановился перед картиной. Его глаза перестали скользить, волосы перестали струиться.
— Фью! — протянул он.
Сомс встал. Он ожидал насмешки, но в тоне художника он уловил почтительную нотку, почти изумление.
— Боже! Ну и глаза! — сказал Обри Грин. — Где вы ее отыскали, сэр?
— Она принадлежала моему двоюродному брату, любителю скачек. Это его единственная картина.
— Делает ему честь. У него был неплохой вкус.
Сомс удивился: мысль, что у Джорджа был вкус, показалась ему невероятной.
— Нет, — сказал он внезапно, — ему просто нравилось, что от этих глаз человеку становится не по себе.
— Это одно и то же. Я никогда не видел более порясающей сатиры на человеческую жизнь.
— Не понимаю, — сухо сказал Сомс.
— Да ведь это превосходная аллегория, сэр. Съедать плоды жизни, разбрасывать кожуру и попасться на этом, В этих глазах воплощенная трагедия человеческой души. Вы только посмотрите на них! Ей кажется, что в этом апельсине что-то скрыто, и она тоскует и сердится, потому что не может ничего найти. Ведь эту картину следовало бы повесить в Британском музее и назвать «Цивилизация, как она есть».
— Нет, — сказала Флер, — ее повесят здесь и назовут «Белая обезьяна».
— Это то же самое.”
May 4, 2024
Why did Galsworthy’s writing seem to change so drastically between these two trilogies? I know this is written 20 years later and post-war so things obviously were taking a toll but yeah this was just not as good, nothing gripped me like it did with The Forsyte Saga #1. I’m hoping the other two are better in this series.
November 17, 2025
I couldn't quite make sense of all the financial business at the heart of this novel, but the sideshow about the Bickerts kept me quite gripped throughout this reading that I feared a recursion to the scenes of domestic violence in Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent. Three stars.
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October 20, 2020This is the first book in Galsworthy's "A Modern Comedy" trilogy and concentrates on the lives of Fleur Mont (nee Forsyte) and her husband, Michael. It's 1922, and Fleur, now into the second year of her marriage to Michael, is restless. She seems to live in a gay young thing whirl of fashionable dinner and cocktail parties, and au courant cultural events. Her husband's best friend, the poet Wilfred Desert is in love with her. She not in love with either Wilfred or her husband, but she loves their constant attention.
The Mont's life is contrasted with the life of Bickett, as young man who works in the warehouse of Michael's publishing firm who is sacked for stealing books to sell privately. Bickett wants to emigrate to Australia for a better life, but doesn't know how he can come up with the 50 pounds needed for the passage out. When his wife decides to become an artist's model to help out with the money, she must keep it a secret from her straight-laced husband. The contrast between the classes couldn't be greater.
And then there's Fleur's father, Soames He is the holdover symbol from the Victorian era with a high sense of what is, and is not done. When he finds himself sitting on the board of an insurance company that has dealings that are not exactly on the up and up, expect fireworks.
The Mont's life is contrasted with the life of Bickett, as young man who works in the warehouse of Michael's publishing firm who is sacked for stealing books to sell privately. Bickett wants to emigrate to Australia for a better life, but doesn't know how he can come up with the 50 pounds needed for the passage out. When his wife decides to become an artist's model to help out with the money, she must keep it a secret from her straight-laced husband. The contrast between the classes couldn't be greater.
And then there's Fleur's father, Soames He is the holdover symbol from the Victorian era with a high sense of what is, and is not done. When he finds himself sitting on the board of an insurance company that has dealings that are not exactly on the up and up, expect fireworks.
May 18, 2022
“Comer los frutos de la vida, tirar la cáscara y que lo sorprendan a uno haciéndolo.”
November 10, 2021
Žmonės visi panašūs - ima iš gyvenimo viską, ką gali, o mainais, duoda kiek galėdami mažiau.
June 4, 2021
This wasn't as good as the first three books in The Saga. It may have been the reader on my Audible book influenced my rating.
Does Soames have any redeeming qualities? No wonder Fleur is so self-absorbed!
Does Soames have any redeeming qualities? No wonder Fleur is so self-absorbed!
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