Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Viking Press
Release Date: February 2004
ISBN: 0670032670
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Hardcover
Buy it at Amazon
Read an Excerpt
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Nancy Mehl
Reviewer Notes:  
Copyright MyShelf.com

The Forest Lover
By Susan Vreeland


      Emily Carr (1871-1945) is an unconventional artist, misunderstood by her family as well as her peers. Carr has a passion for the earthy and unusual. In her native British Columbia, she discovers the power and beauty of the Indians who live in isolated villages, tucked quietly into the wilderness. The magnificence of the forests and their people cry out to her artistic gift, and she answers with haunting and vibrant paintings that portray the uniqueness of the culture and the land.

       In portraying a relationship with a Squamish woman, Sophie Frank, Vreeland allows us, through Sophie’s eyes, to experience Carr as a real person. The Indian mother will bury nine of her children, but through it all, she finds a way to cope with life through her Christian beliefs. Although Sophie is considered by “proper society” to be primitive in her attitudes, Carr sees beyond the stereotypes and forms a strong and lasting bond of friendship. The narrow-minded views of her family and the world she seeks to leave behind creates frustration and insecurity for the independent artist, but she fights on, braving physical danger and hardship to fulfill her desire to preserve the rich native civilization for posterity. Fearful that collectors will eventually remove all of the totems created by the tribes, Carr feels a deep need to immortalize them. However, she is frustrated in her own efforts and criticized by other artists who see her as an intruder.

       Once again, as in Girl in Hyacinth Blue, and The Passion of Artemisia, Author Susan Vreeland combines exhaustive research with a fertile imagination. Vreeland breathes life not only into the artist, but also into the art, helping us to experience the humanity behind the work. The Forest Lover is another Vreeland creation, deftly painted with the fine brushstrokes of her magnificent and well-chosen words. This is her medium, and once again, she has left us with a masterpiece.

Highly Recommended