Rating: 
Summary: I feel I've read this before
Review: This story is strangely familiar. A girl sees Madonna in the woods. Will people believe her? I enjoyed reading this book but now it is hard to remember why. There are no outstanding characters. The plot is not unusual or ground-breaking. I guess it is the small things that made it beautiful - the descriptions of the lush northwestern forest, the damp, the moss. Very well written, a "literary" novel - but it lacks heart.
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Summary: An Emotional Look at Revelation in a Modern Setting
Review: David Guterson tackles lofty subjects in his novels. SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS deals with the injustices done the Japanese-Americans living in the Northwest during World War II, while EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS analyzes a man's confrontation with terminal illness. His latest, OUR LADY OF THE FOREST, is the story of a teenage runaway girl who claims to see the Virgin Mary. Guterson researches his subjects like a bloodhound on the scent of a criminal. He uses a most unlikely subject to reveal messages to the contemporary faithful who come to hear her words.Ann Holmes is sixteen, an itinerant runaway who gathers mushrooms in the woods near North Fork Campground, Washington. She is the daughter of an unmarried teenage mother who lives with a methamphetamine addict. By fourteen, Ann has been repeatedly raped by the addict and has aborted two fetuses. A severe asthmatic, she leaves her abusive background and forages for mushrooms, her sole source of income. She's small, skinny, has jagged cut hair and wears a hooded sweatshirt that shrouds her features. Carolyn Greer is a mushroom picker who lives in a van in the North Fork Campground and takes Ann under her wing. Guterson's imagery gives his audience a clear sense of his setting, the aroma of fallen cedar needles a rich reminder of his successful first novel. Ann's occupation is appropriate for her daily sojourns deep into the forest, however unseemly for a girl hiding from the world. The tattered, wheezy child is reminiscent of the conduits for a holy message chosen in the first century A.D. The first apparition comes when Ann brushes dirt from the gills of a mushroom. She notices a strange bright light that hovers between two trees, with the brilliance of a halogen light bulb. Frightened, she picks up her bucket and runs, says an Our Father and three Hail Marys, then finishes her rosary at lightning speed. Scared by the experience, she witnesses it again and sees a human figure that glides toward her. She races back to the campground and takes refuge in Carolyn's van. Greer is skeptical but agrees to accompany Ann back into the woods for another look. Ann alone sees the figure again, but Carolyn is witness to Ann's bodily movements and reaction to the apparition. Word spreads and local priest Father Donald Collins accompanies the women to document Ann's contact with the Holy Virgin. Father Collins ministers to a dried-up logging community that cries for work. Tom Cross is a tortured former logger who is responsible for his son's paralysis. The man curses God but hungers for redemption and forgiveness from his family. When Ann's sightings of the Virgin become widespread topics of conversation, Tom hopes for his own redemption. Commercialism enters when followers set up shop to sell trinkets, jewelry and Catholic memorabilia, and hover at the campground. Ann reports that the Virgin wants a church built in the forest and ministry commenced by the faithful. Church leaders scrutinize Ann's story with minute detail. Her frailty lies not within her faith but in the confines of her sickly physical body. I was annoyed by Guterson's writing style, using no quotations for dialogue. If the subject had been more appealing, I might have been more accepting. The characters are interesting, but OUR LADY OF THE FOREST did not make me a Guterson fan. I much preferred his first novel. Still, the story is told with passion and will lead to much discussion about holy apparitions within any faith. OUR LADY OF THE FOREST is an emotional look at revelation in a modern setting. Readers of many beliefs will be able to relate to the feelings that surface when religion is a vital part of life. --- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
Rating: 
Summary: Author quit before the ending
Review: David Guterson is capable of much better writing than was evidenced in this book. While he wove an interesting and suspenseful tale, he committed the mortal sin of giving up on the ending. When authors do this, I always picture the author as being under intense pressure from the publisher to get the damn book finished. Was that the case here, or did Guterson's pathological cynicism, expressed through the book's characters, simply overcome him? What else but cynicism and a complete disregard for his readers would allow an author to tag on an ending that can only be described as a crappy copout - illogical, empty, and totally banal? If you don't mind investing hours of your time on a book only to feel like the author doesn't respect your time enough to finish the book, go ahead and read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointed
Review: I was delighted to find this book after reading and thoroughly enjoying "Snow Falling on Cedars". Unfortunately, this book does not come close. There is a recurrent theme of raunchy sexual thoughts that permiate the book and add nothing to the story. A suggestion or a thought from one of the characters perhaps but we are continually bombarded by the lustful ... thoughts of the priest and the raunchy thoughts of another main character. Too much and unnecessary as were the continuous references to Anne's period and allergy problems.
I was also disappointed in the ending, felt it could have been so much better. Instead of uplifting it was depressing and unsatisfying. Hopefully Mr. Guterson has another good book in him - this isn't it.
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Summary: visions denied
Review: i have had visions for the last 25 years. rather than being for someone else, my visions have always related to a specific situation i was in at the time. since i am known to have reoccurring depression, many people have attempted to negate my visions saying it is my mental illness. this may be so, but i also believe that people can not fathom God's continuing appearance in today's world. i highly suggest reading our lady of the forest, for anyone who questions God's continuing concern for his creations. you won't be disappointed.
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Summary: Disappointment
Review: I was extremely disappointed in this book and felt it was definitely written by an anti-Catholic. There was nothing uplifting whatsoever. I felt it was just another slam against the church and would not recommend it to anyone. Especially after loving Snow Falling on Cedars, this was a big letdown.
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Summary: Well written, but disappointing
Review: I picked this book up because of the beautiful cover and its title. As a Catholic, I enjoy reading about Marian apparitions and do believe in those authenticated by the Church. Also, the blurb from the inside cover reminded me of the story of St. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes. Let me say first off that Mr. Guterson is an excellent writer. His descriptive passages are works of art. However, as a Catholic I was offended by his portrayal of Fr. Collins. The usage of these stereotypes about our Catholic priests ( being filled with lust and obsessed with sex) is not only tiresome but offensive. In the end there was really no redeeming light for anyone in this novel except perhaps Tom Cross, an ex-logger who has a paraplegic son. Fr. Collins gets what he seeks in the end but by then I had no respect left for him whatsoever. One other positive note is that Mr. Guterson does an excellent job here of showing how quickly masses of believers can be taken advantage of in their search for a miracle. It's unfortunate that this novel tends to point toward an uplifting ending and then does not deliver.
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Summary: Finding a contemporary Mary in fiction
Review: It is so difficult to find work with vibrancy that adds to a contemporary interpretation of Mary, Queen of the Cosmos, and David Gutterson in Our Lady of the Forest has managed such a task with grace and sensitivity. Gutterson's characters are flawed and very human, and perhaps that's what makes the book so powerful. Mary, in her greatness, looks past flaws and into hearts. As I read the book, I was reminded of the story of Lourdes and St. Joan d'Arc, yet the book is far more than a rehashing of these stories. For me, the book was REAL--Ann Holmes is a contemporary version of Bernadette but with modern and tragic complications. There is no sugar coating as in the church-accredited tales of Mary--Gutterson deals with the ugliness of sexual abuse, drug usage, depression, greed and mental instability, but moreover, he presents to us a story of beauty, spirituality, vision and undaunted belief. As I turned the last page of the book, I was sad that it ended. The book was like a good friend--in my life there are few people who understand a deep adoration of the Virgin, and for 300+ pages, I felt that Gutterson was one of them. On a personal note, for many years, it has been the Virgin who has brought me back around and reignited my own spirituality. Our Lady of the Forest is a good read for those who like well-written fiction and a must-read for those who seek to deepen their understanding of the role of the Mother of God in the comtemporary world. It is, simply, a beautiful and moving book.
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Summary: UNFULFILLING-WAIT FOR THE PAPERBACK
Review: Maybe I was hoping for more. But the author teases..builds characters..to a very unsatisfactory climax. The character of Father Collins..Tommy, the paralyzed boy..Where and how did the holy water appear? Carolyn, the visonary's "friend".Tom, the guilt-ridden father..all left dangling. Too many unanswered questions.Even the visonary herself, Ann. Her church was evenually built, as was her central message. But there remained a mystery about Ann and her apparitions- which the story didnt completely satisfy, at least not to me.A fake or a true visonary? A disappointment. To waste over 300 pages developing characters, yet still the mystery remains.What happens to these characters, after the book ends?? Wait for the paperback, if youre interested. And if youre looking for more info on apparitions, or just into a good mystery this is NOT the book for you. Its more a soap-box, social commentary piece, one which tries-again, unsuccessfully- to combine sarcasm with humor and piety with tenderness and sadness.So much more couldve been done with this story, this concept.In the end, it is as hollow and empty as most of the characters which are portrayed.
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Summary: Faith or Fiction
Review: After his great Snow Falling on Cedars and his thoughtful and underrated East of the Mountain, Guterson comes back in full force with his new effort Our Lady of the Forest. This might very well be his most philosophical and intelligent work to date. Our Lady of the Forest is the kind of book that makes you think and debate everything it tells you. Ann is a young girl whose life consists of nothing but struggles. After running away from home at a very young age, she now lives in a tent on a campground, picking mushrooms for a living. She has few friends, passing the time the only way she knows how; by taking drugs to relieve herself from the everyday pain she constantly feels. One day, during her daily trek into the woods, she sees something floating above the trees. She falls to her knees and goes into a trance-like phase. When she awakens from it, she tells the people around her that she has just seen the Virgin Mary. When this event reoccurs the next day, and the one after that, Ann grows a small gathering of followers that seems to grow by the day. Soon enough, the small town of North Fork quickly fills up with the visionary's followers. But as thousands gather around the young girl, others cannot let themselves believe in her vision. Primary among these are the town's priest, who, although infatuated with the girl, cannot let himself believe she is seeing the Virgin Mary. And then there is the town's troublemaker whose mind is so boggled and confused that he does not know what to believe anymore. Are the visions real? Is the Virgin Mary really coming to the young girl with words or wisdom and warnings? Unfortunately, Guterson does the grave error of answering this question. But this flaw aside, Our Lady of the Forest is a great book that keeps attacking one of today's most touchy subject; the place faith and religion holds in today's modern world. As with his previous novels, the prose in this book is flawless. Guterson is a master storyteller who has an incredible way with words. He often leaves you breathless with his gracefully long descriptions of people, places and events. The dialog is sparse, and the emotional content raised to its limit. Our Lady of the Forest is the rare kind of book that, while being highly philosophical and intellectiual, still remains entertaining for the reader, a thing that can only be attributed to Guterson's realistic and touching characters and his storytelling skills. You will love to hate these people, and hate to love them as well. Mixed emotions is just the thing Our Lady of the Forest wants you to feel. Another great effort by a skilled, masterful author.
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