Daughter of the Forest

I liked this far more than I expected to; it is a remix/pro-fanfic of Grimm 49! The cover lied, and the lukewarm blurb from [a:Anne McCaffery|3305066|Anne McCAFFERY|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] is misleading.

This had a really nice realist cast to it, although there were multiple occasions when Marillier forgot that she was writing about a precapitalist society. (Look, I'm sorry, I can't help but notice these things.) I was really impressed by how well the Little Folk were integrated into the story (this may be one of the books I end up going back to, for studying purposes when I write the Ragnell novel), although the mind-speaking thing I could have largely done without, Red/Hugh was a pretty awesome hero, Lord Richard sucked sucked sucked, I was pretty touched by the conclusion of the Colum arc. This is a pretty hefty book for what is a pretty straightforward tale, but it doesn't feel padded, amazingly enough. ( )

I never ever ever wanted it to end. The word epic is thrown around a lot, "that shirt is epic," um, no, no it isn't. Epic is so overused and misused its meaning has separated from the word, which unfortunately tends to happen with the best descriptors in our language (i.e. awesome) Sorry, rant over. My point: this book was epic. A long trying tale of a very human and lovable heroine, who travels a long journey, within and without and undergoes horrific trials to save those she loves. The characters and romance and situations feel so real, it is a book to cherish. It was on a level with The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale or The Demon King (series) by Cinda Williams Chima. ( )

Daughter of the Forest was recommended to me at least a dozen times before I picked it up. I don't run across a whole lot of books - especially books that aren't new releases - that generate that kind of vocal love and support, so I knew from the beginning that this one would be special. I'd say I regret having put it off for so long, but, truth be told, I'm glad I waited for the right moment - Daughter of the Forest is one of those luminous, aching, bittersweet books that will come to the rescue when you're in a terrible funk and all the other books you own look dull as dirt.

I don't want to dwell on the plot too much, both because it's been summarized elsewhere and because the process of discovery is such a pleasure. Daughter of the Forest is based on one of Grimm's fairy tales, called The Six Swans, but set in Ireland and mixed with fairy magic and Celtic lore about the Lady of the Lake. Marillier has taken all the elements present in the original fairy tale - the witchy stepmother who curses her husband's six sons, but lets the daughter escape; the transformation of the sons into swans, and the revelation that the daughter can end the curse through a vow of silence and a difficult, nearly impossible task that will cause her great pain and take six years to complete; her hard life in the wilderness, and her eventual capture/salvation at the hands of a foreign king, who recognizes her good character though she cannot speak.

The Grimm fairy tale is only a few pages long and the whole text is available online, and it's worth reading it to see how Marillier breathes life into the characters of the fable. The Grimm story, for example, contains two evil step-mothers - the witch who curses the seven sons, and the mother of the foreign king who falls in love with the daughter. Marillier re-creates both women, but in her story only one is truly evil; the other is simply misguided by tradition and small-mindedness. She evokes the pain of the daughter's task so vividly, and the horror of the sons' transformation into swans just as well. And the love story between the daughter and the foreign king - Sorcha and Red, in Mariller's retelling - will melt your heart.

Marillier places front-and-center how Sorcha's task consists of women's work in a medieval tale - she's sewing a set of shirts - and requires virtues that are traditionally feminine, like patience and devotion to her family, but elevates them to a truly heroic level. In order to save her brothers through her women's work, Sorcha must also be brave, stoic, steadfast, determined, iron-willed and impossibly focused. At one point, the villain of the novel claims that no woman could do what Sorcha does - I don't think I would have realized exactly how larger-than-life, how appropriate to a fairy tale, Sorcha's task was unless it had been spelled out to me this way.

Anyhow, Daughter of the Forest is wonderful and if you have any interest in re-worked fairy tales, pick this one up - at the right moment. It will hit the spot. ( )

Not for me. I don't do well with unhappy endings.

Part of me wanted desperately to give Daughter of the Forest four stars. Perhaps if I hadn't read six or eight additional books during the time it took me to finish this one.

Sorcha is the seventh child (she has six older brothers) of the household of Seven Waters in Erin. Her mother died bearing her and her father seemingly can't interact with his daughter because she reminds him of his beloved wife. He throws himself wholeheartedly and ruthless into the defense of Seven Waters.

This is a re-telling of an old Celtic faery tale (the Wild Swans). The 'evil' stepmother arrives, seduces and blinds the father and drives a wedge between the siblings. This culminates in an enchantment or curse that transforms the six brothers into swans. Sorcha barely escapes the spell.

To break the spell and save her brothers, she is required to never speak, never to tell her story by any means and to weave and sew six shirts for her brothers out of a spiney weed called starwort.

Sorcha struggles on for years. Since this tale is told in the first person from her point of view, it is easy to identify with her travails. However, even though it seems like if it weren't for bad luck she would have no luck at all, I grew bored at times with the internal dialogue.

Sorcha has a nearly impossible task to complete that at times requires superhuman strength of will to inch forward. I was deeply moved by her plot and the few individuals who saw her strength and struggled and helped as the could without any understanding of her task.

I guess the biggest disappointment for me was that the second half of the tale seemed to be a thinly veiled romance. I literally saw that coming from miles away and it ended just as nearly all faery tales do, happily ever after. ( )