Synopses & Reviews
Evelyn and Dorothy - the twins - are seven when the Forrests move from New York City, the hub of the world, to Westmere, New Zealand. The Forrest Trust Fund now cut out of their lives, the family live under a cloudless sky, in the dust and the heat, outdoors and running wild. Their father - who they would only call Frank - works for a cab company over the weekends but is really an actor. Michael, the eldest, has a friend called Daniel whose father lives in a half-way house. He starts to live with them, punches Dorothy on the shoulder to stop her crying when she starts school, and becomes family.
Lee, their mother, takes them to a commune when she needs to get away from Frank. The memory of that place - the freedom, the dirty richness of the landscape, the stolen kisses - their chaotic childhood, undulates beneath the surface of all their lives, and brings them together in flickering moments when they grow far apart.
The passing of time happens quickly. Evelyn and Dorothee grow older, discover sex, love, have babies, and watch as they too grow old. Their youngest sister moves away and their parents decrease in importance in their lives. Daniel, like a shadow, is always in the back of their minds. Death changes everything, but somehow life remains the same.
In a narrative that shifts and moves, growing as wild as the characters, The Forrests is an extraordinary literary achievement. A novel that sings with color and memory, it speaks of family and time, dysfunction, aging and loneliness, about lethargy, heat, youth, and how there is always something inaccessible and secretive, lying just out of reach.
Review
"Transcendent… the authors descriptively rich prose and sense of scene drives the story on…Perkins knows how to artfully reveal her characters inner machinations as they cope with whatever comes their way." - Publishers Weekly, starred review "This timelessly true tale will appeal to discerning readers of literary fiction." - Booklist "Perkins has a remarkable ability to capture the joys and angst of each stage of life, from the stings and sorrows of rejection and loss to feelings of ineptitude, boredom, and desire to the sustaining love of family…recommended for fans of family sagas such as those by Anne Tyler and Zadie Smith." - Library Journal
Synopsis
Dorothy Forrest is immersed in the sensory world around her; she lives in the flickering moment. From the age of seven, when her odd, disenfranchised family moves from New York City to the wide skies of New Zealand, to the very end of her life, this is her great gift and possible misfortune.
Through the wilderness of a commune to falling in love to early marriage and motherhood; from the glorious anguish of parenting to the loss of everything worked for and the unexpected return of love, Dorothy is swept along by time. Her family looms and recedes, revelations come to light, death changes everything, but somehow, life remains as potent as it ever was, and the joy in just being won't let her go.
In a narrative that shifts and moves, growing as wild as the characters, The Forrests is an extraordinary literary achievement.
Synopsis
Dorothy Forrest is immersed in the sensory world around her; she lives in the flickering moment. From the age of seven, when her odd, disenfranchised family moves from New York City to the wide skies of New Zealand, to the very end of her life, this is her great gift and possible misfortune.Through the wilderness of a commune to falling in love to early marriage and motherhood; from the glorious anguish of parenting to the loss of everything worked for and the unexpected return of love, Dorothy is swept along by time. Her family looms and recedes, revelations come to light, death changes everything, but somehow, life remains as potent as it ever was, and the joy in just being won't let her go.In a narrative that shifts and moves, growing as wild as the characters, The Forrests is an extraordinary literary achievement.
About the Author
Emily Perkins was born in 1970. She is the author of Not Her Real Name, a prizewinning collection of short stories that won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, and the novels Leave Before You Go, The New Girl, and Novel About My Wife, winner of the Believer Book Award.