Although Vreeland's Girl in Hyacinth Blue remains my favorite, I walso enjoyed this look at the life of Emily Carr, a Canadian painter I had never heard of before. Vreeland vividly describes Carr's passion for capturing the vanishing art of the Indians of British Columbia and her desire to find her own vision as an artist. The Native American characters in the book are poignant but dignified, and the sorrow of their fractured culture runs as an undercurrent through the entire book. Carr's character is well-drawn, particularly as she ages and questions the value of all she has worked for. I like the way Vreeland writes about art.

i found this book on a flight and it looked interesting. i hadnt planned on reading it for a while but someone requested it so i decided to pick it up.

im still not sure what i think of it. i picked it up because its about emaily carr, an artist id never heard of, but on the back of the book they compare her to my favorite artist, frida kahlo.

(im not sure why- they were both female artists, but thats where the comparison ends)

the story was good- emily carr was ahead of her time, not appreicated, and was shunned for painting canadas native people. her family was a mess, along with her friends, but they made a great group of characters. it wasnt a fast, exciting read, but i stuck with it and am glad i did.

it did make me want to learn more about her, but i dont think ill be reading any of susan vreelands books any time soon.

I don't know exactly how much of this book was true. It showed the struggle that Emily Carr had to become a woman artist in the early 20th century.

I almost want to keep it...but I am a firm believer in sharing things I've enjoyed!

I love Susan Vreeland's books and for some reason I hadn't read this before. I feel like this is her best. Emily, an artist in British Columbia, in the first decades of the twentieth century, has great depth of character, the focus on the Fauvist art movements and native Canadian tribal issues and artwork are well-researched and worked into a novel well.

Read All Book Reviews of "The Forest Lover"

This is the story of artist Emily Carr who, overcoming the confines of Victorian culture, sets off on her own to paint the rugged frontier of British Columbia and its indigenous peoples just before the forces of history changed them forever. A glorious novel about courage, genius and the pursuit of vision against daunting odds.

A lavish historical novel about a pioneering woman artist and the untamed country she loved. Before Georgia O'Keeffe redefined the desert landscapes of New Mexico and Frida Kahlo revolutionized the art of self-portraiture, Emily Carr blazed a similar path with her boldly modern and inventive renditions of the British Columbian landscape. In The Forest Lover, Susan Vreeland brings to life the astonishing career of this fiercly independent adventurer and painter.
Overcoming the confines of Victorian culture, Carr set off on her own to paint a rugged frontier and its indigenous peoples just before the forces of history changed them forever. Ranging from tribal villages in the Pacific Northwest to artists' studios in pre-World War I Paris, Vreeland tells her story with gusto and suspense, giving us a glorious novel about courage, genius, and the pursuit of vision against daunting odds.

Read All Book Reviews of "The Forest Lover"