The Forest Lover

By: Susan Vreeland

Narrated by: Karen White

In her acclaimed novels, Susan Vreeland has given us portraits of painting and life that are as dazzling as their artistic subjects. Now, in The Forest Lover, she traces the courageous life and career of Emily Carr, who—more than Georgia O'Keeffe or Frida Kahlo—blazed a path for modern women artists. Overcoming the confines of Victorian culture, Carr became a major force in modern art by capturing an untamed British Columbia and its indigenous peoples just before industrialization changed them forever. From illegal potlatches in tribal communities to artists' studios in pre-World War I Paris, Vreeland tells her story with gusto and suspense, giving us a glorious novel that will appeal to lovers of art, native cultures, and lush historical fiction.

Critic reviews

Vreeland, as the Squamish would say, has made strong talk. (New York Newsday)

Great content

I had read this book and loved it, several years ago. Sadly the performance changed my previous delight.

Good not great

Wasn’t as bad as the other reviews posted, but maybe they prepared me. You have to remember this was in the early 1900’s. Her work wasn’t as bad as the first museum said. They made it seem like the poles were eccentric. I’ve actually seen her work on the poles, and I think they were good.(not an artist though). I think Emily showed growth in herself and her work through this book. The narrator was off a little with the French accent, but no one’s perfect

A pretty good story.

Simple story of a passionate and creative artist who felt the First Nation people and their culture deeply. One problem with the audio version is multiple instances of one sentence repeating. Fortunately I wasn’t aware of any missing portions.

Second time Ive read this

I loved this book and I love her artwork. Thank you for the enjoyment of listening the second time instead of reading. Made a drive to California very enjoyable.

Such insights gleaned from Emily Carr’s work!

I discovered Emily Carr while traveling with my mother-in-law to Vancouver Island and Vancouver city decades ago. She fascinated me with her trees and foreboding totems; I felt an affinity with her, having spent a month in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota and Canada, with trees and water composing the scenery.

What great satisfaction I derived from Susan Vreeland’s detailed consideration of Carr’s perspective beyond her artistry. I suppose they are entwined, but I hadn’t put all this together and am excited to immediately begin again to further piece together the perspective of this extraordinary woman.

Well done, Susan Vreeland! And well-read, Karen White. I was never distracted from what was being said; I was fully engaged. Thank you.