Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Daughter of the Forest

Daughter of the Forest is a retelling of the Six Swans fairy tale - six brothers are turned into swans by their evil stepmother. Their sister Sorcha flees and must sew six shirts for them out of a barbarous weed in complete silence in order to break the spell. Her journey to complete her task spans years of heartbreak and suffering, and takes her far from her homeland into the land of her enemies, the Britons.

I first read this book in either 2001 or 2002, as a pre-teen/young teen. I picked it up at my local library, where I used to spend everyday after school. I went on to read the rest of the Sevenwaters Trilogy and loved these books so very much. I credit them with getting me into the fantasy genre. I spent a long time away from fiction, not feeling like I had the time to read fiction because who has time to read for fun as a grown up? I'm happy to say I finally found the time to re-read this after a long time away. These are my thoughts re-reading this book after TWENTY (yikes) years:

Juliet Marillier is still a brilliant writer and gifted storyteller. Beautiful, moving prose. Characters you will love with your whole heart and characters you with hate with every fiber for your being.

But I have found that I was not nearly as comfortable with some of the plot points as I was when I first read this book, as a kid. I don't know if this is because some of these things went over my head, if I just forgot the impact they made on me at the time, or if my sensitivity has changed after so much time and life has happened. In any event, here are some major content warnings you should be aware of, that I will put behind a spoiler tag:

This book features graphic sexual assault of a child, animal abuse, and animal death.

These books will always be so special to me. However, they are in the same vein as A Song of Ice and Fire, where very bad things happen to good people with little respite. And that's no longer my idea of a good time. Read with care.

Content Warnings

maises's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"They were a part of We, and I of them. Now I was alone, and I must manage without them, for to fail in this task was to lose them forever."

This Six Swans retelling was a journey, and it was definitely more than arduous, but I enjoyed it so so much. Sorcha’s entire journey was extremely difficult. Maybe it could have felt a little excessive, especially when every next struggle hit her as soon as she felt the last one, but for some reason I could ride through it because I knew how this would end from the start (I realized a bit too soon that this was a Hans Christian Anderson retelling rather than a Grimm one when there weren't any baby-eating accusations, thank u sm).

Overall, I think this retelling was an interesting exercise that reflected on suffering for a loved one. Needless suffering is huge in classics like this, since old fairy tales specifically reward suffering like penance. But every hardship Sorcha endured never really had any rhyme or reason to it, and I think that just made the payoff from her pain actually feel like a relief has been lifted from my own shoulders, just as a reader. I don’t recall feeling so enthralled at a climax I knew the exact outcome of before! Also the villain(s) were pretty villainous. I appreciate when fiction has bad guys so bad that I want to dive into the pages and choke out somebody.

I was actually extremely touched at how realistic the Sevenwaters siblings felt, both as characters and in their relationships with one another. By the time Sorcha sets out on her quest to save them, it doesn’t feel at all strange that she would go through so much for their sake. There were a few times during the book that some brothers’ actions did annoy me though, but I think most of the time they were good.

Characters I really loved: Sorcha. “After all, I was but fourteen years old” and immediately I wanted to kill every man in this book. Finbar, kinda. I shed a tear when Finbar said he had a swan wife and kids he had to abandon. Let him see his bird babies! I liked Red okay but yeah she was kinda too young for him ummm… Red’s two besties were the best characters in that little town. They deserved the best and yet… And that one chef lady who stayed at Sevenwaters all that time. I liked the other brothers enough. I loved their love for each other and their sister, even if the ending spelled out the worst for a lot of them… Doomed sibs are the best. Sorry.

AND OK! I did actually gasp at Simon’s last scene with Sorcha! Sorry to be a second lead syndrome girl but they should have had a chance!!!! “Don't leave me. What cruel game had they been playing with all of us? What twisted path had we been following, like blindfold puppets in some wild dance? Had we no will? Had we no choice?” Like what was thatttttt! She nursed him to health and he only thought of her in the fairy folk world are you joking!

So I do not really think I am all that interested in the rest of the Sevenwaters books, firstly because I think this is already a strong standalone Six Swans retelling (and I think the only retelling in this series?), and secondly because I am not the biggest fan of second generation main characters… However, I do have Son of the Shadows so if it comes to that…! In any case, I may be browsing Marillier’s backlog soon to try out something else.

Content Warnings

ashatroyal's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is a story! The way it was woven and unfolded was amazing. A mix of history, lore and fantasy. The author did not spare us of heartbreak, sorrow, pride or joy. This book gave me all the feels. I cried. I yelled out loud. Sorcha experienced so much at such a young age. Like she is such a strong FMC who you can’t help but root for. She was dealt such a hand and tasked with such a challenge to save her family. Her loyalty knew no bounds. Oonagh was so evil. Honestly, I cannot believe what Red did. I felt like he gave “Jenny” no choice. He put her in an awful position trying to protect her. I felt so bad for Simon and Fin. The Fair Folk are so cruel.

Content Warnings

missgarceau's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Content Warnings

clairereadstoomuch's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Questo libro è stata una piacevole sorpresa.

E’ un romanzo dall’impianto fiabesco, la cui struttura segue perfettamente nella sua tradizione. Padre rimasto vedovo con sette figli di cui una sola figlia, che poi si sposa eventualmente con una strega cattiva di cui è stregato.
Nel vano tentativo di ribellarsi, i sei fratelli saranno anch’essi vittima di un incantesimo. Solo Sorha, la protagonista, riesce a salvarsi grazie al sacrificio dei fratelli. Sarà lei infatti l’unica a poter spezzare l’incantesimo. A costo di grandi sacrifici, del suo silenzio e di duro lavoro, Sorha si imbarca quindi in questo viaggio per riavere i fratelli.
Fedele alla struttura fiabesca, la povera Sorha ne passerà di tutti i colori prima di raggiungere il suo obiettivo. Ma non temete, perché tra la tante peripezie, Sorha troverà l’amore. Un amore proibito, impossibile e di convenienza che salverà la vita ad entrambi, in più modi.

All’inizio ho avuto un po’ di difficoltà ad entrare nella storia per lo stile narrativo è molto asciutto e crea una distanza notevole con quanto narrato. Forse è il prodotto dei suoi tempi o del genere testuale al quale appartiene ma alla fine dei conti, mi sono trovata grata per questa scelta. Se fosse stata una narrazione ricca di pathos, sarebbe stata una lettura parecchio pesante da digerire.

Superato questo gradino però la lettura scorre veloce, coinvolti tra le disavventure di Sorha, risulta veramente difficile metter giù il libro. E’ così che mi sono trovata da metà alla fine praticamente in un solo pomeriggio.

Ho davvero apprezzato il rapporto che Sorha ha con i fratelli, mi ha davvero emozionato. Per non parlare dell’interesse amoroso che pur attraverso la freddezza dei toni della narrazione riesce a mostrare tutto il suo interesse e amore.

“non è importante che tu sia qui o altrove, perché la tua immagine è davanti ai miei occhi in ogni momento. Ti vedo nella luce sopra l'acqua, nei giovani alberi che oscillano alla brezza di primavera. Ti vedo nelle ombre delle grandi querce, e sento la tua voce di notte, nel chiurlo del gufo.
Sei il sangue che mi scorre nelle vene, e il battito del mio cuore.
Sei il mio primo pensiero del mattino, e il mio ultimo sospiro prima di prender sonno. Tu sei... tu sei fibra delle mie fibre, respiro del mio respiro.” (ho urlato)

La cosa che mi ha incuriosita subito di questo romanzo è stato l’impianto folkloristico irlandese dal quale l’autrice ha attinto per la creazione di questo mondo. Ambientato nell’Irlanda del X secolo, risulta veramente facile credere alle storia di Sorha, di maledizioni e del popolo fatato.

Content Warnings