The story of the forest : a novel

Title:

Author:

Grant, Linda, 1951- author.

Summary:

"It's 1913 when Mina, the young and carefree daughter of a Jewish merchant, roams into a forest on the edge of the Baltic Sea looking for mushrooms. Instead, she encounters a gang of unruly, charismatic Bolsheviks--an adventure that will become the stuff of familial lore for generations to come. Intending to save them from further corruption, and in an act that forever changes the trajectory of their family's life, Mina and her eldest brother Jossel, board a ship to England. There, the threat of a different war looms large. When World War I hits, Jossel is sent to the front, where he keeps a severely wounded soldier in his unit alive until morning by telling him tales--including that his sister Mina, will marry him if he survives. The soldier lives and asks for Mina's hand, their marriage uniting two growing trade dynasties. But over time, Mina and Jossel will learn that not everyone in their family has survived the wars and pogroms, even as they and their offspring struggle to build new lives in Liverpool in the midst of ever-shifting discriminations. Based on the author's own family history and legends, The Story of the Forest is a remarkable record of family lore and a meditation on the power of stories to ground us, particularly in the face of life's inevitable losses - told with a keen wit and a sharp eye to the charms and the foibles of family by masterful British novelist Linda Grant."-- Publisher

Edition:

First SJP Lit edition.

Physical Description:

272 pages ; 24 cm

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Subject Term:

Immigrants -- Fiction.

Jewish women -- Fiction.

Revolutions -- Fiction.

World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction.

Publisher:

SJP Lit, a Zando imprint,

Publication Date:

2024

2023

ISBN:

9781638931683

Publication Information:

New York : SJP Lit, a Zando imprint, 2024.

Call Number:

GRANT

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003755751	New Adult Fiction	GRANT Linda	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize * A Parade Best Book of the Month * A Paste Most Anticipated Historical Fiction for Fall

"Romance, tragedy, war, the horrors of the pogroms, business dynasties, and more make this closely observed novel inspired somewhat by Grant's family story into a page turner." ( Parade )

It's 1913 when Mina, the young and carefree daughter of a Jewish merchant, roams into a forest on the edge of the Baltic Sea looking for mushrooms. Instead, she encounters a gang of unruly, charismatic Bolsheviks--an adventure that will become the stuff of familial lore for generations to come. Intending to save her from further corruption, and in an act that forever changes the trajectory of their family's life, Mina and her eldest brother, Jossel, board a ship to England.

There the threat of a different war looms large. When WWI hits, Jossel is sent to the front, where he keeps a severely wounded soldier in his unit alive 'til morning by telling him tales--including that his sister Mina will marry him if he survives. The soldier lives and asks for Mina's hand, their marriage uniting two growing trade dynasties. But over time Mina and Jossel will learn that not everyone in their family has survived the wars and pogroms, even as they and their offspring struggle to build new lives in Liverpool in the midst of ever-shifting discriminations.

Based on the author's own family history and legends, The Story of the Forest  is a remarkable record of family lore; a meditation on the power of stories to ground us, particularly in the face of life's inevitable losses, told with a keen wit and a sharp eye to the charms and the foibles of family by masterful British novelist Linda Grant.

Author Notes

Linda Grant is an accomplished British novelist, whose books have won the Women's Prize and been shortlisted for the Booker, and is known for writing about the Jewish experience. She lives in London.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The engrossing latest from Grant (A Stranger City) revolves around a fateful chance encounter in the Latvian woods. Mina Mendel, 14, is foraging for mushrooms on the eve of WWI when she stumbles upon a band of Bolsheviks. Back home, she rhapsodizes to her older brother Jossel about the soldiers' dancing and singing, prompting Jossel to worry she'll spoil her virtue. She sneaks back to the Bolsheviks and kisses one of them before Jossel arranges to take her overseas for a better life in the U.S., leaving behind their parents and three other siblings. In England, she and Jossel are waylaid by the war, and they settle in Brownlow Hill, where Mina marries Louis, a soldier. The novel's second section, set shortly after WWII, follows Mina and Louis's daughter, Paula, who works at a London film studio and whose boss is captivated by Mina's story of the Bolsheviks in the forest and plans to make a movie about her life. Grant's omniscient narration turns over dark corners of the story (the reader learns the boy soldier Mina kissed was killed and eaten by wolves), and she cleverly injects commentary on the family's trajectory as the narrative unfolds. Readers are in for a treat. Agent: Gráinne Fox, UTA. (Nov.)